Clovelly 2031

This small hamlet retains a prestigious and secluded village like vibe. The suburb is nestled in a steep cove of finest Sydney sandstone. It used to be called ‘Little Coogee’ after the larger crescent like beach to its south, beyond Gordon’s Bay. It has not always been the exclusive domain of the rich and influential of Sydney’s eastern foreshores, Locals today may be surprised to learn that at one point, Clovelly was known as ‘Poverty Point’.

Hunting and fishing attracted early Europeans to the locality. In 1834 a clerk of the Colonial Secretary’s office William Charles Greville paid £40 for 20 acres on the beachfront at Little Coogee cove. Greville Street takes its name from this European pioneer. A succession of wealthy owners built upon the foundations he established. Dr John Dixon, built a mansion named ‘Rock Brook’ with elaborate gardens in the grounds. He was later the first returning officer for the Randwick Municipal elections in 1859. He sold the estate in 1860 to John Campbell, who renamed the mansion ‘Aberburnie’. Campbell sold it two years later to George Renwick, who very quickly also sold the property to Samual Bennett, owner of The Australian Town and Country Journal, one of the most influential newspapers of the day. Bennett built the locally 'famous' castellated Mundarrah Towers absorbing Dixon’s original house, and dominating the area. The building was later demolished in 1926, to make way for suburban development. 

A public infants school was operating in Little Coogee as early as 1897, in the Mission Hall of the Church of England in Varna Street. Eliza McDonnell was the teacher with an average attendance of 76 pupils. Clovelly Public School officially dates from 1913. The Department of Education provided permanent accommodation for a public school in Arden Street, Clovelly.

Clovelly’s subdivision began in earnest in 1909, the local progress association argued that there were 717 houses constructed within metres of the proposed tram route that had not yet been completed. This pushed the extension of the tramline, with it's completion in 1913 causing the foundation of ‘modern’ Clovelly. 

In 1914 a competition was instigated by the Little Coogee Progress Association, with a call for suggested names for the hamlet. ‘Clovelly’, the seaside fishing village in Devon, England, suggested by the president of the local progress association Mr F H Howe, eclipsed the next favoured suggestion of ‘Eastbourne’. Eastbourne Avenue running along the northern side of the escarpment honours this popular second choice. Why Clovelly was so popular no one knows, but the impetus for the competition had been the extension of the tram line to ‘Little Coogee’ and as such to avoid confusion between the destinations. Thus modern ‘Clovelly’ was born. Early Clovelly homes were mainly modest in nature. Centering on Northumberland, Campbell and Boundary Streets. Further west in Greville Street the houses were often composites of some sandstone quarried in nearby Knox and Fewings Streets. This local stone was also used for municipal purposes. Shark Point at Clovelly was a defence fortress from 1879 when the coastal defences were reinforced due to the Crimean War and fears of a Russian invasion. Canon fortresses buttressed the coastline, south from Botany Bay to the entrance to the harbour at South Head and beyond.

By the 1920s the suburb was booming, as was much of the north of the municipality. Mundarrah Towers made way for the beloved local watering hole of the Clovelly Hotel. During the Great Depression of 1929-1933 public works along the shores of Clovelly Cove, kept local men employed and their families fed. The concrete platforms of this era were also meant to be linked by a causeway at the mouth of the bay, suitable for motor transport, and to make access to the bay's foreshores easier for bathers. A severe storm in 1938 destroyed the causeway project and it was abandoned. At low tide, the remains of this infrastructure project are exposed. They have formed a protective reef like barrier to the natural underwater environment.

1907 marked the formation of the Clovelly SLSC. On the 5th of December 1927, five lads exploring the rocks on the point at Clovelly got caught by a rising high tide. This incident became known as ‘The Rescue off Schnapper Rocks’. The rescue is the pinnacle of heroism in the club's history. Clovelly residents watched as over 30 life savers rescued four of the five youths. 19-year-old Thomas Wooldridge was unable to be saved and drowned. Surf Life Saving has been a predominate part of the culture and heritage of this scenic coastal suburb. Competitive swimming is also a dominate part of life in this idyllic coastal location.

Linda McIntosh grew up in Clovelly and spent much of her married life there. She remembers the area being referred to as ‘Poverty Point’ by the taxi drivers who picked up her mother at Bondi after shopping. Some refused to transport the family for fear of fare evasion at the destination. Hear more of Linda’s anecdotes in her oral history podcast from our Local Legends. With the advent of television, the Clovelly Kings Cinema closed its doors in 1959, and was revived as the Clovelly RSL, until it too closed its doors. The building was knocked down all excepting its ocean liner façade to make way for an apartment complex. The Clovelly Cinema also suffered the same fate much earlier, demolished to make way for a petrol station.

Clovelly has a population of 5019 at the 2021 ABS census 54.9% of households in Clovelly earnt more than $3000 per week, and it is affectionately referred to as "Cloey" by many residents and locals.