Kensington, New South Wales

Indigenous inhabitants

Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Cadigal people, one of the salt-water clans of the Darug language group. The Cadigal people were known for their fishing skills and often travelled in canoes. The 1828 census showed some 50–60 clans of Cadigal people living by the Lachlan swamps of Kensington and surrounding areas. Swamps provided fruit, nectar, roots and tubers. Very few Aboriginals live in Kensington today.

European settlement

The suburb now known as Kensington was once called the "Lachlan Mills Estate", "Stannumville" and then "Epsom". It became Kensington in the late 1880s, starting life as an industrial suburb. Samuel Terry, the convict who became Australia's first millionaire, received a land grant in 1819. Daniel Cooper (1785–1853), also an ex-convict acquired land here in 1825 with his partner Solomon Levey, whom he later bought out. Cooper's nephew Daniel (1821–1902) planned to subdivide but in 1865 all developments was forbidden. Residential land was issued in the late 1880s and Kensington was to be the equivalent of London's distinguished suburb, Kensington.

Kensington Racecourse opened in 1893 on the site of the current University of New South Wales. It did not compete with nearby Randwick Racecourse because it held midweek meetings, pony racing and related sports like polo. The course was also used to house troops and horses during the Boer War, World War I and World War II, as well as a migrant hostel during the late 1940s. The land was resumed in 1950 to construct Sydney's second university.

The W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco factory opened in Todman Avenue in 1902. The factory site also featured the Raleigh Park Social Club, an extensive sporting complex named after Sir Walter Raleigh who first introduced tobacco from North America to Europe. The factory closed in 1989 and was slowly converted into a high density residential neighbourhood by the Mirvac Group and Westfield in a joint venture known as Raleigh Park. The building used by the company is a two-storey brick building in the Georgian Revival style. It was designed by Joseland and Gilling and built c.1930. It was used by the Menzies Group of Companies as of 2013. It is heritage-listed.

The hill that dominates West Kensington is occupied by the Sacred Heart Monastery, the Australian headquarters of the Catholic Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The monastery was designed by Hennessy and Sheerin and built in 1895. It is a large stone building in the Gothic style and features an attic storey and a prominent central tower. It also includes a brick chapel in a Romanesque-Byzantine style which was designed by Mullane and built in 1939, and which is joined to the monastery by a matching brick cloister. The monastery is a prominent landmark which can be seen from various parts of Kensington and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate. The monastery publishes the long-running magazine Annals Australasia.

Adjacent to the monastery is the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent, a brick building in Federation Gothic style, which was built in 1897. It was the original site for primary and secondary colleges that were established soon after the construction of the convent, but these soon outgrew the premises. It is now the base for OLSH Provincial House and St Joseph's Aged Care Facility, while Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College is situated next door. Across the road is Our Lady of the Rosary Church (built 1906), Jubilee Hall and the Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, which complete a large religious complex. The convent and church are heritage-listed.

In the mid-twentieth century, the monastery was the home of the anti-Communist organiser Dr P.J. ('Paddy') Ryan and the popular Catholic controversialist Dr Leslie Rumble.

Kensington's streets are named after local people, places in London and local flora. Some examples are:

Tram history

The line from Surry Hills to West Kensington commenced as a steam powered system in 1881. At this point the line travelled along Crown Street as far as Cleveland Street. The line was then extended to Phillip Street in 1909, Todman Avenue in 1912, and then to its final terminus down Todman Avenue, West Kensington in 1937.

The line commencing from the city branched off from the tramlines in Oxford Street and ran down Crown Street to Cleveland Street in Surry Hills, then south along Baptist Street to Phillip Street, where it swung left into Crescent Street before running south along Dowling Street, tuning left into Todman Avenue where it terminated. Services operated full-time from Circular Quay, and to Railway in peak hours. The line down Crown Street closed in 1957, the remainder stayed open until 1961 to allow access to Dowling St Depot, (the current site of the Supa Centa Moore Park – Shopping Centre).

As well as servicing West Kensington, tram services also operated on Anzac Parade, servicing the Maroubra and La Perouse line.

Tay Park (bounded by Tay Street, Anzac Parade and Alison Road) is the site of the old Toll Bar where local maintenance revenue was collected from 1854 to 1894. The toll was 1 shilling for a four-wheeled wagon drawn by 2 horses.

Sydney Buses routes 301, 302 and 303 generally follow the route down Crown and Baptist Streets as far as Phillip Street.

Commercial area

Kensington is heavily influenced by the University of New South Wales and the Racing Industry. It has a handful of cafes, restaurants and shops. Kensington has a shopping strip that extends most of the length of Anzac Parade and further south into Kingsford. 'Peters of Kensington' is a well known retail store on Anzac Parade. Kensington is next to Randwick Racecourse and Centennial Park.

Transport

Anzac Parade is the main road through Kensington. Numerous buses frequently service Kensington, linking it with the city and surrounding suburbs. There are no trains or light rail service, since the 1976 review of the Eastern Suburbs Railway abandoned the planned extensions to Kingsford.

On 13 December 2012, the NSW Government announced a commitment to build a $1.6 billion light rail from Circular Quay down George Street to Central Station, then across to Moore Park and down Anzac Parade. South of Moore Park the line will spit into two branches – one of which will continue down Anzac Parade to the nine ways at Kingsford. Construction commenced in 2015.

Topography

Kensington is located in the geographic zone known as the Botany Lowlands. The sands beneath Kensington act as a large water reservoir. Originally, Kensington was quite rugged, consisting of hills, deep gullies and 768 acres (3.1 km²) of swamps, crossed by the Lachlan Stream. Evidence of the swamps can be seen in the south-west corner of the Royal Randwick Racecourse and the ponds of Centennial Park. After long periods of heavy rain some parts of Kensington are prone to flooding. Today Kensington has been levelled with hills cut down and voids filled with the excess soil from the hills.

Parks, flora and fauna

In the three square kilometres that cover Kensington, there are six parks. Banksia, Bottlebrush, Waratah, Wattles and Eucalypt are some of the approximately four hundred native plants found in Kensington. Randwick City Council has recorded approximately two hundred and fifty species of indigenous native vertebrates. Two hundred and six species of native birds have been identified since 1788. The largest park, Kensington Park, covers approximately 2.8 hectares and attracts a wide variety of birdlife, including galahs, crows, ibises and magpies.

Parks:

Water supply

Kensington has two natural water sources: the Lachlan Stream and an underground reservoir. Due to water restrictions and council initiatives, more residences are using bore water on their gardens. Others are installing tanks and using 'grey' water.

Demographics

Kensington has a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Only 56.4% of residents were born in Australia. The most common countries of origin for the remaining residents include the UK, Indonesia, New Zealand, and China. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are in the minority, with only 39 in the suburb.

As in any multicultural society, a variety of religions are represented. There are Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox churches in the area and other religions practised include Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and the Muslim faith.

Politics

In local government, Kensington is in the West Ward of Randwick City Council. It is in the electorates of Coogee and Heffron for the State parliament; and the Kingsford-Smith electorate represented by Matt Thistlethwaite (Labor) for the Federal parliament.

Schools and churches

Heritage-listed buildings