Marrickville, New South Wales

Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local government area.

Marrickville sits on the northern bank of the Cooks River, opposite Earlwood and shares borders with Stanmore, Enmore, Newtown, St Peters, Sydenham, Tempe, Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park and Petersham. The southern part of the suburb, near the river, is known as Marrickville South and includes the historical locality called ''The Warren''.

Marrickville is culturally diverse, and contains both low and high density residential, commercial and light industrial areas.

Geography

Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia. Most of Marrickville is contained in a valley, as part of the broader Cooks River basin.

History

Early

The Cadigal people of the Eora Nation have lived in the area for tens of thousands of years, calling it Bulanaming. The Gumbramorra swamp, forming the eastern border of Marrickville, was an important source of bird and plant life for the Aboriginal people.

The first Europeans to use the area were escaped convicts, who hid in the difficult to navigate bushland and swamps. It was also known among early Europeans as a plentiful source of timber for boatmaking.

William Beckwith received the first land grant in the area in 1794, obtaining . Between 1799 and 1804, Thomas Moore received ,''The Book of Sydney Suburbs'', Frances Pollon, Angus & Robertson Publishers, 1990, Published in Australia , page 165 using the land for timber. Barrister Robert Wardell later purchased Moore's land and more to create a estate. Wardell also used his land for its timber, and, like Moore, dealt with trespassers who fell trees and took their wood. He was murdered in September 1834 by escaped convicts, and his estate subdivided.

To the area now came stonemasons for the local sandstone, and market farmers for the water supply. These new settlers were multi-ethnic, including Chinese, Italians, Germans and Scots. In 1855, the village of Marrickville was created with subdivision of Thomas Chalder's Marrick Estate, attracting shops, churches and houses. Chalder hailed from Marrick, England, and -ville was suggested by another resident. Besides the market gardeners and stonemasons, the area was populated with professionals including members of parliament and architects. The surroundings still included bushland, but now also had dairy farms alongside the market gardens.

A municipality

In 1861, Marrickville became a municipality. By the end of the decade, the suburb was considered rural and attractive. Dairies supplied the area and Sydney more broadly. In 1857 or 1864, pastoralist and politician Thomas Holt built a Victorian Gothic mansion known as 'The Warren'. The building was outfitted with many features, including an art gallery and Turkish baths. It was later occupied by Carmelite nuns and for artillery training until its demolition in 1919. Marrickville is still known by some residents as The Warren. In 1878, the first municipal building was constructed, a town hall. Other structures built around this time included a school in 1864, a post-office in 1865, and a train station in 1895.

Around the time of the creation of the Aboriginal Protection Board in 1883, there are few records of Aboriginal people in the broader Cooks River area. Most Aboriginal people in the area were relocated by authorities to La Perouse, although some remained and continued to fish the river.

During the late 1880s, market gardens were converted into brick pits, and the industry became mechanised. As houses were demolished to make way for brick pits and land was subdivided to create cheap housing for their workers, the area housed the largest brickmaking firms in Sydney, and the population became working class. As of 1892, Marrickville had a population of 12,500. Although the pits ultimately emptied of clay, other industries such as wool, steel and automotive established themselves in Marrickville in the 1890s, and the suburb grew faster than its neighbours.In the first half of the 20th century, Marrickville was a centre of Catholic-dominated Labor politics and the political base of Joseph Cahill, who continued to live there throughout his term as Premier of New South Wales. Industry was particularly strong in the interwar period, when almost all men and women were employed. The industry was a source of local pride, and products were exhibited. Production was assorted, including guitars, radios, chocolate and boots, particularly prominent was wool. Dances during this period were very popular, and an orchestra was created, the first made by a suburban council.

After WWII

After World War II, immigrants, particularly from Greece, settled in the suburb, attracted by the jobs and cheap housing. Greek immigrants opened many shops along Marrickville Road despite prejudice against Southern Europeans. In this period, Aboriginal people migrated to Sydney from the country and beyond, settling in particular in Marrickville with its cheap accommodation and proximity to jobs. They have since stayed close to the river, holding themselves as its custodians. In 1948, Marrickville merged with the neighbouring municipalities of St Peters and Petersham, forming the Marrickville Municipal Council.

Beginning in the 1970s, industry in Marrickville was closed, with some moving away from the city to cheaper and larger land. The area became increasingly residential, although some industry was retained. The following decade, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants came into Marrickville, starting shops and restaurants along Illawarra Road. In the 1990s, the area gained a reputation for crime after a series of stabbings at the local high school and heroin-related crimes.

During the 2000s, Marrickville had begun to gentrify. Property prices increased, and crime went down. Young professionals entered the area and accordingly the percentage of people living in the area born overseas decreased. Trendy restaurants and shops, such as farmers markets and coffee shops opened up; this development was compared in the media to that of the nearby suburb Paddington.

By 2017, Marrickville was among the most prominent suburbs in the Sydney hipster subculture, with a young population and many bars and vegetarian and vegan establishments. During the early 2020s, it was repeatedly voted among the "coolest neighbourhoods in the world" by ''Time Out'' magazine.

Heritage listings

Marrickville has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Marrickville railway station
* Carrington Road: Sewage Pumping Station 271
* Garden Street: Sydenham Pit and Drainage Pumping Station 1
* 96–106 Illawarra Road: Marrickville Town Hall
* 274A Marrickville Road: Marrickville Post Office
* 24, 26 Premier Street: Premier Street Sewer Vent and Cottages
* Thornley Street: Cooks River Sewage Aqueduct

Demographics

Marrickville has a diverse community with a significant immigrant population. In the mid-20th century, Marrickville was a major centre of Sydney's large Greek community, and to an extent remains so. Today, the Vietnamese community has become the most prominent immigrant population.

At the , the suburb of Marrickville recorded a population of 26,570 people. Of these:
* Age distribution: Residents had a similar range of ages to the country overall. The median age was 37 years (national median is 38). Children aged under 15 years made up 13.5% of the population (national average is 18.2%) and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.0% of the population (national average is 17.2%).
* Ethnic diversity: The most common ancestries were English 25.4%, Australian 22.5%, Irish 11.9%, Greek 8.8% and Scottish 8.6%. 60.7% of people were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.9%; the next most common countries of birth were Vietnam 5.6%, Greece 3.9%, England 3.4%, New Zealand 2.0% and China 1.3%. 62.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 7.0%, Vietnamese 6.9%, Arabic 2.4%, Portuguese 1.8% and Cantonese 1.8%.
* 417 are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
* Finances: The median household weekly income was $2,170 compared to the national median of $1,746. This difference is also reflected in real estate, with the median mortgage payment being $2,600 per month, compared to the national median of $1,863.
* Transport: On the day of the census, 7.5% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 24.3% used car (either as driver or as passenger).
* Housing: 47.2% of occupied residences were flats, units or apartments, 32.0% were separate houses, 18.5% were semi-detached (row or terrace houses, townhouses etc.), and 2.2% were other dwellings. The average household size was 2.3 people.
* Religion: The most common response for religion was No Religion (48.9%); the next most common response was Catholic at 17.7%; the third most common response was Eastern Orthodox at 8.5%.

Culture

The Marrickville Festival takes place each September. It consists of daytime displays of live music and dance from various cultural traditions. Several live music venues exist in the suburb, including the Marrickville Bowling Club and the Factory Theatre. Several workspaces for artists also exist, although , increased land prices made it increasingly difficult for artists to afford work and exhibition spaces.

Marrickville contains several restaurants and artisan grocers. Before the suburb was gentrified, Vietnamese bakeries and restaurants, and Greek delis existed throughout; although these remain, they are less dominant.

Liquor establishments, including bars and gin distilleries are prominent in the suburb. Since 2013, a significant number of breweries have been established in the light industrial spaces that exist throughout the suburb. A 2022 article in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' described it as the "craft beer capital of Australia", and attributed the volume to Marrickville being the closest suburb to the CBD with industrial land, and because residents were supportive of the businesses.

Commercial areas

Marrickville Road

The main shopping strip runs along Marrickville Road, west from Sydenham to the town hall. Typical businesses include cafés, grocery and clothing stores. Marrickville Road is well known for the artworks, by Ces Camilleri of Creative Artistic Steel, that adorn the awnings of some of its businesses, which gives the strip a unique style. The shopping strip also extends south along Illawarra Road, past the railway station, to "The Warren" locality.

Addison Road

Addison Road, also referred to a "Addi Road", is home to over 20 community organisations, along with art studios, galleries, theatres, a radio station, open green space, gardens and 169 trees. It is the location of the Addison Road Community Organisation, which runs the a Living Museum program showcasing the history and heritage of the area.

The Addison Rd Centre for the Arts, Culture, Community and Environment, located at number 142, is located on the site of a former army depot, which opened after being converted in 1976. It includes many artists' studios. The community radio station Radio Skid Row is located Hut 23 in the community centre. and broadcasts to the Inner West suburbs of Sydney.

Every Sunday the Addison Community Centre hosts a market where fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee and other edible products and second-hand goods are sold.

The Vic Hotel is also in Addison Road.

Marrickville Metro

Marrickville Metro is a shopping centre located near the border with Enmore and contains supermarkets, retail, discount stores, speciality shops, food courts, restaurants, gym outlets. It was built on the site of the Vicars Woollen Mill in 1987.

Food markets are also held bi-monthly at Marrickville Metro on Smidmore Street.

Industrial

A substantial light industrial area is located west of the Princes Highway. Typical industrial uses include automotive repair, import/export and building supplies. During the 2010s, the amount of industrial spaces in Marrackville decreased as they were redeveloped.

Transport

Marrickville railway station is on the Bankstown Line of the Sydney Trains network. The adjacent station of Dulwich Hill serves the south-western part of the suburb. The station was closed on 30 September 2024 to allow for the line to be converted to Sydney Metro standards; the Metro trains will subsequently serve the rebranded Metro North West & Bankstown Line.

The terminus of the Inner West Light Rail is located adjacent to Dulwich Hill railway station. Access to the city is quicker by train, but the light rail may be used for some cross-regional journeys. The service also interchanges with Lewisham railway station on the Inner West & Leppington Line.

Public buses serve all main roads, including Marrickville Road, Enmore Road, Illawarra Road, Victoria Road, Wardell Road and Livingstone Road. These include the 418 bus from Burwood to Bondi Junction via Ashfield, Dulwich Hill, Sydenham and Eastlakes, the 426 bus from Dulwich Hill to Circular Quay via Newtown and the CBD, the 423 bus from Kingsgrove to Martin Place via Earlwood, Newtown and the CBD, and the 412 bus which runs from Campsie to Kings Wharf via Kingsgrove, Earlwood, Petersham, Camperdown, Parramatta Road and the CBD.

The suburb is 5 kilometres north-west from Sydney Airport and lies under a flight path.

Schools and churches

Marrickville has four public primary schools: Marrickville Public School, Marrickville West Primary School, Ferncourt Public School and Wilkins Public School, as well as two private primary schools: St. Pius Catholic School, and St. Brigids Catholic School.

There are two secondary schools, one public, Marrickville High School, and one private, Casimir Catholic College.

Religious buildings in Marrickville include:
* St Clements Anglican Church is located diagonally across the intersection of Marrickville Road and Petersham Road. It now houses Marrickville Rd Church, a multi cultural, multi ethnic church plant. It is a heritage-listed building.
* St Brigid's Catholic Church: On the corner of Marrickville and Livingstone roads. It is the second largest church in Sydney after St Mary's Cathedral and is the home of Gift of Bread, a food rescue organisation.
* St Maroun's Catholic College: On Wardell Road.
* Silver Street Mission: a Baptist congregation on the corner of Silver and Calvert streets.
* St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church: On Livingstone Road.
* Orthodox Monastery of the Archangel Michael: A monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Architecture

Marrickville Town Hall

Marrickville Town Hall is located on the corner of Marrickville Road and Petersham Road. Outside Marrickville Town Hall is a World War I war memorial, featuring a Winged Victory figure. Standing at over tall, the figure is the largest known bronze casting on a memorial in Australia.

Marrickville Library

As of 1995, Marrickville had a library on the corner of Marrickville and Petershem roads. That year, the local council purchased the site of the defunct Marrickville Hospital with the purpose of building a new library. After many delays, planning began in earnest in 2011 and the new library opened in August 2019. It has a collection of 85,000 books, a 30% increase from the old library. It is situated in the Marrickville Hospital, now restored, and several new buildings. The grounds were renamed Patyegarang Place for the first Indigenous person to teach settlers the Dharug language, local to the area.

Houses

Many Marrickville homes are detached or terraced Victorian houses built in the late 19th century. Many others were built in the Federation style in the early 20th century. Whilst many of the larger estates have been subdivided, some still remain, including the heritage-listed Victorian Italianate manor Stead House, former residence of Samuel Cook, General Manager of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' in the late 19th century. It was used as a Salvation Army hostel for some time, but was turned into apartments in 2011.

Several streets in Marrickville also feature a distinct and rare style of art-deco semi-detached houses.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Marrickville is twinned with:
* Funchal, Portugal
* Larnaca, Cyprus
* Safita, Syria

Sport and recreation

Marrickville is home to a number of sporting venues and teams. Henson Park, just off Sydenham Road, is home of the Newtown Jets rugby league team, formerly one of the elite Sydney teams, but currently playing in the second tier New South Wales Cup and acting as a feeder club for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Marrickville Oval, on Livingstone Road, is used by lower grade teams from the Randwick Petersham Cricket Club, which plays in the Sydney Grade Cricket competition and the Newtown Jnr Jets. It is also home to Marrickville A reserve who are consistently made up of mostly Polynesian players (mostly family) who overcame the odds, making it into the semi-finals before falling short in what was described as "Grand Final" performance.
Fraser Park, next to the railway line between Marrickville and Sydenham stations is home to the Fraser Park FC soccer club which plays in the NSW Men's Premier League 2, the second tier of soccer in NSW.

Marrickville Golf Course runs along the banks of the Cooks River.

The Annette Kellerman aquatic centre, located near the border with Enmore, was opened on 26 January 2011. It features a , eight-lane Swimming Pool catering to lap swimmers, squads and swimming carnivals; a dedicated programs pool / hydrotherapy pool set up for learn-to-swim lessons, aquaerobics classes and rehabilitation activities; and a leisure Pool. It replaced an historic outdoor 33-yard pool which had provided affordable aquatic relaxation to locals for decades.Parks in the suburb include Steel Park, Mackey Park, Henson Park, Marrickville Oval, McNeilly Park and Jarvie Park.

References in popular culture

The Whitlams' song "You Sound Like Louis Burdett" mentions Marrickville.

Five music videos have been shot in or around Marrickville:
* Shannon Noll – "Lift"
* Zoe Badwi – "Accidents Happen"
* Tim Rogers – "You've been so good to me so far"
* Triple One – "Showoff"
* John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong - "Miracle in Marrickville"

Films and TV shows that have been filmed in Marrickville include:
* '' Paradise Road'', 1997
* ''Fresh Air'' (1999)
* '' Underbelly: The Golden Mile''
* ''Home and Away''
* ''Strictly Ballroom'', 1992 romantic comedy directed by Baz Luhrmann
* '' Mr Inbetween'' 2021
* ''Bump'' 2020
* ''Heartbreak High'' 2022

Gallery

File:Marrickville5.JPG, Marrickville Town Hall
File:Frankfort House 1905.jpg, Stead House
File:Marrickville1.JPG, St Clement's Anglican Church
File:Marrickville3.JPG, Victorian Italianate home in Livingstone Road
File:Cooks river, Marrickville, Sydney 2014 with iPhone 5 2014.jpg, Cooks river, Marrickville, Sydney 2014 with iPhone 5 2014

Notable people

Notable people associated with Marrickville include:
* Maybanke Susannah Anderson, a reformer involved in women's suffrage and federation lived at ''Maybanke'' in Marrickville where she opened a girls school
* Kevin Berry, Australian Olympic swimmer, gold medalist in 1964
* Don Burrows, Australian jazz musician
* Roy Farnsworth, Australian rugby league player
* John Farrow, Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter
* Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and a three time world champion (nickname: The Marrickville Mauler)
* Joe Gartner, Australian rugby league player
* Virginia Gay, actress on the TV shows; '' All Saints'' and ''Winners and Losers''
* Stanley Gibbs, shipping clerk and George Cross recipient
* Benjamin Gower Hardy, World War 2 soldier and George Cross recipient
* Akira Isogawa, fashion designer; design studio located in Marrickville
* Annette Kellerman, professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star and writer
* Andy Kent, bass and vocals for You Am I (Australian Band); lives in the Marrickville LGA
* Damien Leith, winner of the fourth season of ''Australian Idol''
* Jim McCue, Australian rugby league player
* Lisa McCune, a Gold-Logie winning actress known for her role in ''Blue Heelers'' and host of ''Forensic Investigators''
* Martin Mulligan, Australian tennis player, 1962 Wimbledon tournament finalist
* Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress
* Costa Prasoulas, actor and martial artist, silver medalist at the 2009 World Games
* Ron Saggers, Test cricketer
* Bob Simpson, Australian cricket captain, later coach
* David Wenham, Australian actor; known for his roles in the films '' The Lord of the Rings Trilogy'', '' Van Helsing'', ''300'' and '' Public Enemies''
* Peter Wherrett, journalist and racing driver
* Mark Williams, singer and songwriter; lives locally. In 2005 he became the vocalist for the reformed New Zealand/Australian band, Dragon
* Harry Wolstenholme, lawyer and keen amateur ornithologist lived in Marrickville as a child
* George Wootten, Australian major general, commander of the 9th Division
* Anthony Albanese, 31st and current Australian Prime Minister and MP representing the Division of Grayndler
* Nat's What I Reckon, influencer and celebrity cook

References

Further reading

Anne-Maree Whitaker, ''Pictorial History Marrickville''
Kingsclear Books
Sydney, 2006

External links

Inner West Council

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marrickville, New South Wales

Suburbs of Sydney
Inner West
George Allen Mansfield buildings