
Annandale is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in the
Inner West of
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, in the state of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Annandale is located within 5 kilometres west 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 ...
and is part of 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the
Inner West Council. Annandale's northern end lies on
Rozelle Bay, which is on
Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...
.
Glebe
A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
lies to its east,
Lilyfield and
Leichhardt to its west and
Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
and
Camperdown to its south.
History
Major
George Johnston (1764–1823) arrived on the
First Fleet
The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
ship
''Lady Penrhyn'', which brought
convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...
s to Australia from England. He was granted of land in the area around Annandale and Stanmore, which became known as Johnston's Bush. He later renamed it Annandale after his birthplace
Annan in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. His name is remembered in Johnston Street, Johnston Lane,
Johnstons Creek and Johnstons Bay. Johnston and his wife
Esther Abrahams, one of the convicts on the ''Lady Penrhyn'', farmed the property with their children. They built a fine residence called
Annandale House in 1799, some distance back from
Parramatta Road
Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. S ...
. It was demolished in 1905, although the original gates were preserved and rebuilt on the grounds of Annandale Public school nearby on Johnston Street. George's son Robert inherited the estate, but in 1877 sold it to
John Young, who was a businessman, architect and mayor.
Young began turning the Johnston estate into an attractive suburb by building a number of picturesque houses. One of those houses was ''Kenilworth'', with a "witch's cap" style of roof common to that period of architecture, which Young rented to
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...
, father of Federation and former
Premier of NSW. ''Kenilworth'' was sold for $3.35 million in 2007.
[Sun-Herald, 8 November 2009, p. 3] Other houses in the group were ''
The Abbey'', ''Oybin'', ''Rozelle'' (now demolished), ''Greba'', ''Hockingdon'', ''
Highroyd'' and ''Claremont'' (now demolished). Some of the houses are popularly known as "witches houses" because their towers resemble witches' hats. ''Highroyd'' was given a major restoration which took twenty years and was completed in 2009. The restoration was supervised by heritage architect David Springett and ''Highroyd'' was nominated for the heritage category of the
Australian Institute of Architects
The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...
New South Wales awards in 2009.
''The Abbey''

Of the various houses in this group, ''The Abbey'' is the most notable. Built by John Young, ''The Abbey'' has been described as a stone Gothic Revival mansion, modelled on Scottish manors. Young gave his imagination a free rein and the house incorporates gables, arches, gargoyles, lions, quatrefoils, chimneys, turrets, a cloister and a tower with copper cladding (it was rumoured that Young may have stolen gargoyles from St Mary's Cathedral, which he built, but there was no proof). Young was the highest ranking Mason in Australia and ''The Abbey'' incorporates Masonic themes. It is possible that the building may have been used by Young as a Masonic Lodge. After Young's death, ''The Abbey'' was occupied by a series of tenants, who subdivided the house to create flats and flatettes.
A new owner acquired the house in 1959 and restored it. It was listed on the (now defunct)
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
.
[The Heritage of Australia, p. 2/34] The house was sold for A$4.86 million on 7 November 2009, setting a record residential price for the Annandale area. The selling agent had been hoping for a price of A$5 million, but despite a crowd of 200 people attending the on-site auction, there were only two bidders. The auction itself took nearly an hour to complete, as one bidder regularly engaged in disputes with the auctioneer over the conduct of the auction.
Other developments
Another home in the area was ''Kentville'', which was built as John Young's home, in a garden setting adjacent to Rozelle Bay. The land was bought by Young in 1877, and included a cottage built by Robert Johnston. Young enlarged the cottage and named it Kentville after his home county in the UK. He also built a bowling green on the land and opened it to the public.
Young hoped that the Annandale area would be fine enough to rival places like Darling Point, but was unable to prevent the growth of industries or the subdivision of lots. He died in 1907. The land was subdivided in the late part of the 19th century and more so after Young's death. Since then it has undergone a number of social transformations, from factory floors, migrant stop off, ageing population, to now young families and modern small and micro businesses.
Young was an alderman on the Leichhardt Borough Council from 1879, and mayor that year and in 1884–85. Returning in 1891 from travels in Europe and Asia, Young led a secession movement resulting in the incorporation of the
Annandale Borough Council. The Municipality of Annandale was incorporated on 2 January 1894 and merged into the
Municipality of Leichhardt in 1949. The
Annandale Council Chambers are now the home of the Annandale Neighbourhood Centre.
Johnston Street is also notable for being the first street in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
.
Heritage

Annandale has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Johnston Street:
Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church
* 2-12 Johnston Street:
Goodman's Buildings
* 182 Johnston Street:
Substation No. 15
* off Taylor Street, Hogan Park:
Johnston's Creek Sewer Aqueduct
* Booth Street:
Sewage Pumping Station 3
Other significant historic buildings include:
*
Annandale Council Chambers, 79 Johnston Street, constructed in 1899.
* Annandale North Public School, Johnston Street
*
Annandale Post Office, Johnston Street, an example of the
Federation Free Classical style.
* Annandale Public School, Johnston Street
* North's Factory, 43 Trafalgar Street, the former
Beale Piano Factory, the first and largest Australian piano manufacturer.
* ''
The Abbey'' and stone walls, Johnston Street
* Uniting Church (former Methodist Church), 81A Johnston Street
* Victorian semi-detached villas, 13-15 Collins Street
* ''Hillcrest'', a freestanding Victorian home on the Northern end Nelson St
The Annandale Heritage Festival takes place each year during Australian Heritage Week in April.
Demographics
According to the , there were 9,487 people living in Annandale. 69.0% were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.1%, New Zealand 2.6%, United States of America 1.4% and China 0.9%. 80.9% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 1.5%, Spanish 1.3%, Mandarin 1.3%, Greek 1.1% and Cantonese 0.7%. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 53.2%,
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
18.7%, Anglican 7.5%, Not stated 7.1% and Eastern Orthodox 2.5%.
Schools
*Annandale Public School at 25-31 Johnston Street and Annandale North Public School at 206 Johnston Street are both on the Register of the National Estate.
*St Brendan's Catholic School is at 34 Collins Street.
Churches

* Village Church, Annandale (Anglican), Johnston Street
*
Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church, Johnston Street
[
* St Brendan's Catholic Church, Johnston Street
* Annandale Uniting Church, Johnston Street
]
Culture
Environment
Annandale is bound by Johnston Creek in the east, White's Creek in the west, and Sydney Harbour to the north.
Eco-Annandale Exhibition
The Eco-Annandale exhibition has been run annually since 2009. Each year, the group exhibition focuses on an aspect of Ecological Sustainability.
Footprints EcoFestival
The Footprints EcoFestival is also run annually, in White's Creek Valley. The first year it was run at World Environment Day, however a storm caused its relocation to the Leichhardt Town Hall. The festival is now held in August.
Sport
* A Rugby League team representing the suburb played in the NSWRL Premiership competition between 1910 and 1920.
* Amy Hudson, an allrounder who captained the Annandale Warratahs (Women's Cricket) went on to play for Australia and Tour England.
Music
* The Annandale Hotel is a popular live music venue for rock/indie bands. Live At The Annandale is an album recorded at the Annandale Hotel by American punk rock band The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
. Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
released a DVD of their full performance at the Annandale Hotel from 2005.
* Trafalgar Studios was where many influential bands of the 70-80s in Sydney recorded their albums at 74b Trafalgar Street. Artists who recorded here included Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...
,[ Radio Birdman, ]INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
, Died Pretty, Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...
, Paul Kelly and The Cockroaches. Trafalgar Studios later became Electric Avenue, then home to Christian music label Emu Music. In August 2008 the property was offered for sale. Plans for demolition of the studio were put to council in June 2010 and are facing community opposition.[An Anecdotal History of Annandale: 74B Trafalgar St Recording Studios, Ramin Communications, 15 June 2010]
Annandale on the Web. The studios were eventually demolished in 2018.
* Australian music label Didgeridoo Records was located in Annandale.
* The band Sparkadia originated from Annandale.
* Cold Chisel
Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...
guitarist Ian Moss lives in Annandale.
* Annual Hunter Baillie Spring Festival of Music was established in 1994 to raise funds for the restoration of the 1890 Hill & Son organ
* Sydney's 5 Seconds of Summer
5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford (musician), Mic ...
pop rock band played their first gig at The Annandale Hotel.
Pop culture
* American author, Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
, stayed in Johnston Street, in the home of Sir Henry Parkes toward the end of Parkes' life, according to Bill Bryson
William McGuire Bryson ( ; born 8 December 1951) is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has be ...
in his ''Down Under'' book.
* Booth Street, one of the main streets of the suburb, is a song by popular local band Youth Group on their debut album ''Urban and Eastern'' (2000).
* Sydney band Seventeen (featuring members of Smudge and 2 Litre Dolby) have a song called Annandale on their 1999 album ''Gaggin For It''.
Transport
Buses are the primary mode of public transport in Annandale. The major bus corridor is along Booth St, through the middle of the suburb. This corridor is served by the 470 (operating between Lilyfield and the city) and the 370 (between Leichhardt and Coogee via St Peters). A large number of bus routes (413, 436, 438, L38, 439, L39, 440, 461, 480 and 483) operate along Parramatta Road at the southern border of the suburb. These all service the city. In the north east of the suburb, the 433 operates along The Crescent between the city and Balmain.[Sydney Inner West/South Guide](_blank)
Transit Systems
The Rozelle Bay stop on the Inner West Light Rail
The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station, Sydney, Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill railway station, Dulwich Hill and serving 23 sto ...
of Sydney's light rail network is located in the north of the suburb. The Jubilee Park stop is also accessible from Annandale. Trams operate to east to Central railway station via Pyrmont, and south-west to Dulwich Hill.
Notable residents
* Sid Barnes, cricketer
* Claudia Chan Shaw, born in Annandale, fashion designer
* Fred Cress, painter, had a studio in Annandale
* Ross Edwards, composer
*Dick Ellis
Colonel Charles Howard "Dick" Ellis (13 February 1895 – 5 July 1975) was an Australian-born British intelligence officer credited with writing the blueprint for United States wartime intelligence agencies Coordinator of Information and Offi ...
, soldier and intelligence officer
* Bert Felan, public relations officer
* Ezzie Fenston, journalist
* Isabel Flick, Aboriginal rights activist
* Thelma Forshaw, writer, journalist – grew up in Annandale
* Belle Golding, feminist, suffragist and labor activist
* Douglas Grant, Australian Aboriginal draftsman, soldier, POW and raconteur
* Amy Hudson, cricketer (see above)
* Kim Moyes, member of The Presets
The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Recordings, Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs (''Blow Up (EP), Blow Up ...
, has a studio in Annandale
* Robert Johnston, naval officer
* Ian Moss, singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...
, 'Father of Federation' and 7th Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...
died in Annandale
* Barbara Ramsden, book editor at Melbourne University Press
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses.
History
MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...
* Craig Reucassel, comedian and member of The Chaser
* Abe Saffron, nightclub owner and property developer was born in Annandale
* John Stanley, 2GB radio broadcaster
* Allen Taylor, mayor of Annandale, Lord Mayor of Sydney, MLC, Timber & Shipping Merchant
* Eric Wilson, Australian painter
* John Young, businessman, architect, builder and mayor
References
External links
* C-By-SA
{{Authority control
Suburbs of Sydney
Inner West Council