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Kensington is a suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney,
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. It is located four kilometres south-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 ...
, in the local government area (LGA) of the
City of Randwick The City of Randwick is a local government area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1859, Randwick is the second-oldest local government area in New South Wales, after the City of Sydney. It comprises an ...
. Kensington lies to the immediate south of Moore Park and west of
Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney r ...
. The principal landmarks of the suburb are the main campus of the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
,
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
and the Australian Golf Club. Kensington is also a residential suburb close to 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 ...
.


History


Indigenous inhabitants

Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the
Gadigal The Gadigal, also spelled as Cadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. However, since the colonisation of Australia ...
people, one of the salt-water clans of the
Darug language The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language ( Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin–Kuric group that was traditionally spoken in th ...
group. The Cadigal people were known for their fishing skills and often travelled in canoes. The 1828 census showed some 50–60 clans of Cadigal people living by the Lachlan swamps of Kensington and surrounding areas. Swamps provided fruit, nectar, roots and tubers. Very few Aboriginals live in Kensington today.


European settlement

The suburb now known as Kensington was once called the "Lachlan Mills Estate", "Stannumville" and then "Epsom". It became Kensington in the late 1880s, starting life as an industrial suburb.
Samuel Terry Samuel Terry (c. 1776 – 22 February 1838) was an English man who was penal transportation, transported to Australia as a criminal, where he became a wealthy landowner, merchant and philanthropist. His extreme wealth made him by far the ric ...
, the convict who became Australia's first millionaire, received a land grant in 1819. Daniel Cooper (1785–1853), also an ex-convict acquired land here in 1825 with his partner Solomon Levey, whom he later bought out. Cooper's nephew Daniel (1821–1902) planned to subdivide but in 1865 all developments was forbidden. Residential land was issued in the late 1880s and Kensington was to be the equivalent of
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 ...
's distinguished suburb,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
. Kensington Racecourse opened in 1893 on the site of the current University of New South Wales. It did not compete with nearby Randwick Racecourse because it held midweek meetings, pony racing and related sports like polo. The course was also used to house troops and horses during the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
,
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Many of the first
Anzacs ANZAC, ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion ( ...
trained at Kensington Racecourse in 1914 before leaving for
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
. It was a migrant hostel during the late 1940s. The land was resumed in 1950 to construct Sydney's second university. The WD & HO Wills tobacco factory opened in Todman Avenue in 1902. The factory site also featured the Raleigh Park Social Club, an extensive sporting complex named after
Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...
who first introduced tobacco from North America to Europe. The factory closed in 1989 and was slowly converted into a residential neighbourhood by the Mirvac Group and Westfield in a joint venture known as Raleigh Park. The building used by the company is a two-storey brick building in the Georgian Revival style. It was designed by Joseland and Gilling and built c.1930. It was used by the Menzies Group of Companies as of 2013. It is heritage-listed. Kensington's streets are named after local people, places in London and local flora. Some examples are: *Balfour Lane – named after
Arthur James Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the Lloyd George min ...
, the first earl of Balfour, a British statesman and Prime Minister (1902–1905) *Doncaster Avenue – named after
Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...
in England *Boronia Street – ''Boronia'' is a flowering shrub grown extensively in the area.


Sacred Heart Monastery

The hill that dominates West Kensington is occupied by the Sacred Heart Monastery, the Australian headquarters of 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 ...
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; ; ) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Jules Chevalier at Issoudun, France, in the Diocese of Bourges. The motto of the Missionaries of the S ...
. The monastery was designed by Sheerin & Hennessy and built in 1895. It is a large stone building in the Gothic style and features an attic storey and a prominent central tower. It also includes a brick chapel in a Romanesque-Byzantine style which was designed by Mullane and built in 1939, and which is joined to the monastery by a matching brick cloister. The monastery is a prominent landmark which can be seen from various parts of Kensington and is now listed on the
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 ...
. In the mid-twentieth century, the monastery was the home of the anti-Communist organiser Dr P.J. ('Paddy') Ryan, the popular Catholic controversialist Dr Leslie Rumble, the former athlete Jim Carlton, the retired missionary
Francis Xavier Gsell Francis Xavier Gsell, Order of the British Empire, OBE (30 June 1872 – 12 July 1960) was a German-born Australian Roman Catholic bishop and missionary, known as the "Bishop with 150 wives". He was born at Benfeld, Alsace in 1872. He was ordain ...
and the editor Fr Paul Stenhouse. The monastery published the long-running magazine '' Annals Australasia''. Adjacent to the monastery is the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent, a brick building in Federation Gothic style, which was built in 1897. It was the original site for primary and secondary colleges that were established soon after the construction of the convent, but these soon outgrew the premises. It is now the base for OLSH Provincial House and St Joseph's Aged Care Facility, while Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College is situated next door. Across the road is Our Lady of the Rosary Church (built 1906), Jubilee Hall and the Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, which complete a large religious complex. The convent and church are heritage-listed.


Tram history

The line from
Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...
to West Kensington commenced as a steam powered system in 1881. At this point the line travelled along Crown Street as far as Cleveland Street. The line was then extended to Phillip Street in 1909, Todman Avenue in 1912, and then to its final terminus down Todman Avenue, West Kensington in 1937. The line commencing from the city branched off from the tramlines in
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
and ran down Crown Street to Cleveland Street in Surry Hills, then south along Baptist Street to Phillip Street, where it swung left into Crescent Street before running south along Dowling Street, tuning left into Todman Avenue where it terminated. Services operated full-time from
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 to Railway Square in peak hours. The line down Crown Street closed in 1957, the remainder stayed open until 1961 to allow access to Dowling St Depot, (the current site of the Supa Centa Moore Park – Shopping Centre). As well as servicing West Kensington, tram services also operated on Anzac Parade, servicing the Maroubra and La Perouse line. Tay Park (bounded by Tay Street, Anzac Parade and Alison Road) is the site of the old Toll Bar where local maintenance revenue was collected from 1854 to 1894. The toll was 1 shilling for a four-wheeled wagon drawn by 2 horses.


Commercial area

Kensington is heavily influenced by the University of New South Wales and the racing industry. It has a handful of cafes, restaurants and shops. Kensington has a shopping strip that extends most of the length of Anzac Parade and further south into Kingsford. Peters of Kensington is a well known retail store on Anzac Parade.


Transport

Anzac Parade is the main road through Kensington. Numerous buses frequently service Kensington, linking it with the city and surrounding suburbs. A proposed extension of the
Eastern Suburbs railway line The Eastern Suburbs Railway (ESR) 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 platf ...
to Kingsford was abandoned in 1976. In April 2020, the
CBD and South East Light Rail The CBD and South East Light Rail is a pair of Light rail in Sydney, light rail lines running between Sydney CBD, Sydney's central business district (CBD) and the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Austr ...
from
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 ...
opened.


Geography


Topography

Kensington is located in the geographic zone known as the Botany Lowlands. The sands beneath Kensington act as a large water reservoir. Originally, Kensington was quite rugged, consisting of hills, deep gullies and 768 acres (3.1 km²) of swamps, crossed by the Lachlan Stream. Evidence of the swamps can be seen in the south-west corner of the Royal Randwick Racecourse and the ponds of Centennial Park. After long periods of heavy rain some parts of Kensington are prone to flooding. Today Kensington has been levelled with hills cut down and voids filled with the excess soil from the hills.


Parks, flora and fauna

In the three square kilometres that cover Kensington, there are six parks.
Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
, Bottlebrush,
Waratah Australia’s famous waratah (genus ''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, and Tasmania). The be ...
, Wattles and
Eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
are some of the approximately four hundred native plants found in Kensington. Randwick City Council has recorded approximately two hundred and fifty species of indigenous native vertebrates. Two hundred and six species of native birds have been identified since 1788. The largest park, Kensington Park, covers approximately 2.8 hectares and attracts a wide variety of birdlife, including galahs, crows, ibises and magpies. Parks: * Fitzpatrick Park, Day Avenue * Ingram Street Reserve, Ingram Street * Kokoda Park, Goodwood Street * Raleigh Park, Brompton Road * Wills Reserve, Duke Street * Kensington Park, Edward Avenue


Water supply

Kensington has two natural water sources: the Lachlan Stream and an underground reservoir. Due to water restrictions and council initiatives, more residences are using bore water on their gardens. Others are installing tanks and using 'grey' water.


Demographics

In the , there were people in Kensington. 49.4% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth were
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(excluding Special Administrative Regions and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
) 6.1%,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
2.9%,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
2.9%,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
2.8%, and Malaysia 1.8%. 55.4% of people only spoke English at home; other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 7.9%, Greek 3.8%, Cantonese 3.4%, Spanish 2.6%, and Indonesian 2.3%. The most common responses for religion in Kensington were No Religion 38.0%,
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 ...
20.9,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
6.7%, 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 ...
6.3%; a further 7.2% of respondents elected not to disclose their religion. Of occupied private dwellings in Kensington, 71.4% were flats or apartments, 21.0% were separate houses and 7.0% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc.


Politics

In local government, Kensington is in the West Ward of Randwick City Council. It is in the electorates of Coogee and Heffron for the State parliament; and the Kingsford-Smith electorate represented by
Matt Thistlethwaite Matthew James Thistlethwaite (born 6 September 1972) is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2013, representing the electorate of Division of Kingsford Smith, Kin ...
(
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
) for the
Federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...
.


Schools and churches

*Kensington Public School *Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School * Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College (High School). *
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
*The
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
, located opposite to University of New South Wales on Anzac Parade. *St Martin's Anglican Church *Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church *St George Coptic Orthodox Church *FOCUS Indonesia Church (Gereja Focus Indonesia), UNSW Kensington Campus


Heritage listings

Kensington has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 85 Todman Avenue: ''Carthona'', Kensington Other heritage-listed buildings include: * Sacred Heart Monastery, Roma Avenue * Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent, Kensington Road * Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Kensington Road * Former WD & HO Wills Building, Todman Avenue * Kensington Public School, Doncaster Avenue


Notable people

*
Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak (born 21 January 1983) is an inactive Australian tennis player. Her favourite surface is grass. She has specialised in doubles and has been coached by Tony Roche, former coach of Roger Federer. Adamczak made her debut as a p ...
, tennis player * Jack Aiken, politician * John Beveridge, Mayor of Redfern and businessman *
Lionel Bowen Lionel Frost Bowen (28 December 1922 – 1 April 2012) was an Australian politician. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1977 to 1990 and served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Australia in the Hawke g ...
, politician * Laurie Brereton, politician * Patrick Dougherty, bishop *
Francis Xavier Gsell Francis Xavier Gsell, Order of the British Empire, OBE (30 June 1872 – 12 July 1960) was a German-born Australian Roman Catholic bishop and missionary, known as the "Bishop with 150 wives". He was born at Benfeld, Alsace in 1872. He was ordain ...
, bishop *
William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...
, 20th Prime Minister of Australia * Roy Rene, comedian * Phillip Tahmindjis, speed skater * Koru Tito, priest *
Mervyn Wood Mervyn Thomas Wood, (30 April 1917 – 19 August 2006) was an Australian rower and police officer. He was an eight-time Australian national sculling champion, four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist. He later rose to become the Commi ...
, rower and police officer


References


Citations


Sources

* Destitute Children's Asylum Cemetery. South Eastern Sydney Health Service, 1996, p. 2. * Fitzgibbon, W. (2003, June, 3). Doncaster Plaza Development Approved. Southern Courier, p. 6. * Lawrence, J. (2001). Pictorial History, Randwick. Alexandria, N.S.W: Kingsclear Books. * McMahon, J. F. (1986). Kensington – A Model Suburb. Randwick, N.S.W: Randwick and District Historical Society. * Quick, D. (1985). Randwick- A social History. Kensington, N.S.W: New South Wales University Press. * Randwick Historical Society. (1986). A Randwick Ramble Part 2 – Randwick and Kensington. Randwick, N.S.W: Randwick Historical Society.


External links

* {{Authority control Suburbs of Sydney