Waverley is a suburb in the Eastern suburbs 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. Waverley is located seven kilometres 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 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 ...

Waverley Council Waverley Council is a Local government in Australia, Local government area in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, ...

takes its name from the suburb but its administrative centre is located in the adjacent suburb of

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 ...

, which is also a major commercial centre. Waverley is the highest point of altitude in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

History

Waverley takes its name from a home built near

Old South Head Road Old South Head Road is a major road in Sydney, linking the eastern suburb of Bondi Junction to Watsons Bay on the South Head peninsula. It is historically significant because its earliest origins can be traced back to the early days of the co ...

in 1827 by

Barnett Levey Barnett Levey (1798 – 2 October 1837) was a Jewish English–Australian merchant and theatre director. Levey was born in London and migrated to Sydney in December 1821 as the first free Jewish settler. From 1826 Levey had joined concerts as a s ...

(or Levy) (1798–1837). It was named Waverley House, after the title of his favourite book, ''Waverley'', by author

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in June 1859. The house was a distinctive landmark and gave its name to the surrounding suburb.

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

(South Head General Cemetery) was established in 1877 and is one of Australia's most notable cemeteries due to its cliff-side location. The cemetery features the graves of several notable Australians including poet Henry Kendall and aviator

Lawrence Hargrave Lawrence Hargrave, MRAeS, (29 January 18506 July 1915) was an Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. He was perhaps best known for inventing the box kite, which was quickly adopted by other aircraft desig ...

. Edina, a late

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

mansion built on a grand scale in Birrell Street by

Ebenezer Vickery Ebenezer Vickery (1 March 1827 – 20 August 1906) was an Australian businessman, pastoralist and philanthropist. Early life Ebenezer was born in London and arrived in Sydney with his parents and siblings aboard the ''Richard Reynolds'' in ...

for himself and his family, was completed around 1884. Vickery was a leading merchant and a prominent patron of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. Other buildings in the group include Banksia, Witchagil and the Nellie Vickery Memorial Chapel. Banksia and Witchagil are two-storey villas that Vickery built for his sons. This distinguished group of Victorian buildings is now used as the

War Memorial Hospital War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

. Edina, Banksia and Witchagil are 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 ...

. Other heritage items in Waverley include the two weatherboard cottages in Judges Lane, off Bronte Road. A building in Waverley once collapsed into a large hole that swallowed ten houses and an entire street.

Heritage listings

Waverley has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 240 Birrell Street:

St Mary's Anglican Church, Waverley St Mary's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church and associated facilities located at 240 Birrell Street, Waverley, New South Wales, Australia. The church was designed by Edmund Blacket and built between 1863 and 1864. It is very w ...

* 45 Victoria Street:

Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Waverley Mary Immaculate Church is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church and friary at 45 Victoria Street, Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Sheerin & Hennessy and built from 1890 to 1929 by John Ptolomy and by W. J. Bo ...

, designed by John Hennessy in 1912. Its twin-towered design is said to be reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance and is an example of the Federation Academic Classical style. * Victoria Street, Presbyterian Church (Jubilee Church currently) was designed by Sydney architects Messrs Nixon and Allen. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs. Grahame on 8 May 1897. * Victoria Street, the Catholic Friary was demolished in 1985 after sustaining extensive fire damage (see gallery below).

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 4,216 people in Waverley. 58.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 8.9% and New Zealand 2.9%. 75.3% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.3% and Catholic 25.0%.

Commercial area

Waverley is mostly residential with a scattering of commercial developments, centred on the road junction known as

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

Schools

Waverley is home to a number of schools including Waverley Public School (state primary), the suburb includes: *

Waverley College Waverley College is a dual-campus independent Catholic early learning, primary and secondary day school for boys, located on Birrell and Henrietta Street in Waverley, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The school was founded by the C ...

is a Christian Brothers school for boys made up of Our Lady's Mount Campus in Birrell Street, (Senior School Years 7-12), Waterford Campus in Henrietta Street (Junior School Years 5–6) and Waterford Pre School. * St Catherine's School is an Anglican, Day and

Boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls, located in Albion Street. * St Clare's College is a Catholic, high school for girls in Church Street. * St Charles' Primary School, Waverley. A Catholic primary school next door to St Clare's.

Sport and recreation

Waverley is represented in one of the most popular sporting competitions across Australia, the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

competition, by the local team the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

, officially the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC). The following clubs are located in or represent the Waverley area: *

Rugby League Club (based at the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, in Bondi Junction). *

Waverley Rugby Club The Waverley Rugby Football and Sporting Club (Waverley RF&SC) is an Australian rugby club that was founded in 1971 by ex-students of the neighbouring Waverley College and their friends from other local schools. As the Club developed during the ...

- Rugby Union *

Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club is a cricket club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They are also known as the Eastern Suburbs or latterly Easts Cricket Club and play in the Sydney Grade Cricket NSW Premier Cric ...

* Bondi United - Rugby League * Waverley Bowling Club * St Charles Waverley - Rugby League * * Waverley Old Boys Football Club - Football (Soccer) * Waverley Amateur Radio Society - The oldest continuously licensed amateur radio club in Australia. The society was founded in Waverley in 1919 and is now located in nearby Rose Bay

Notable people

Current and former notable residents include: *

Millicent Armstrong Millicent Sylvia Armstrong (1 May 1888 – 18 November 1973) was an Australian playwright and farmer who wrote primarily about the experiences of country life in early 20th century Australia. She worked as an orderley in World War I in France, ...

(1888–1973), born in Waverley, was a playwright and farmer who wrote primarily about the experiences of country life in early 20th century Australia. * Susan Cullen-Ward (1941–2004), Crown Princess of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. *

Queen Mary of Denmark Mary (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Frederik X. Mary met Frederik (then Crown Prince of Denmark) while attending the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. They married on 14 May 2004 at ...

(née Mary Donaldson) (born 1972), a resident of Porter Street near Bronte Road, and formerly involved in Eastern Suburbs real estate before her marriage to then Crown Prince Frederik. *

Reg Lindsay Reginald John Lindsay OAM (7 July 1929 – 5 August 2008) was an Australian country music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and radio and television personality. He won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than 500 ...

(1929–2008), country music star. Lindsay was born in Waverley. * Pakie Macdougall was born here in 1875. She was a leading figure of the art scene in Sydney in the 1930s *

Princess Michael of Kent Princess Michael of Kent (born Baroness Marie-Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida von Reibnitz, 15 January 1945) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of George V, King George V. Prince ...

(born 1945) *

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

(born 1968), 30th

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

(2018–2022). Morrison was born in Waverley. * Elizabeth Julia Reid (1915–1974), born in Waverley, was a Catholic journalist and Grail movement leader. *

Bob Windle Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal. Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m ...

, gold medalist in the 1500m freestyle at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. Windle spent his formative years in the suburb.

Gallery

Schools and churches Image:Waverley St Marys Anglican Church.JPG, St. Mary's Anglican Church Image:(1)Mary_Immaculate_Church_013.jpg, Mary Immaculate Church Image:Waverley Jubilee International Church.JPG, Jubilee International Church (formerly Presbyterian Church, 1897) Image:(1)Catholic_Friary_Waverley(now_demolished).jpg, Catholic Friary, Victoria Street, before demolition in 1985 Image:(1)St_Catherines_School-1a.jpg, Former home (c.1891) acquired by St Catherine's School in 1957 Image:Waverley College The Grange.JPG, The Grange, Waverley College

Local landmarks

Heritage-listed items in the Waverley area include the following:Waverley Council Website
/ref> * Mary Immaculate Church group, Victoria Street * St Marys Anglican Church and pipe organ, Birrell Street * Waverley Reservoir No.1, Paul Street * Avondale, St Marys Avenue * War Memorial Hospital group of buildings, Birrell Street * Bronte Public School, Hewlett Street * Bronte View, St Thomas Street * Cadore, Henry Street * Carthona, Birrell Street * Chapel, St Clares Convent, Carrington Road * Char Nez, Brown Street * Charing Cross hotel, Carrington Road * Moana, Gardyne Street * Simpson Park, Macpherson Street * Sonoma, Bronte Road * Stone buildings, Waverley Cemetery

References

Citations

Sources

2016 Census Information

External links

Official Waverley Cemetery Website
{{Authority control Suburbs of Sydney Waverley Council Populated places established in the 19th century