Potts Point, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Potts Point is a small, densely-populated suburb of inner-city Sydney
, in the state of New South Wales
, Australia
. Potts Point is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district
and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney
.
Potts Point sits on a ridge immediately east of Woolloomooloo
, west of Elizabeth Bay
and Rushcutters Bay
and north of Darlinghurst
. The suburb has a roughly trapezoidal shape, and at its greatest extent is no more than 1 kilometre long by 200 metres wide. Potts Point's eastern boundary is Macleay Street. The suburb's other boundaries include Darlinghurst Road to the southeast, William Street to the south, Brougham Street and part of Cowper Road to the west.
is not an officially designated suburb of Sydney, but rather a locality encompassed entirely by the suburbs of Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay. Kings Cross is a commercial area that is dominated by bars, restaurants, nightclubs, strip clubs and adult bookstores. Kings Cross railway station
is situated beneath Darlinghurst Road and the Garden Island
facility of the Royal Australian Navy
sits on the north end of Potts Point.
, who was employed by the Bank of New South Wales. He purchased six-and-a-half acres of harbourside land in an area then known as Woolloomooloo Hill - which he renamed Potts Point.
Much of the area that today comprises Potts Point and the adjacent suburb of Elizabeth Bay, originally constituted part of a land grant to Alexander Macleay
, who was the New South Wales
Colonial Secretary from 1826 to 1837, and for whom Macleay Street is named. NSW Judge Advocate, John Wylde
(for whom Wylde Street is named) was another 19th-century public servant who owned land in the area.
mansions were built along the high point of the suburb's ridge line. Several of these survive (albeit much hemmed in by later buildings), including 'Rockwall House' and 'Tusculum'. Rockwall House, located in Rockwall Crescent, is a two-storey (plus cellar) sandstone villa with five bays and a verandah that encircles the house. It was one of the earlier homes designed by architect John Verge
and was built from 1831 to 1837. It is the only one of these which has a garden and is in private ownership. The building is now listed on the Register of the National Estate
.
Tusculum, located in Manning Street, is a two-storey Regency mansion that was also designed by John Verge. His client was the merchant A.B.Spark, for whom the house was built in 1831-35. It was a twin to Rockwell House and was enlarged in the 1870s by the addition of verandahs on three sides. The first tenant was Bishop Broughton. Tusculum now serves as the headquarters for the NSW chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects
. Like Rockwall House, it is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Other heritage buildings in the area include the Mansions Terrace in Bayswater Road; the terrace and townhouse group extending from 13-29 Challis Avenue; the group of Late Victorian terraces from 1-13 Kellett Street; the gazebo in HMAS Kuttabul; and Bomera and Tarana on the corner of Wylde Street and Cowper Wharf Roadway. These buildings are all listed on the Register of the National Estate.
In 1871, Edmund Blacket
built Stramshall in Macleay Street for the Horden family of merchants. Thomas Rowe
made further additions in 1877. The house was later known as Jenner House and was taken over by the Department of Defence, who sold it to the horse breeder Tony Peterson in 1998. Peterson sold the house for $15 million in 2009. The house was listed by the National Trust
in 1967.
Most of the other mansions, such as Orwell, have survived only as street name
s. The area also boasts many fine Victorian-era
terraces. These are chiefly located along Victoria Street, which bisects Potts Point from north to south, and is widely known for its impressive canopy of plane trees.
the area was intensively developed along those lines. As a result, it boasts the highest concentration of Art Deco
architecture in Australia. Amongst the most notable examples are the "Macleay Regis", "Cahors" and "Franconia" apartment buildings in Macleay Street, and what are arguably two of the finest Streamline Moderne
buildings in Australia: the Minerva (or Metro) Theatre and the Minerva Building in Orwell Street. The Metro Theatre (as it was then known) was designed by Bruce Dellit and built in 1940. It was the site of the first Australian production of the musical Hair
in 1970, and is heritage-listed.
During the Vietnam War
, the Darlinghurst Road precinct (commonly known as Kings Cross
), which straddles Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay, became a popular destination for US military personnel on R&R - due chiefly to its proximity to a major naval facility. Partially as a result of this, the area attracted organised crime syndicates and developed an unsavoury reputation as Australia's drugs and prostitution
capital. Dozens of hotels constructed at the time ensured that "The Cross" remained a tourism mecca well into the 1990s.
In 1964, the Rev. Ted Noffs started the Wayside Chapel
, an unorthodox Methodist ministry to the Kings Cross area. It began as a small drop-in centre in a block of flats at 29 Hughes Street, and grew into a complex that occupies two blocks of flats. It is a major welfare and community centre in the area.
- although the continued presence of a number of large and small backpacker hostels in Victoria Street and surrounding streets and dozens of pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and similar venues have confirmed the suburb's role as one of Sydney's leading entertainment precincts. In 2003-4 Sydney City Council undertook a major streetscape upgrade centred on Darlinghurst Road and the southern part of Macleay Street, involving footpath-widening, roadside tree-plantings and the installation of new paving, street furniture
and lighting. Plans to force the replacement of historic neon shopfront and awning signage
on strip clubs and other adult commercial premises in the area with generic signage proved more controversial and have not been implemented.
is an underground station at Potts Point, on the Eastern Suburbs railway line of the CityRail
network.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Potts Point is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...
.
Potts Point sits on a ridge immediately east of Woolloomooloo
Woolloomooloo, New South Wales
Woolloomooloo is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is located 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb is located in a low-lying, former...
, west of Elizabeth Bay
Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales
Elizabeth Bay is a harbourside suburb in eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Elizabeth Bay is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney....
and Rushcutters Bay
Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales
Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rushcutters Bay is located 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
and north of Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
. The suburb has a roughly trapezoidal shape, and at its greatest extent is no more than 1 kilometre long by 200 metres wide. Potts Point's eastern boundary is Macleay Street. The suburb's other boundaries include Darlinghurst Road to the southeast, William Street to the south, Brougham Street and part of Cowper Road to the west.
Kings Cross and Garden Island
Kings CrossKings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
is not an officially designated suburb of Sydney, but rather a locality encompassed entirely by the suburbs of Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay. Kings Cross is a commercial area that is dominated by bars, restaurants, nightclubs, strip clubs and adult bookstores. Kings Cross railway station
Kings Cross railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:Outbound bus services:*200 - Bondi Junction via Edgecliff*311 - Circular Quay via Elizabeth Bay and Woolloomooloo*323 - Dover Heights via Edgecliff, New South Head Road*324 - Watsons Bay via Edgecliff, New South Head Road...
is situated beneath Darlinghurst Road and the Garden Island
Garden Island, New South Wales
Garden Island is an inner-city locality of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located to the north-east of the Sydney central business district, north of the suburb of Potts Point....
facility of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
sits on the north end of Potts Point.
History
Potts Point is named for Joseph Hyde PottsJoseph Hyde Potts
Joseph Hyde Potts was an accountant and in 1817 was the first employee to be engaged by theBank of New South Wales .....
, who was employed by the Bank of New South Wales. He purchased six-and-a-half acres of harbourside land in an area then known as Woolloomooloo Hill - which he renamed Potts Point.
Much of the area that today comprises Potts Point and the adjacent suburb of Elizabeth Bay, originally constituted part of a land grant to Alexander Macleay
Alexander Macleay
Hon. Alexander Macleay MLC FLS FRS was a leading member of the Linnean Society and a fellow of the Royal Society.Macleay was born on Ross-shire, Scotland, eldest son of William Macleay, provost of Wick...
, who was the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Colonial Secretary from 1826 to 1837, and for whom Macleay Street is named. NSW Judge Advocate, John Wylde
John Wylde
Sir John Wylde was Chief Justice of the Cape Colony, Cape of Good Hope and a judge of the Supreme Court of the colony of New South Wales born at Warwick Square, Newgate Street, London.-Member of a family of lawyers:...
(for whom Wylde Street is named) was another 19th-century public servant who owned land in the area.
19th century
The area was further subdivided after Macleay's time, and a number of grand GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
mansions were built along the high point of the suburb's ridge line. Several of these survive (albeit much hemmed in by later buildings), including 'Rockwall House' and 'Tusculum'. Rockwall House, located in Rockwall Crescent, is a two-storey (plus cellar) sandstone villa with five bays and a verandah that encircles the house. It was one of the earlier homes designed by architect John Verge
John Verge
John Verge was an English architect, builder, pioneer settler of New South Wales, who migrated to Australia and pursued his career there. Verge was one of the earliest and the most important architect of the Greek Revival in Australia. He also brought more comprehensive range of Regency style than...
and was built from 1831 to 1837. It is the only one of these which has a garden and is in private ownership. The building is now listed on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.
Tusculum, located in Manning Street, is a two-storey Regency mansion that was also designed by John Verge. His client was the merchant A.B.Spark, for whom the house was built in 1831-35. It was a twin to Rockwell House and was enlarged in the 1870s by the addition of verandahs on three sides. The first tenant was Bishop Broughton. Tusculum now serves as the headquarters for the NSW chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
The Australian Institute of Architects is a professional body for architects in Australia. Until August 2008, the Institute traded as the "Royal Australian Institute of Architects", which remains its official name....
. Like Rockwall House, it is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
Other heritage buildings in the area include the Mansions Terrace in Bayswater Road; the terrace and townhouse group extending from 13-29 Challis Avenue; the group of Late Victorian terraces from 1-13 Kellett Street; the gazebo in HMAS Kuttabul; and Bomera and Tarana on the corner of Wylde Street and Cowper Wharf Roadway. These buildings are all listed on the Register of the National Estate.
In 1871, Edmund Blacket
Edmund Blacket
Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...
built Stramshall in Macleay Street for the Horden family of merchants. Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe , wasone of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era.-Biography:Thomas Rowe was born in Penzance, Cornwall, United Kingdom, the eldest son of Richard Rowe and Ursula Mumford, and attended Barnes Academy. At 15 he became a draftsman in his father's building business before the...
made further additions in 1877. The house was later known as Jenner House and was taken over by the Department of Defence, who sold it to the horse breeder Tony Peterson in 1998. Peterson sold the house for $15 million in 2009. The house was listed by the National Trust
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
in 1967.
Most of the other mansions, such as Orwell, have survived only as street name
Street name
A street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a street. The street name usually forms part of the address...
s. The area also boasts many fine Victorian-era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
terraces. These are chiefly located along Victoria Street, which bisects Potts Point from north to south, and is widely known for its impressive canopy of plane trees.
20th century
Potts Point was the site of some of Australia's earliest apartment buildings, and from the 1920s through to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the area was intensively developed along those lines. As a result, it boasts the highest concentration of Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture in Australia. Amongst the most notable examples are the "Macleay Regis", "Cahors" and "Franconia" apartment buildings in Macleay Street, and what are arguably two of the finest Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
buildings in Australia: the Minerva (or Metro) Theatre and the Minerva Building in Orwell Street. The Metro Theatre (as it was then known) was designed by Bruce Dellit and built in 1940. It was the site of the first Australian production of the musical Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
in 1970, and is heritage-listed.
During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Darlinghurst Road precinct (commonly known as Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
), which straddles Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay, became a popular destination for US military personnel on R&R - due chiefly to its proximity to a major naval facility. Partially as a result of this, the area attracted organised crime syndicates and developed an unsavoury reputation as Australia's drugs and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
capital. Dozens of hotels constructed at the time ensured that "The Cross" remained a tourism mecca well into the 1990s.
Wayside Chapel
The Wayside Chapel is a ministry in the Kings Cross/Potts Point area of Sydney, Australia.-Description and history:The Wayside Chapel was established in the Kings Cross area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1964. Ted Noffs was the founder of the Wayside Chapel, which was at the time a...
, an unorthodox Methodist ministry to the Kings Cross area. It began as a small drop-in centre in a block of flats at 29 Hughes Street, and grew into a complex that occupies two blocks of flats. It is a major welfare and community centre in the area.
21st century
At the turn of the 21st century, almost all of Potts Point's hotels were acquired by developers attracted by the area's proximity to transportation and amenities. By 2004 most tourist hotels had been converted or rebuilt as high-end apartment developments, resulting in a rapid wider gentrification of the area - and increasingly large gay communityGay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
- although the continued presence of a number of large and small backpacker hostels in Victoria Street and surrounding streets and dozens of pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and similar venues have confirmed the suburb's role as one of Sydney's leading entertainment precincts. In 2003-4 Sydney City Council undertook a major streetscape upgrade centred on Darlinghurst Road and the southern part of Macleay Street, involving footpath-widening, roadside tree-plantings and the installation of new paving, street furniture
Street furniture
Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and roads for various purposes, including traffic barriers,...
and lighting. Plans to force the replacement of historic neon shopfront and awning signage
Signage
Signage is any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. This is typically manifested in the form of wayfinding information in places such as streets or inside/outside of buildings.-History:...
on strip clubs and other adult commercial premises in the area with generic signage proved more controversial and have not been implemented.
Transport
Kings Cross railway stationKings Cross railway station, Sydney
-Transport links:Outbound bus services:*200 - Bondi Junction via Edgecliff*311 - Circular Quay via Elizabeth Bay and Woolloomooloo*323 - Dover Heights via Edgecliff, New South Head Road*324 - Watsons Bay via Edgecliff, New South Head Road...
is an underground station at Potts Point, on the Eastern Suburbs railway line of the CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network.
Politics
Potts Point has been administered by Sydney City Council since March 2004. Prior to this it was administered alternately by South Sydney Council and Sydney City Council at various periods throughout its history.Notable residents
- former Australian Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election... - actor David WenhamDavid WenhamDavid Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
- comic artist Nicola ScottNicola ScottNicola Scott is a comic book artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include Birds of Prey and Secret Six.-Career:Prior to pencilling comics, Scott had acting ambitions with a notable role in the Southern Comfort commercials. Scott's first work was doing painted covers for a book called...
- cinematographer Arthur Higgins
- actress Jodi GordonJodi GordonJodi Lee Gordon is an Australian actress and model.-Early life:Gordon was born in Mackay to Bronwyn and Ray. She has an older brother, Ben. Her father was born in New Zealand and is of Māori descent. From the age of 8, Gordon's family moved to various locations along the coast from Mackay,...
- actress Raelee HillRaelee HillRaelee Hill is an Australian actress best known for her roles in some of her country's most successful television series...
- sports commentator Gordon BrayGordon BrayGordon Bray AM has risen to prominence as one of Australia's leading sports commentators, earning himself the title, "The Voice of Rugby"....
- broadcaster Lee Lin ChinLee Lin ChinLee Lin Chin is the weekend presenter of World News Australia on the Australian SBS TV, a network addressing a multi-cultural audience. She has been part of SBS for many years.-Biography:...
- presenter Indira NaidooIndira NaidooIndira Naidoo is an Australian author, journalist and television presenter.-Education:Naidoo was educated in England, Zimbabwe and Australia, where she attended Launceston Church Grammar School in Tasmania before matriculating as School Dux from Naracoorte High School in South...
- designer Henri Spaile
- writer Mandy Sayer http://www.kxol.com.au/sayer.htm
- architect and publisher Florence TaylorFlorence Mary TaylorFlorence Mary Taylor CBE was the first qualified female architect and the first woman to train as an engineer in Australia. She was also the first woman in Australia to fly in a heavier-than-air craft in 1909...
- producer Stephen Carnell http://www.kingscrossonline.com.au/page.asp?3507=403904&E_Page=371317
- radio producerUltima Thule Ambient MusicUltima Thule Ambient Music is a long-running, specialist ambient music radio show which has been broadcast on Australian community radio since 1989. The show has been described as one of the leading alternative music programmes on Australian radio. It is also available as a webcast and as a podcast...
George Cruickshank - Rugby League player Sam BurgessSam BurgessSam Burgess is an English professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League...