Life in the burbs – Paddington: Mansions killing off suburb’s workers’ cottage charm

Nice try.

Meanwhile, eight apartments across the street and four adjacent apartments will soon be demolished and replaced with four-bedroom luxury residences. I don’t expect the address to be so welcoming to Runty or me.

These major transformations pushed the median house price up to $2.4 million and only fed Paddington’s stereotype of ostentatious elitism. If Bluey’s parents were real, how likely would they be able to pay for that magical house atop one of Paddington’s scenic hills?

If Bluey’s family were real, could they afford to buy the magical Paddington house?

When I bought it in 1990, Paddington’s demographics were very egalitarian. Of course, prominent and wealthy people had large and expensive homes – most notably the governor’s mansion on Fernberg Road – but it was still considered a low-income working-class suburb. The population consisted mainly of older blue-collar and immigrant families, as well as students and young “alternative” singles and couples renting cheaply in shared houses or flats.

Even then, a character house in livable condition was out of reach for a single 20-something with an average income. The compromise for me was a high-rise townhouse overlooking the city and Mount Coot-tha. It was also less than two miles from almost everywhere I needed to go on a regular basis.

I loved that Paddington was an artistic hub: a meeting point for my social circle in the performing arts community centered around the original La Boite Theater on Hale Street, and a broader group of arts and crafts creators who operated cottage industries in heritage homes on Latrobe Terrace.

Remnants of this eclectic creativity are scattered along the mile-long easy walk towards Bardon, with art galleries, quirky souvenir shops, retro fashion shops and shops culminating in Aladdin’s Cave. old Paddington Ancient Centernow Empire Revival.

The Given Terrace area was lively at night. Legendary Le Scoops the hangout spot where you can enjoy a post-performance coffee or hot chocolate or enjoy a seven-spoon blast of indulgence—complete with sparklers—irreverently called “Mururoa” (“Krakatoa” and “Vesuvius” rounded out the menu’s dark-themed decadence).

And when everything else closed, Kookaburra Cafe was still serving and delivering pizza late at night.

It remained a Paddo institution for 35 years until 2017, when the building was purchased by another local institution, Paddington Hardware; You can find just about anything here and there are lots of knowledgeable and patient staff to help you.

Retail turnover is quite high in this niche market, limited by the mountainous geography that makes Paddington so picturesque. This has also largely protected it from the commercial development suffered by other inner-city areas.

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Looks like you can’t have too many coffee shops in Paddington. I have 10 options within a 600 meter radius of my home. This is something I am quite happy about.

Some of the social energy and excitement that attracted me to Paddington is still present. 35 years later, I still love hearing the roar of the crowd at Suncorp Stadium from home, knowing who has scored or won the game by volume, and singing from a concert carried 900 meters away by the evening breeze. The sound of fireworks is a call to go to my balcony to watch the spectacle above the city skyline.

It is very encouraging to feel this connection with the wider community and if I decide to join them it will only be a 10 minute walk; especially useful for last-minute FOMO-inspired decisions like seeing Paul McCartney and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup third-place match between the Matildas and Sweden.

While I regret the changes in society over the past decade and the loss of Mt Coot-tha from my perspective of redevelopment, nowhere in Brisbane can match all the benefits that living in Paddington has brought me.

I want the council, its planners, developers, business people and even cash-grabbing, status-chasing buyers to realize that the further Paddington moves away from its roots as a suburb for the people, the more its uniqueness dies.

And Runty’s ultimate save? We placed bar stools on either side of the stubborn pedestrian door for me to climb over and carry him to a fireman’s lift. But as I stepped forward, ready to risk life and limb, the husband turned the doorknob and the door miraculously opened. Mistake.