Balmain East 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 The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

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 ...

. Balmain East is located three 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 ...

, 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of the

Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Inner West LGA makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merg ...

. Situated on the eastern end of the Balmain peninsula in

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 ...

, Balmain East shares a boundary with the suburb of Balmain to the west. The postcode 2041 covers the suburbs of Balmain, Balmain East and Birchgrove.

History and culture

The area now known as Balmain East was part of a 550-acre (2.2 km²) grant to colonial

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

Dr.

William Balmain William Balmain (2 February 1762 – 17 November 1803) was a Scottish-born naval surgeon and civil administrator who sailed as an assistant surgeon with the First Fleet to establish the first European settlement in Australia, and later to take up ...

(1762–1803) made in 1800 by Governor John Hunter. Balmain was first settled in 1836 and by 1861 had been divided into the well populated eastern areas of Balmain and the sparsely populated western area, extending to the gates of Callan Park. The small peninsula that jutted out from the main Balmain Peninsula, along which the main artery road

Darling Street Darling Street is a 3.1 kilometre street in Sydney, Australia running from Victoria Road, Sydney, Victoria Road to Balmain East ferry wharf. It is the main thoroughfare and high street of the suburbs of Rozelle and Balmain, New South Wales, Bal ...

ran, was known to locals for decades as either "East Balmain" or "The East End" and generally encompassed the area east of Hart St and Balmain Bowling Club. This dividing boundary was originally a natural swamp that was reclaimed early the early 19th century. Whilst the area was almost always referred to as East Balmain by locals, it was still generally regarded as just a name for the eastern peninsula of the suburb, in a similar way in that Birchgrove was the name given to the area of Balmain that encompassed Snails Bay (refer to the history of Birchgrove for more details on its name). The Balmain markets showcases elements of the suburbs past, with antiques and second hand books, whilst also highlighting the area as a cultural hub in the region. Held weekly on Darling Street, the markets operate between 8:30am and 4pm.

Heritage listings

Balmain East has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 2-8 Weston Street: Fenwick & Co Boat Store * 10-20 Weston Street: Iloura Reserve

Transport

Balmain East ferry wharf, upgraded in 2015, provides access to the Cross Harbour ferry services, with

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

services to

Barangaroo Barangaroo ( – ) was an Aboriginal Australian woman best known for her interactions with the British colony of New South Wales during the first years of the European colonisation of Australia. A member of the Cammeraygal clan, she was the wi ...

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...

, and

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

. Bus route 442 operated by

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

runs from Balmain East Wharf to

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-19th-century building located at 429–481 George Street, Sydney, George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. D ...

, in Sydney's CBD. Timetables
ransportnsw.info

Schools

*Nicholson Street Public School

Demographics

According to the , there were 1,900 residents in Balmain East. 66.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 8.5%. 84.6% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 50.7%,

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 ...

21.3% and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

11.0%. Balmain East's population is typically wealthier than the average, with a median weekly household income of $3,020, compared with $1,746 in Australia. The most common types of occupation for employed persons were Professionals (46.0%), Managers (26.6%), and Clerical and Administrative Workers (10.4%). 63.5% of the suburb's occupied private dwellings were family households and 32.8% were lone person households.

References

External links

Local Images at InnerWest ImageBank

Local History Collection, Leichhardt Council
{{Authority control Suburbs of Sydney Inner West Council