Randwick 2031

The name 'Randwick' was bestowed upon our suburb by Simeon Henry Pearce who immigrated from Randwick in Gloucestershire, England in 1842. But how did we come to have such an English vibe in our suburb once the Europeans recognised the natural beauty of the district.

The Sydney village of Randwick was not officially gazetted, as was Coogee. There are four contributing factors influencing the establishment of Randwick as an English classical village. 

Firstly, Anglican Bishop Barker of Sydney visited the Commissioner of Lands for NSW, Simeon Pearce and his wife Alice, at Randwick in 1855. Pearce who was living in Blenheim House at the time with his brood of children, became the first Mayor of Randwick shortly after in 1859. Blenheim House originally commanded impressive views from the Randwick ridge down to the ocean and back across western Sydney. Bishop Barker convinced the diocese to locate the home of the Bishop of Sydney, "Bishopscourt', in Randwick rather than on land in Newtown as it was intended, seeing the prosperity of the Pearce family, prosperous market gardeners, and the desirability of the land in a high location with ocean and city views. With this decision, the social milieu of Randwick village was dominated by the Barkers and the Pearce family.

The second critical factor in attracting the well to do of Sydney to the area of Randwick was the establishment of the Randwick Destitute Children's' Asylum, on Avoca Street. The main building on Avoca Street was designed by Australian architect Sir Edmund Blackett. He also designed the quadrangle building at University of Sydney and St Andrews Cathedral Sydney amongst other landmarks. Randwick’s Blackett building was the location of the first Randwick Borough Council meeting in February 1859. This charitable orphanage complex for ‘at risk’ children of the era, opened the year before Council’s formation in 1858. Opera soprano Catherine Hayes also donated enough funds to construct ‘The Catherine Hayes Building’ south of the main complex. These grand sandstone buildings now make up part of Prince of Wales Hospital, still imposing structures in Randwick's modern landscape. The ‘respectable’ façade of the asylum complex hid the sad truth for the children living within. There is a children’s cemetery with the graves of many of the children who perished at the asylum. Some of these children succumbed to communicable diseases but others also suffered abuse at the hands of staff managing the facility. The asylum closed its doors in 1917. The buildings then became the 4th Australian General Military Hospital during World War One and into the interwar period. Repatriated and rehabilitated soldiers from the conflict were a common sight at this facility but many were also ‘billeted’ to the grand residences of Randwick such as ‘Nugall Hall’. Randwick was part of their respite from the trauma of war, during many soldier's recovery from the physical and psychological impact of war injuries and necessary physical restoration. The asylum edifices helped Simeon Pearce's case in attracting the well healed members of Sydney society to the suburb.

Before this, Randwick in the first half of the nineteenth century was dominated by market gardeners in their modest houses surrounded by garden plots. Pearce envisaged that Sydney's society elite would build grand houses and thus lay the foundations for a well to do area. The elevated geography along a ridge line and the panoramic coastal views, were all known to the local Aboriginal peoples. This helped cement the district as a desirable and affluent enclave of Sydney. Overcrowding in the inner city of Sydney, creating unhygienic slum pockets also influenced the affluent to take advantage of the view and ‘fresh air’ that Randwick and Coogee afforded. Eventually even the market gardening families made good and built imposing residences. A classic example of this architecture would be the Napper Terraces in Avoca Street, once opposite the Captain Cook statue but demolished in the mid twentieth century. We still enjoy the architectural amenity of this era in Randwick City today. Many grand and ornate homes constructed in the mid to late Victorian era Randwick is defined by its lovely, serene boulevards, such as Avonmore Terrace in The Avenue, making it one of the most desirable suburbs in Sydney even to this day. Interwar housing shortages did not diminish this charm with Randwick (and Coogee) boasting some of the most charming and sought after Art Deco apartments in Sydney.

Thirdly, vital and not an intentional factor in the establishment of the Randwick village was the construction of the St Jude's Anglican Church in Avoca Street Randwick. The current church was opened in 1865 after much controversy and legal argument over its location. It speaks to the pervasive influence of Simeon Pearce and his determination to ‘recreate’ his birthplace in the colony. St Jude's became the epicentre of village life in Randwick, just as in the English villages of Pearce's homeland. A thorough analysis of the ‘St Jude’s Case’ by our library namesake Lionel Frost Bowen is available in our collection.

Randwick Racecourse, another landmark, was the fourth cultural influence in shaping the history of Randwick suburb. Established early in the colony's history, Randwick Racecourse hosted its first race on 17 April 1833.  Since these times, the racecourse has hosted centuries of champions, bookies, jockeys, and trainers. Punters from all over Sydney have arrived by coach and horse, trams, cars and soon to be built light rail system. Racing legends make for a colourful component to our suburban history, both on and off the track. Successful jockeys and bookmakers at Randwick Racecourse, aspired to and built many of the grand Randwick homes. Many also ran stables in Kensington and Randwick. Up until recent decades it was common to see racehorses arriving through the streets of the City at Coogee Beach to swim and exercise in the ocean. Complaints from locals to the Council about the noise of horse hooves in their streets might have also compunded the health concerns caused by animals and humans bathing together at the beach.

Whilst Randwick suburb remains residential, the suburb has also been home to industry. The Tramway Workshops were a huge industrial site, employing hundreds of men in the construction and maintenance of Sydney's trams, and after the demise of the tram network in 1961, Sydney’s Buses. The chimney stack remains in King Street as the only reminder of this large industrial site, where trams were repaired and served as terminus sheds for the trams. Fr Shaw’s Wireless Works, innovative for its era, on the corner of Avoca Street and Frenchman’s road was another local industrial hub in Randwick. The site became mired in controversy when the Australian Air Force took over the complex and developed the Wackett Widgeon onsite. Since the mid twentieth century, another large institution in the suburb of Randwick is the upper campus of the University of New South Wales. The extension of the campus further up High Street absorbed the former Randwick Municipal Golf Course (relocated to Malabar in the 1950s).

Some of Randwick's architecture has been lost to decay and redevelopment. Behind the Fences of Randwick, is the detailed research by former Randwick Mayor, Councillor Kathy Neilson. With often only the grand fences of a demolished building, Kathy has pieced together a fascinating look at the 'lost' buildings of Randwick's recent past.