Life is better on the grittier, south side of my suburb – and we heard Barbra Streisand free
Where do you live? I am often asked. “Paddington. South Paddington, actually,” I say, and faces freeze, eyes darting everywhere but yours. The person asking the question only thinks “Oh my god” if they live in Paddington. If they are somewhere else, they are undoubtedly thinking of “la-di-dah.” And so on.
Yes, but also no. We’re not all hedge fund managers and real estate agents. We don’t wear really tight suits or drive huge SUVs, we’re pretty casual and love our neighborhood despite the really tight clothes and huge SUVs.
Paddo is located in the eastern suburbs, one of the oldest suburbs of the city in terms of architecture, and has been protected against demolition and high-rise buildings by local people for generations. It’s a new aspiration these days, it’s certainly not big and is about halfway between the city to the west and Bondi to the east. I live in the southern part, which is less trendy but much cuter.
We can walk to the Sydney Cricket Ground or the Allianz Stadium (formerly the Sydney Football Stadium). It’s a half-hour walk from the CBD, Kings Cross, Belvoir St Theater or the Old Fitz Theatre, and a bus to the Sydney Opera House and St Vincent’s Hospital is also very handy. Centennial Park is our 189-hectare park and, “leafy North Shore” aside, Paddington is extremely green; And our Paddington Reservoir Gardens are a hidden gem, a wedding and Instagram favorite. It’s also an award-winning way to reuse a collapsed water tank and gas station earmarked for parking (thanks Clover).
In 1839 the West London suburb of Paddington was named by Mr James Underwood. He owned 39 hectares of bushland along a ridge on both sides of the Gadigal road, now Oxford Street. It was subdivided and the north side, from where the harbor was visible, became ostentatious; The construction of Victoria Barracks on the south side in 1841 brought workers, soldiers and their families into a jumble of small terraces.
Many were Irish immigrants and their presence was evident in the pubs formerly Durty Nelly’s (now the Village Inn) and Kitty O’Shea’s, although one had been gentrified and the other renamed Hemmesed and The Paddington. Aside from Paddington’s most historic houses being in the south triangle, this was a class divide that still persisted. Like barracks, a cabin has a well leading down to its backyard. Busby’s Hole; Across the street is the oldest house outside of The Rocks.
There’s a sadder sight on Oxford Street Juniper HallGeorgian mansion built by a gin distiller Robert Cooper. It is heritage-listed but was sold this year by the National Trust to the Moran family in Sydney. Now they want to “improve” it. A new community fight is being prepared. Meanwhile, although we have lost cinemas such as Chauvel and Verona, it is still possible to walk to the art house Palace Moore Park and the 17-screen Hoyts in the Entertainment District.
Meanwhile, our high street Oxford has suffered terribly after the Westfield shopping center came to Bondi Junction. Then COVID dealt investors another punch. However, the positive side of the isolationist epidemic is finally emerging: people are shopping and living local once again, while the poodle and ‘poodle’ population makes making new friends on the fly inevitable.
Paddington Markets has barely survived the doldrums but is now thriving again, with fresh produce stalls, gorgeous flowers and multicultural lunch options added to its mix of traditional traders. The grounds of Paddington Public School, which dates back to 1856, are buzzing every Saturday. Accompanied by St Francis of Assisi (1883) across the street and Glenmore Road Public School (1883) down the hill, it has transported generations of happy, screaming little ones into the wider world.
The mix of old and new is part of Paddo’s charm. It’s probably fair to say that the arrival of Justin Hemmes (four venues and counting) kickstarted the regeneration of our part of Oxford Street. here it is Artisan Cheese Room (Don’t dribble when deciding which wedge to choose) and amazing new Ariel Books completes the old Berkelouw. Coffee and dining venues range from small local hubs such as Wolf Cafe (pull up the milk crate), Perry Lane and Paddington Grind to Hemmes. Fred’s and two oddly named but magnificent restaurants: Euroluxe Pig (piggy or mushroom?) and Chubby Cheeksmod-Thailand does not immediately recommend badonkadonks.
Local pubs include the Paddo Inn (home of Il Baretto) and The Paddington (Hemmes, of course), The Light Brigade (airy roof garden) and Empire Surprisingly it is a Reschs pub and is still owned by Alice (Resch) and her family, whose great-grandfather started brewing in Wilcannia. They now brew beer at home. North is the ‘burb’s oldest pub (1875), London. Not far away is The Grand National by Saint Peter, now owned by seafood Nilands, and nearby is the dear old Lord Dudley Hotel, where you can still order liver and bacon. And at least a half-dozen gyms to curb excessive drinking.
Paddington’s reputation has rebounded from the old days of brawls and pub brawls. Even in Sydney’s time Gang wars in the 1970s Only one murder was recorded: brothel owner Barry HerdHe was shot dead in the gardens of the Scottish Hospital (now a luxury retirement complex). Even on football nights, the crowd is happy and compliant. And we on the south side can hear football stadium concerts without buying tickets. Who remembers sitting on the doorstep with neighbors and listening to Barbra Streisand over a glass of wine for a savings of $1,500?
This does not mean that façades are not widespread and all other terraces have been transformed. And most newcomers seem to have the imagination of an old potato when decorating their multimillion-dollar renovations in white, gray and black. Despite this, Paddo survives, and those of us who call this place smile, overcoming the slings and arrows of angry fortune seekers. Strangely it hasn’t changed at all: it’s still a village, still small streets where most people know each other and we’re lucky. How good is this?
Diana Simmonds is a writer from Sydney.
