HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Redfern is an inner southern suburb of Sydney located south 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
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with
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 ...
. The area experienced the process of
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
and is subject to extensive redevelopment plans by the state government, to increase the population and reduce the concentration of poverty in the suburb and neighbouring Waterloo (see Redfern-Eveleigh-Darlington).


History

The suburb is named after surgeon
William Redfern William Redfern (1775 – 17 July 1833) was the Surgeon’s First Mate aboard HMS ''Standard'' during the May 1797 Nore mutiny, and at a court martial in August 1797 he was sentenced to death for his involvement. His sentence was later commuted ...
, who was granted of land in this area in 1817 by
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
. He built a country house on his property surrounded by flower and kitchen gardens. His neighbours were Captain Cleveland, an officer of the 73rd regiment, who built Cleveland House and John Baptist, who ran a nursery and seed business. Sydney's original railway terminus was built in Cleveland Paddocks and extended from Cleveland Street to Devonshire Street and west to Chippendale. The station's name was chosen to honour William Redfern. At that time, the present Redfern station was known as
Eveleigh Eveleigh is an inner southern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...
. When
Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
was built further north on the site of the Devonshire Street cemetery, Eveleigh station became Redfern and Eveleigh was retained for the name of the
Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops (also known as is a heritage-listed former railway workshop and yard for the New South Wales Government Railways, located in Redfern in Sydney's Inner West. It was designed by George Cowdery and built from 18 ...
, south of the station. The remains of Cleveland Paddocks became Prince Alfred Park. In August 1859, Redfern was incorporated as a borough. The Municipality of Redfern merged with the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...
from 1 January 1949. The first recorded and codified game of
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
in NSW was played in Redfern on the Albert Ground, Redfern between the Rugby Union Club, Waratah, and the
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...
from
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. On 17 January 1908, the
South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...
rugby football club was formed at
Redfern Town Hall The Redfern Town Hall is a landmark sandstone civic building located in the heart of , New South Wales, Australia. built in 1870 and designed in the Victorian Regency style by George Allen Mansfield. It was the seat of the Municipality of Red ...
to compete in the first season of the
New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...
. In the 1960s and 70s, ''
Liquidambar styraciflua ''Liquidambar styraciflua'', commonly known as the American sweetgum among other names, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central A ...
'' trees were planted in Baptist Street in attempts to green and improve the physical environment. The notorious Redfern Mail Exchange was built in 1965, after 300 people were evicted from their homes on the site. It became the scene of many industrial disputes when the automatic mail-sorting machinery, which was supposed to sort mail more efficiently, destroyed many letters and became known as the Redfern Mangler. In the late 1960s and 1970s, a
black power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...
movement, centred around Aboriginal Australian migrants to the city, formed and resulted in the creation of health clinics, food drives, housing co-operatives and a legal aid centre. A
green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They mainly took place in Australia during the 1970s, led by the Bui ...
helped save the Redfern Aboriginal Centre in the 1970s and activists from Redfern created the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra. The 2004 Redfern riots began on 14 February 2004, at the end of Eveleigh Street outside Redfern station, sparked by the death of Thomas 'TJ' Hickey. The teenager, riding on his bicycle, was allegedly being chased by a police vehicle, which led to his impalement on a fence. Members of his family were then reported to have started grieving for TJ around Eveleigh Street with a crowd gathering commiserating with the family. Fliers were distributed blaming police for TJ's death. The police closed the Eveleigh Street entrance to the railway station, but youths in the crowd became violent, throwing bricks and bottles; this escalated into a riot. A subsequent inquest found that although the police were following Hickey, they had not caused the accident, a verdict that caused controversy in Redfern's Indigenous community. The riots sparked fresh debate into the welfare of
Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
and the response of the police to those living in the Redfern area.


Buildings


Commercial area

The main shopping strip is located on Redfern Street, east of Redfern railway station. There are also commercial developments nearby, along Regent Street and surrounding streets. The Redfern skyline is dominated by the TNT Towers and two residential blocks located between Regent Street and Gibbons Street, beside Redfern railway station.


Transport

Redfern railway station, located on the western edge of the suburb is a major station on the
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 ...
network. Redfern is the first station south from Central Sydney terminus on the edge of the city. Redfern station is the closest station to the main campus of the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
at Camperdown and
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
. A near-constant stream of commuters flows from the station along the south side of Lawson Street towards the university in the morning, and back towards the station in a largely hourly rhythm in the afternoon.


Housing

Redfern has many examples of Victorian
terraced housing A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...
similar to other inner suburbs, such as
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 ...
and
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
. Also, like some other inner-city suburbs, some parts of Redfern have been gentrified, whilst still retaining a large
public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
estate shared with Waterloo, consisting of flats, terrace houses and high rise apartment blocks, developing a similar reputation to the former block on the other side of the suburb.


Churches and schools

St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church is on Redfern Street. St Saviour's Anglican Church (which is also known as one1seven church) is on Young Street. St George Antioch Orthodox Church is on the corner of Walker Street and Cooper Street built by the historic Lebanese community in the area. The Greek Orthodox Church in Cleveland Street is called the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady, formerly St Paul's Church of England built in 1848 and designed by
Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour), St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulbu ...
. The St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College sits beside it.
Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a charismatic Christian megachurch and a Christian association of churches based in Australia. The original church was established in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, as Hills Christian Life Centr ...
's city campus is at 188 Young Street. There is also another cathedral, the St Maroun’s Cathedral for the Lebanese community. File:Redfern Greek church.JPG, Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady File:Redfern church 1.JPG, St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church File:Redfern Church 3.JPG, St George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral File:One1seven church (St Saviour's Anglican Church).jpg, one seven church (St Saviour's Anglican Church) File:Redfern Theological College.JPG, Redfern Theological College File:Redfern Town Hall.JPG,
Redfern Town Hall The Redfern Town Hall is a landmark sandstone civic building located in the heart of , New South Wales, Australia. built in 1870 and designed in the Victorian Regency style by George Allen Mansfield. It was the seat of the Municipality of Red ...


Heritage buildings

Redfern has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *242 Cleveland Street: Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady * Elizabeth, Redfern, Chalmers, and Phillip Streets: Redfern Oval * 18 George Street: Redfern Aboriginal Children's Services *
Main Suburban railway line The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Main Southe ...
: Eveleigh Chief Mechanical Engineer's office,
Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops (also known as is a heritage-listed former railway workshop and yard for the New South Wales Government Railways, located in Redfern in Sydney's Inner West. It was designed by George Cowdery and built from 18 ...
and
machinery A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...
* Main Suburban railway line: Redfern railway station * 6–18 Pitt Street: Fitzroy Terrace, Redfern * 113 Redfern Street: Redfern Post Office


Other notable buildings

The Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern is at 82–88 Renwick Street.


Demographics

At the , Redfern had a population of 13,072, compared to 14,616 at the . In 2021, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
Islander people making up 3.2% of the population and 52.0% of the population were born overseas. The most common countries of birth were England 4.8%, China 4.3%, New Zealand 3.0%, United States of America 1.4% and India 1.4%. 65.0% of the population only spoke English at home, with the most important other languages being Mandarin (3.6%), Spanish (2.9%), Cantonese (2.1%), Greek (1.5%) and Russian (1.4%). 53.7% of the population marked no religion, higher than the national average. 14.2% were Catholic, 4.8% Anglican and 3.5% Buddhist. Redfern has become increasingly
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 ...
, with many medium and high density developments replacing low density and industrial developments. In 2021, 68.1% of residences were flats and 28.6% were semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. Redfern has been characterised by successive migrant populations. In the late 19th century, local businessmen George Dan in 1890, Stanton and Aziz Melick in 1888 and Shafiqah Shasha and Anthony and Simon Coorey in the 1890s were from
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
.


Community

' The Block' is an area in the immediate vicinity of Redfern station bounded by Eveleigh, Caroline, Louis and Vine Streets. The Aboriginal Housing Company (AHC) was set up as the first urban Aboriginal community housing provider, using grant money to purchase the houses on the Block. As a result, the area is important to the Aboriginal community. Eveleigh Street, which is part of 'The Block', is well known for its community. In 2004, much of the Eveleigh Street housing was demolished with plans for redevelopment, but it is still an area around which many people congregate. The AHC's plans for redevelopment are known as the Pemulwuuy Project. The plans were approved in 2009. Artwork on the outside of the local police boys club (PCYC) was made in the early 1990s. The front wall has a mural of a picture taken at Cleveland Street High School of a day when Dwayne "the D Train" McClain (former
Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...
player) visited the school. The picture has local sports stars such as Richard Bell, Bruce Swanson, Rossie Symmans, Nicholas Murray, Nathan Denzil, Jamie Sharpe, Lisa Mundine and Margaret Sutherland. The mural was painted by probably the most notable artist of the 90's in the Redfern district, Sir Joseph Phillips.


Sport and recreation

A number of sporting teams represent the local area. The
South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...
NRL club was formed at the
Redfern Town Hall The Redfern Town Hall is a landmark sandstone civic building located in the heart of , New South Wales, Australia. built in 1870 and designed in the Victorian Regency style by George Allen Mansfield. It was the seat of the Municipality of Red ...
on 17 January 1908. One of the oldest Aboriginal rugby league teams in Australia, the Redfern All Blacks, play at Redfern Oval. The Redfern Raiders Soccer Club is a local Junior Soccer Club. Redfern Gym opened in 1985 and many boxing world champions have trained there. Nikita Ridgeway established Australia's first indigenous
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
record label with her brother Stephen. Called Redfern Records, the label was named after the Sydney neighbourhood of Redfern they grew up in. A wall with a mural dedicated to one of the first Women in Rugby League was painted to honour Maggie Moloney, in 2022.


Streets and Squares


St Paul's Place

St Paul's Place is at the intersection of Cleveland Street and Regent Street in Redfern, bordering the suburb of Chippendale. Named in 1924, the square is the subject and title of the 1995 oil painting by Archibald prize-winning artist Nicholas Harding and is the current official place name according to the City of Sydney Spatial Services department as of 2023.


History

In 1915, the site is pictured as the intersection of two tram lines. The square was officially named St Paul's Place in 1924. Correspondence relating to the naming of the intersection is documented in the Town Clerk's Department Correspondence Files between 7 October 1924 and 19 December 1924. The site also goes by the name St Paul's Square in the Dictionary of Sydney and on the City of Sydney History of Prince Alfred Park website. On 25 January 1930, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the City Commissioners and the Main Roads Board agreed to progressively widen Cleveland Street between the Princes Highway and St Paul's Place, and between St Paul's Place and Chalmers Street. The square is portrayed in a number of photos held in the City of Sydney Archives. In the 1930s the road was re-aligned and resurfaced. City of Sydney archive photos depict the road before and after, however it is unclear whether the metadata specifies a date of 1939 or 1933. Towards the south-east a Shell Service Station and the Camden Vale Milk Co Ltd building is visible in these photos and described in the captions. In 1954 a nameplate was installed bearing the name, along with four directional signs to St Pauls Church (now named Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady). A 1980 photograph depicted heavy traffic, and political graffiti where advertisements are currently located. In 1991 the square was named in multiple photographs, one mentioning the road being widened and one stating "The intersection has been widened so that the traffic crossing Cleveland Street get a straighter flow."


Depictions in art

Between 1993 and 1995, Archibald prize winning artist Nicholas Harding created the painting titled "St Paul's Place, Redfern". He used oil on canvas on hardboard. It was most recently exhibited at the S.H Ervin gallery in The Rocks, in the exhibition "Margaret Olley: painter, peer, mentor, muse" in 2017. It is in the collection of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...
.


Depictions in maps

The City of Sydney Aerial Photographic Survey of 1949 displays photographs 82 and 83 with St Pauls Place in the title. The 1939 - 1952 City of Sydney Civic Survey depicts St Paul's Place on the map of Redfern (Map 18). In 2004, the square was depicted in the UBD Street Directory as St Paul's Place. The City of Sydney Spatial Services department of the City of Sydney names St Paul's Place as the site name of the intersection in their internal GIS software as of 2023. The address of the intersection, with object 14244 is recorded as 4010 St Paul's Place, Redfern, 2016.


Advertising in St Paul's Place

In 1999, a development application for two sign structures to be built on council land was rejected. As of August 2024
OpenStreetMap
depicts at least 19 large format advertising billboards in St Paul's Place.


Future

The Redfern Estate Heritage Conservation Area page on the Department of Planning and Environment website in 2021 stated that recommended management included "Interpret original subdivision of Redfern Estate, and St Pauls Place" under "Protection of Significance", and "Interpret St. Pauls Place" under "Enhance Significance of Area".


In popular culture

The 2011 Australian drama series '' Underbelly: Razor'' and 2012 Australian drama series ''
Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series featuring the lives of Aboriginal Australian families living in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. A second season followed in 2013, and the ser ...
'' were filmed on location in Redfern.


Notable people

* Col James (1936-2013), architect and activist * Sydney Sim (1920–1990), second World War signalman *
Neddy Smith Arthur Stanley "Neddy" Smith (27 November 1944 – 8 September 2021) was an Australian criminal who was convicted of drug trafficking, theft, rape, armed robbery, and murder. Smith served a life sentence since 1989 and was imprisoned in Lithgow ...
(1944-2021), one of Australia's most famous criminals, associated with NSW police corruption *
The Kid Laroi Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), known professionally as the Kid Laroi (stylized as The Kid LAROI), is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was first discovered by Triple J Unearthed in 2016 at the age of 13. As ...
(2003-) Australian singer-songwriter and rapper


See also

* Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern * Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) * Redfern Oval *
Redfern Town Hall The Redfern Town Hall is a landmark sandstone civic building located in the heart of , New South Wales, Australia. built in 1870 and designed in the Victorian Regency style by George Allen Mansfield. It was the seat of the Municipality of Red ...
* Redfern Legal Centre * Redfern All Blacks * ''
Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series featuring the lives of Aboriginal Australian families living in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. A second season followed in 2013, and the ser ...
'' * Story Factory * Tribal Warrior


References


Further reading

* Anne-Marie Whitaker. ''Pictorial History of South Sydney.'' Published by Kingsclear Books, Australia. 2002. ()


External links


Redfern Oral HistoryCity of Sydney - Our villages - Redfern StreetRedfern-Waterloo Authority

Local Residents Group

Local Community Centre

Redfern Life Project
* CC-By-SA">Creative_Commons_license.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA/nowiki> {{South Sydney Rabbitohs Redfern, New South Wales"> Suburbs of Sydney Green bans">Suburbs of Sydney">Redfern, New South Wales"> Suburbs of Sydney Green bans