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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Waverley, New South Wales

Waverley is a suburb in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council.

Waverley Council takes its name from the suburb but its administrative centre is located in the adjacent suburb of Bondi Junction, which is also a major commercial centre. Waverley is the highest point of altitude in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

History

Edina, War Memorial Hospital.

Waverley takes its name from a home built near Old South Head Road in 1827 by Barnett Levey (or Levy) (1798–1837). It was named Waverley House, after the title of his favourite book, Waverley, by author Sir Walter Scott. Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in June 1859. The house was a distinctive landmark and gave its name to the surrounding suburb.

Waverley Cemetery (South Head General Cemetery) was established in 1877 and is one of Australia's most notable cemeteries due to its cliff-side location. The cemetery features the graves of several notable Australians including poet Henry Kendall and aviator Lawrence Hargrave.

Edina, a late Victorian mansion built on a grand scale in Birrell Street by Ebenezer Vickery for himself and his family, was completed around 1884. Vickery was a leading merchant and a prominent patron of the Methodist Church. Other buildings in the group include Banksia, Witchagil and the Nellie Vickery Memorial Chapel. Banksia and Witchagil are two-storey villas that Vickery built for his sons.

This distinguished group of Victorian buildings is now used as the War Memorial Hospital. Edina, Banksia and Witchagil are on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate. Other heritage items in Waverley include the two weatherboard cottages in Judges Lane, off Bronte Road. A building in Waverley once collapsed into a large hole that swallowed ten houses and an entire street.

Heritage listings

Waverley has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

  • 240 Birrell Street: St Mary's Anglican Church, Waverley
  • 45 Victoria Street: Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Waverley, designed by John Hennessy in 1912. Its twin-towered design is said to be reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance and is an example of the Federation Academic Classical style.
  • Victoria Street, Presbyterian Church (Jubilee Church currently) was designed by Sydney architects Messrs Nixon and Allen. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs. Grahame on 8 May 1897.
  • Victoria Street, the Catholic Friary was demolished in 1985 after sustaining extensive fire damage (see gallery below).

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 4,216 people in Waverley. 58.1% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were England 8.9% and New Zealand 2.9%. 75.3% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.3% and Catholic 25.0%.

Commercial area

Robin Hood Hotel, an Art Deco style structure

Waverley is mostly residential with a scattering of commercial developments, centred on the road junction known as Charing Cross.

Schools

Waverley is home to a number of schools including Waverley Public School (state primary), the suburb includes:

  • Waverley College is a Christian Brothers school for boys made up of Our Lady's Mount Campus in Birrell Street, (Senior School Years 7-12), Waterford Campus in Henrietta Street (Junior School Years 5–6) and Waterford Pre School.
  • St Catherine's School is an Anglican, Day and Boarding school for girls, located in Albion Street.
  • St Clare's College is a Catholic, high school for girls in Church Street.
  • St Charles' Primary School, Waverley. A Catholic primary school next door to St Clare's.

Sport and recreation

Waverley Oval

Waverley is represented in one of the most popular sporting competitions across Australia, the National Rugby League competition, by the local team the Sydney Roosters, officially the Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club (ESDRLFC).

The following clubs are located in or represent the Waverley area:

Notable people

Current and former notable residents include:

Schools and churches

Local landmarks

Heritage-listed items in the Waverley area include the following:

  • Mary Immaculate Church group, Victoria Street
  • St Marys Anglican Church and pipe organ, Birrell Street
  • Waverley Reservoir No.1, Paul Street
  • Avondale, St Marys Avenue
  • War Memorial Hospital group of buildings, Birrell Street
  • Bronte Public School, Hewlett Street
  • Bronte View, St Thomas Street
  • Cadore, Henry Street
  • Carthona, Birrell Street
  • Chapel, St Clares Convent, Carrington Road
  • Char Nez, Brown Street
  • Charing Cross hotel, Carrington Road
  • Moana, Gardyne Street
  • Simpson Park, Macpherson Street
  • Sonoma, Bronte Road
  • Stone buildings, Waverley Cemetery

References

Citations

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Waverley (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 October 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007
  3. ^ The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Compiled by Frances Pollon Angus & Robertson 1990 ISBN 0-207-14495-8, page 266
  4. ^ Home Waverley Cemetery
  5. ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company (1981), p.2/121
  6. ^ "St. Mary's Anglican Church and Pipe Organ". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00160. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  7. ^ "Mary Immaculate Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00626. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  8. ^ A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Apperly, (Angus and Robertson) 1994, p. 103
  9. ^ Waverley College
  10. ^ St Catherine's Anglican School
  11. ^ St Clare's College
  12. ^ Kirkpatrick, Peter, "Augusta (Pakie) Macdougall (1875–1945)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 24 January 2024
  13. ^ Carey, Hilary M., "Reid, Elizabeth Julia (1915–1974)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 5 March 2021
  14. ^ Waverley Council Website

33°53′52″S 151°15′1″E / 33.89778°S 151.25028°E / -33.89778; 151.25028

Sources