Edgecliff is a small

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

in the

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Edgecliff is located 4 kilometres east of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

, in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

of the

Municipality of Woollahra Woollahra Municipal Council (or Woollahra Council) is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is bounded by Port J ...

. The postcode is 2027. Edgecliff is surrounded by the suburbs of Double Bay,

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woolla ...

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

and

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

. The property prices are very high because it is close to the city and many homes provide views of

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

(Sydney Harbour).

History

Edgecliff takes its name from its geographic siting. The rocky cliff of the suburb was extensively quarried in the early day of European settlement. The area was dominated for some time by the Glenrock property, on the north side of

New South Head Road New South Head Road, is a major road in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, linking the inner-eastern suburb of Rushcutters Bay to the southern reaches of the South Head peninsula. Route New South Head Road runs north-east from Rushcutters Bay t ...

. Sir Edward Knox built ''Fiona'' in 1864 after having it designed by J. F. Hilly. It has been described as "a

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

two-storey mansion" and was made of sandstone. Other elements of the estate included ''Glenrock'', an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

residence designed by David MacBeath and built by John Marks circa 1870. There were also substantial gates of wrought iron and sandstone. The building was demolished when New South Head Road was widened, but the gates survived. Also on the estate was the Dower House, a Victorian

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house of sandstone, built some time after 1842 by Whistler Smith. The estate is now the site of Ascham School, and the above items are on the National Estate. In September 1894 a cable tram service opened, which operated from King Street in the city to Ocean Street in Edgecliff. The powerhouse driving it was located at Rushcutters Bay. Unlike other trams of the era which were driven by steam, the cable ran in a gutter between the tracks. The cars gripped the moving cable to advance and released it to stop. It operated until 1905 when the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line was electrified. Edgecliff railway station opened in 1979, when the

Eastern Suburbs railway line The Eastern Suburbs Railway is a commuter railway line in Sydney constructed in the 1970s. It is operated by Sydney Trains and has stations at Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff and Bondi Junction. In addition, it has dedicated platforms a ...

was opened from

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

to Bondi Junction.

Heritage listings

Edgecliff has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 8 Albert Street: Fenton and surrounds

Population

At the , there were 2,580 residents in Edgecliff. Most people in Edgecliff came from Anglo-Celtic backgrounds with the most common ancestries being English 24.9%, Australian 15.0%, Irish 10.7% and Scottish 8.1%. 53.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 7.4%. 72.6% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 33.0% and Catholic 19.1%. With its train station and proximity to the city, there was a high rate of public transport usage. 41.8% of people travelled to work by public transport, compared with the national average of 10.4%. Housing in Edgecliff is high density and most occupied private dwellings were apartments (73.6%). Most of the remaining dwellings were semi-detached (21.6%). At the 2021 census, the population of Edgecliff was 2,499.

Commercial area

Commercial developments are located on New South Head Road. The Edgecliff Centre is a commercial building with retail space close to the transport services and office space above. Edgecliff Eastpoint is a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

above

Edgecliff railway station Edgecliff railway station is located on the Eastern Suburbs line, serving the Sydney suburb of Edgecliff. It is served by Sydney Trains T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line services and NSW TrainLink South Coast Line services. History Whilst ...

and below the bus interchange. Image:Edgecliff Eastpoint.JPG, Edgecliff Eastpoint, bus interchange on roof Image:Edgecliff post office.JPG, Former post office and telephone exchange Image:Edgecliff bank.JPG, Former bank

Transport

is an underground railway station on the Eastern Suburbs Line of the

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

network. Trains are quite frequent, especially during peak hour. A

bus interchange A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...

is located above the railway station.

Schools

Ascham School and one of Sydney Grammar's preparatory schools are on the Edgecliff borders. The Weigall Sports Field and

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

, which both belong to Sydney Grammar School, are also located nearby. Image:Edgecliff Ascham 3.JPG, Ascham Girls' School gates Image:Edgecliff Ascham 1.JPG, Glenrock, Ascham Girls' School (on the National Estate) Image:Edgecliff Ascham 2.JPG, Ascham Girls' School Image:Ascham Girls' School.jpg, Ascham Girls' School; the sandstone building in the centre is Fiona, built in 1864 (on the National Estate)

Sport and recreation

Since 1908, Edgecliff has been represented in one of Australia's most popular sporting competitions, the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, by the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

, officially known as the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club.

References

{{Sydney City of Sydney suburbs Suburbs of Sydney Municipality of Woollahra New South Head Road, Sydney