Dulwich Hill 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) ...
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 ...
. It is 7.5 kilometres south-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
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 ...
. Dulwich Hill stretches south to the shore of the
Cooks River
The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The course of the urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various developme ...
.
History
The suburb takes its name from the area of
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The name Dulwich Hill appears in
Sands Directory
The Sands Directories, also published as the Sands and Kenny Directory and the Sands and McDougall Directory were annual publications in Australia.
They listed household, business, society, and Government contacts in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sy ...
of 1892. It had been known by several different names prior to this. Following European settlement, it was called ''Petersham Hill''. It later took the name ''Wardell's Bush'', a reference to Dr
Robert Wardell
Robert Wardell, marble tablet, St James Church, Sydney
Robert Wardell (1793 – 7 September 1834) was an English-born Australian barrister and newspaper editor.
Early life
Wardell was born in England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, ...
, one of the area's early landowners. Other names the area was given were ''South Petersham'' and ''Fern Hill''.

The area became part of Sydney's expanding tram network in 1889 and, like many suburbs 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) ...
, experienced rapid growth in the early twentieth century. As a consequence, the suburb has a large number of examples of Australian
Federation architecture
Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the British colonies of Australia collectively became the Commonw ...
. It also features examples of
Edwardian
In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
,
Gothic and
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
architecture. The tramway ran up until 1957.
Listed on the Register of the National Estate is the former public school in Seaview Street, which now operates as the Dulwich Hill High School of Visual Arts and Design. The building was designed by W.E.Kemp in the
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
and built circa 1892. Situated in the same street is the former location of the Dulwich Hill Library, a converted cottage in the
Victorian Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
style.
Commercial area
Dulwich Hill features two shopping areas, a small number of shops on Wardell Road near
Dulwich Hill railway station and the main shopping area around the northern end of Marrickville Road and its intersection with New Canterbury Road. The Marrickville Road shopping area centred on the former tram line (now replaced by buses), and continues onto New Canterbury Road. Cafés and restaurants have become popular as the suburb becomes
gentrified
Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
. Marrickville Council upgraded the shopping strip in the early 2000s, enhancing the look and character of the area. Dulwich Hill has a library (a branch of Marrickville Library and the
Inner West Library Service) and a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, but was never chartered a
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
or
police station
A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...
(the nearest is Marrickville Local Area Command).
Education

Dulwich Hill contains three
primary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
: Dulwich Hill Public School in Kintore Street, St Maroun's College in Wardell Road and St Paul of the Cross, a
Catholic school
Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
in New Canterbury Road, as well as one secondary school,
Dulwich High School of Visual Arts & Design in Seaview Street. Dulwich High School was the first
Visual Arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...
School in Australia.
Notable graduates of the high school include former Parramatta
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
coach
Terry Fearnley
Terence Colin Fearnley (21 July 1933 – 4 March 2015) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach.
Playing career
Fearnley was a long serving member of the NSWRFL's Eastern Suburbs team, playing 144 matches for them at a bleak period ...
, tennis player
Phil Dent
Philip Clive Dent (born 14 February 1950) is a former professional tennis player. Dent's high water mark as a pro singles player was reaching the Australian Open final in 1974, which he lost to Jimmy Connors in four sets. Dent was also the men ...
and opera singer
Yvonne Minton, while former rugby league referee
Jack Danzey taught there.
Transport
Tram history
Until the late 1950s, when the local tramway system was closed, electric
trams
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
ran to Dulwich Hill and the
Cooks River
The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The course of the urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various developme ...
from Circular Quay. The line to Dulwich Hill branched from the Cooks River line at Newtown, turning off King Street into Enmore Road, travelling through Marrickville and Dulwich Hill, via Victoria and Marrickville Roads. A tram tuning loop was provided at the Canterbury Road terminus.
Modern transport
Modern
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
to the area comprises one railway station, four light rail stops and several bus routes.
Dulwich Hill railway station is located on Wardell Road, in the southern part of the suburb. Since 30 September 2024, it has been serviced by light rail and bus services only, pending conversion of the
Bankstown railway line
The Bankstown railway line is a suburban railway which traverses the Inner West (Sydney), Inner West and Canterbury-Bankstown areas of Sydney. West of it is used by Lidcombe & Bankstown Line, T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown services, while east of Bank ...
to
Sydney Metro
Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit rail system in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It currently consists of the Metro North West & Bankstown Line, running between Tallawong and Sydenham and consisting of 21 stations on of t ...
standards. Once these works are complete, Dulwich Hill will gain
Metro North West & Bankstown Line
The Metro North West & Bankstown Line (numbered M1) is a rapid transit line, rapid transit rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The first and currently only line on the Sydney Metro network, it commenced operation on 26 May 2019, o ...
services to the
Sydney CBD
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 ...
, replacing the previous
Sydney Trains
Sydney Trains is the brand name and operator of Railways in Sydney, suburban and intercity train services in and around Greater Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.
The metropolitan part of the network is a hybrid urban rail, urban-suburban r ...
service.
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 ...
starts at Dulwich Hill railway station and includes three other stations in the suburb: Dulwich Grove (between New Canterbury Road and Hercules Street), Arlington (adjacent to Johnson Park near Constitution Road) and Waratah Mills (near Davis Street). Light rail services continue to the Sydney CBD, though via a more indirect route than the Bankstown railway line.
The 426, 428 and 412 routes provide bus connections between Dulwich Hill and the Sydney CBD. The 426 is the suburb's main bus route, starting at the corner of Marrickville and New Canterbury Roads and running along Marrickville Road towards Marrickville. The 428 service runs from
Canterbury station along New Canterbury Road towards Petersham. Both routes merge at
Enmore and proceed to the city via
King Street, Newtown
King Street is the central thoroughfare of the suburb of Newtown, New South Wales, Newtown in Sydney, Australia. The residents of the area, including a higher-than-average concentration of students, LGBT people and artists, are most visible on ...
. The 412 runs from Campsie to the city. It comes up Wardell Road, passing Dulwich Hill railway station, before running along the south side of the railway and proceeding up Livingstone Road towards Marrickville and Petersham. In the CBD, all routes proceed up
Elizabeth Street and terminate at
Martin Place
Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney. .
Other routes serving the suburb are the 445, 418 and 425. The 445 routes run from
Campsie station to
Balmain via
Leichhardt, following the same route as the 428 through Dulwich Hill. The 418 between
Bondi Junction
Bondi Junction is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local governm ...
and
Burwood via
Ashfield follows the same route as 426 between Marrickville and Dulwich Hill shops, before swinging on to New Canterbury Road, and then south to Hurlstone Park Station. The 425 follows the same route as the 426 to Marrickville, before heading to
Tempe. It only operates during daytime hours on weekdays and Saturdays. All routes are 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
...
.
Demographics
According to the there were 14,046 people in Dulwich Hill. 63.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 3.5%, Greece 2.7%, Vietnam 1.9%, New Zealand 1.8% and Lebanon 1.5%. 67.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 5.0%, Arabic 3.2%, Vietnamese 2.4%, Portuguese 1.9% and Spanish 1.8%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 47.4%, Catholic 20.8%, Eastern Orthodox 6.9%, Not stated 5.8% and Anglican 4.7%.
Of occupied private dwellings in Dulwich Hill, 57.0% were flat or apartments, 28.8% were separate houses, 10.8% were semi-detached and 3.1% were other dwellings.
Notable people
*
Leisel Jones
Leisel Marie Jones, OAM (born 30 August 1985) is an Australian former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. A participant in the 2000 Summer Olympics – at just 15 years old – and 2004 Summer Olympics, she was part of gold-medal- ...
, Olympic swimmer
*
Queenie Paul, vaudeville entertainer
[Jennie Lees]
"Eveline Pauline (Queenie) Paul"
in ''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18'' (MUP 2012).
*
Joe Hildebrand-Journalist
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, singer
Governance
Dulwich Hill is primarily located in the federal
electoral division
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...
of
Grayndler, currently held by
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
, of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
(ALP), who was last re-elected in the
2007 General Election and has been named as the leader of the Labor party after its defeat in the election. The seat of Grayndler has been held continuously by the ALP since it was proclaimed in 1949. The section of Dulwich Hill south of the railway line is in the federal
electoral division
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...
of
Barton held by
Linda Burney
Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian Labor Party (ALP) politician who was the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Barton from 2016 to 2025. She was the minister for Indigenous Australians from 2022 to July 2024. S ...
, of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
(ALP), the first Aboriginal woman elected to the House of Reprentatives.

At the state level, Dulwich Hill is located in the
electoral district of Summer Hill
Summer Hill is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales. It is represented by Jo Haylen of the Labor Party.
History
Summer Hill is one of two new electorates (the other being Newtown) created in place of the aboli ...
, which has been held by Labor's
Jo Haylen
Joanna Elizabeth Haylen is an Australian politician who was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Summer Hill for the Labor Party at the 2015 New South Wales state election. She was the state Minister for Tra ...
since its creation at the 2015 election.
At the local level, Dulwich Hill is part 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 ...
, established in 2015. Prior to 2015, it was part of
Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council was a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickvi ...
, one of three councils that were amalgamated to form Inner West Council.
Sport and recreation
Arlington Recreation Ground in Williams Parade is home to the
Dulwich Hill FC
Dulwich Hill, is a semi-professional football club, based and located in the Dulwich Hill area of New South Wales. In season 2023, they are set to compete in the Football NSW League One Mens competition and Boys Youth League 2.
The club has s ...
soccer club, which plays in the
NSW Super League
The Football NSW League is an Australian soccer league based in 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 b ...
, the second tier of senior soccer in Sydney, and also the
Stanmore Hawks soccer club which plays in the
NSW State League Division One, the third tier.
Residential
A number of residential subdivisions in Dulwich Hill occurred in the early 20th century, and include well preserved Federation and Interwar era houses. These include, for example the Abelgeldie Estate in the northwest as well as the area around Hoskins Park, which are protected as heritage conservation areas.
Hoskins Park - Marrickville Council
/ref> The former freight line, now light rail line, runs north-south through Dulwich Hill, and is the centre of an area formerly of industrial use, now mostly converted to medium density residential flats.
Churches
The area is served by several religious organisations, including 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
and Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
churches.
Image:DulwichHill1.JPG, St Marouns Catholic Monastery
Image:DulwichHill2.JPG, St Paul of the Cross Catholic Church
References
* Snapshot: Dulwich Hill, Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
, 25 October 2005.
External links
Marrickville Heritage Society
Geographical Names Board of NSW suburb boundary map
Dulwich Hill Community
* Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and bui ...
]
{{Sydney Marrickville suburbs
Suburbs of Sydney
Inner West Council