Double Bay
Double Bay is a relatively exclusive harbourside eastern suburb, some 4 km east of the Sydney central business district, and is one of Sydney's prettiest harbourside shopping villages. Double Bay is known as the most fashionable and expensive shopping district. Tagged by many as Sydney's "little Europe", the suburb boasts elegant streets, fine fashion boutiques, a vibrant cafe society and upmarket real estate featuring grand residential homes.
Double Bay also has cinemas, a swimming pool, parks and more. The commercial area runs along New South Head Road and extends along surrounding streets of Knox Street, Cross Street and Bay Street.
Murray Rose Pool (formerly Redleaf Pool)
The locality was originally called Keltie Cove after the master of HMS Sirius. In the early years of the colony, Double Bay was used as shelter for fishermen who would regularly fish around the harbour. The present name came into use around 1821 when Gov. Lachlan Macquarie earmarked the bay as a site for a future Botanical Gardens. The gardens were planned and marked out before Macquarie left Sydney, but his successor, Major-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, never finished the project.
A farm had developed and by 1814 it had increased to envelop the valleys leading into the area currently known as Woollahra, Bondi Junction, Bellevue Hill, and Point Piper. In October 1834, Major Thomas Mitchell submitted a plan to Governor Richard Bourke for the area to be made into a village of 31 lots, bounded by present day Ocean Avenue, New South Head Road, Bay Street and the harbour.
The land was auctioned off in 1835. At that stage, Double Bay had only five streets Cross, Bay, Ocean, Lillian and Swamp and was promoted as a maritime village established to house working class families employed in in maritime activities such as shipbuilders and fisherman. For decades, it remained a neglected sleepy hollow. It was not until after World War II that Double Bay began to develop into the exclusive address that it has become today.
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Double Bay Antiques Market
Guilfoyle Park,Bay Street, Double Bay NSW 2028, Australia Trading: 2nd Sunday of the month, 10am-3pm. Type: Antique & Collectables, Vintage/Retro, *Wheel Chair Friendly Phone: (02)9999 2226
Double Bay Organic Food and Farmers Market
Guilfoyle Ave, Double Bay NSW 2028, Australia Trading: Every Thursday 9am 2pm Type: Farmers, Produce, Organic, Fashion, Food Phone: (02) 9999 2226
Situated in the beautiful Double Bay precinct, Redleaf Beach is another of those idyllic Sydney harbourside beaches you just want to visit. Murray Rose Pool (formerly Redleaf Pool), can be found at the western end of the beach and provides swimmers with a safe harbourside tidal enclosure to swim in. With a swimming area of approximately 90 metres x 60 metres, even on a busy day there is no shortage of swimming space.
There is a wrap-around pontoon which makes for a lovely walk and the cafe on the hill provides delicious meals with great views to match - to Darling Point and the Harbour Bridge.
Though just next door to Murray Rose Pool, this beach is quieter because the land behind it is all private property and the only public access is from Redleaf Pool. Facilities: toilets, showers, shaded grassed area, shops and restaurants nearby. Public transport: Bus No. 323, 324, 325, L24 from Circular Quay. Alight at Cnr New South Head and Victoria Rds.
Landlocked behind private properties (only the sand itself is public land), this beach on Felix Bay is in the middle of million dollar properties. It is little used other than by locals because of its isolation. Access is via a laneway from Wolesley Road. No facilities.
A long-established lookout point on Bellevue Hill, the land for this park (originally a little over an acre plus provision for an entry from Old South Head Road) was acquired by the colonial authorities from the Cooper estate in order to reserve the place for public recreation in perpetuity.
This 15 hectare reserve forms the southern boundary of Bellevue Hill. A natural oasis in the middle of a built up area, it comprises of picnic, receation and sporting facilities alongside one of the largest remaining areas of natural bushland in the Eastern Suburbs.
Its worth as a recreation area was recognised as far back as 1885 when the Government was asked to purchase land from the Cooper Estate for recreational purposes. In 1913 Sir William Cooper gave the whole of the gully from Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill to Manning Road, Double Bay to the Woollahra Council as a park.
The name given to Double Bay's neighbouring suburb was taken from that given to the look-out area which later became Bellevue Park - named 'Belle Vue' - by Governor Macquarie as an alternative to the colloquial -Vinegar Hill - which Macquarie considered vulgar. On a map, the streets of Bellevue Hill, like many of Sydney s Eastern Suburbs, look as though they were laid out by tossing a bowl of spaghetti on the floor. That did not happen, of course, the streets twist and wind (and go up and down) as they do because of the hilly terrain of the area.
Bellevue Hill is well known for being one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs. The historic Queen Anne home Caerleon was sold for $22 million in January 2008. This price was surpassed by the $23 million paid for a mansion in Victoria Road in November 2009. The mansion had previously been used by the French consulate since 1955. One person who inspected it was actor Russell Crowe, who subsequently did not take part in the bidding. The house was bought by Lachlan Murdoch.
Actress Toni Collette sold her Bellevue Hill home in August 2009 for $6.4 million. The house, El Mio, had been the base for Collette and her husband, musician David Galafassi, since they bought it in 2004 for $5 million. The house was located in Rupertswood Avenue and was designed in 1928 in the Spanish Mission style. It was initially passed in at $6.3 million, but was then sold within an hour after successful negotiations with the highest bidder.
Other notable residents have included media baron Kerry Packer; stockbroker Rene Rivkin; Sir William McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia and and Lady McMahon; artist Martin Sharp; composer May Brahe.
181 Birriga Road, Bellevue Hill: The bungalow in the rear yard of 181 Birriga Road, Bellevue Hill, is where British comedian Tony Hancock ended his life on 25th June 1968.
Rovello
Rovello, 12 Ginahgulla Road, Bellevue Hill: This two-storey 1930s Palladian-style villa was designed by Wilson, Neave and Berry. Sited on a on 2,800m2 estate, is younger than other houses in the area, such as Rona, Fairfax House and Caerleon, having been built in 1936. It was designed around a courtyard modelled on the colonnaded Roman atriums. Features include a two-storey hall and a prominent set of timber stairs. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate. The Australian Heritage Commission describes Rovello as "Probably Wilson, Neave and Berry's finest extant piece of architecture. It is also an important element in Ginahgulla Road, grouping with No 14 and with Rona, Ginahgulla and Trahlee to be an outstanding streetscape."
Rona
Rona, 2 Ginahgulla Road, Bellevue Hill: listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate, Rona is situated high in the northern end of the suburb. It is accessible from both 41 Fairfax Road and 2 Ginahgulla Road via the stables gates. Ginahgulla Road has a four other heritage listed homes The home sold for close to $60 million in 2018, making it one of Australia's most expensive homes. Rona was originally a 16-acre state and was sub-leased from Frederick Tooth, a member of the Tooth family of Cranbrook, by Sir Edward Knox, the founder of CSR Limited.
It was bought in 1880 by Knox's son, William Knox, and William Oswald Gilchrist. Knox Jnr and his brother, Tom, built Rona and Leura respectively and in 1900 Gilchrist sold to Sir Colin Stephen who built Llanillo. Stephen was Edward William Knox's son-in-law and his daughter, Helen Rutlege, wrote the story of Rona and the Knox family in a book entitled My Grandfather's House. Llanillo has since been demolished and the land sub-divided but Leura still stands with a Victoria Road address. Rona is still set in expansive, though greatly reduced, gardens that have now been redeveloped by Myles Baldwin.
Rona was designed by G.A. Morell and built in 1883 for Edward William Knox. The design was based on Greycliffe House, another heritage-listed home in Nielsen Park, Vaucluse, New South Wales, that had been the childhood home of Mrs Knox. Like Greycliffe, Rona is a two-storey house in the Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival style and built in Sydney sandstone. The house was severely damaged by fire in 1905 and restored with modifications by the architect William Wardell Jnr. In 1951, the architect John Mansfield removed the large south centre gable, and by creating a courtyard. The stables were built at the same time as the house and in similar style. In 1959 they were converted into a residence by the architect John Amory for a Knox family descendant. The building has now been reunited with the house by the creation of a new driveway and gates from Ginaghulla Road.
Leura
Leura, 24 Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill: This 8-bedroom Federation Queen Anne style mansion sites on a 4,260sqm estate. It was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon and Howard Joseland, and built during 1891. Also known as Street House (Cranbrook School), it was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The house Leura was built in 1891 for Thomas Forster (Tom) Knox, adjoining Rona on what was Lot 5 of the 1883 subdivision, the site of an old Aboriginal camp with a natural spring. Thomas Knox was managing director of the Sydney branch of Dalgety & Co. Ltd. from 1884-1912 when he resigned. He was the third son of Sir Edward Knox (1819-1901), founder of the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. (CSR) in 1855 and builder of Fiona, at Darling Point, in 1864. Knox and his family lived at Leura from 1891 until 1956 when Miss Helen Knox died and the house was sold.
The Scots College, Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill: The Scots College in Bellevue Hill is one of Australia's most expensive and prestigious schools. It is a multi-campus independent Presbyterian single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, predominately located in Bellevue Hill. The school was established in 1893 at Brighton-Le-Sands. The college was formed in 1893 by three men, the Reverend Archibald Gilchrist, the Reverend William "Fighting Mac" Dill-Macky, and the Reverend Arthur Aspinall. Gilchrist devised the school motto of "Utinam Patribus Nostris Digni Simus", which may be translated from Latin as "O that we may be worthy of our forefathers".
Former attendees of The Scots College include Wallaby (Rugby) Tom Bowman; Wallaby rugby coaches Dave Brockhoff, Dr. John Solomon, Daryl Harberecht; Australian cricketer, former Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board, Alan Crompton; Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Peter Jensen; NSW Governor, Admiral Sir David Martin; Industrialist, Sir Roderick Miller; NSW Deputy Premier and National Party Leader Wal Murray; movie director Peter Weir; artist Brett Whiteley.
Cranbrook, 5 Victoria Road, Nellevue Hill: Cranbrook is a large house built in 1859. It is now one of the buildings of Cranbrook School. The house was built in 1859 by Robert Tooth (1821 1893), one of three brothers of the well known Sydney Tooth's Brewery family. It was named after a village in Kent, England from where the Tooth Family originated. His brother Frederick, also inherited adjoining land and on this he built his house called "Buckhurst". In 1864 Tooth sold Cranbrook to Robert Towns who was a successful Sydney merchant, shipping company owner, the founder of the city of Townsville, Queensland and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was married to Sophia Wentworth (sister to William Wentworth) and had two sons and three daughters.
When Towns died in 1873, Cranbrook was sold to James White, a pastoralist and racehorse owner. White employed John Horbury Hunt, a prominent architect, to carry out large extensions on this property. Cranbrook served as Government House for New South Wales from 1901 to 1917. Three governors resided there during this time with their families. In 1917 the NSW Government put Cranbrook up for auction. It was purchased by Mr Samuel Hordern on behalf of a group of men from the Church of England who had decided to utilise it as a school. In July 1918 Cranbrook School was officially opened and is still operating from that site at the present time.
Cranbrook School, Bellevue Hill: Cranbrook School is a dual-campus independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Bellevue Hill and Rose Bay. Founded in 1918 with the Rev'd Frederick Thomas Perkins as the first headmaster, Cranbrook has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,300 students from early learning (4 years old) to Year 12 (18 years old), including 97 boarders from Years 7 to 12.
Former attendees of Cranbrook School include failed entrepreneur, Rodney Adler; Wizard Home Loans' boss, Mark Bouros; CEO of Channel Nine and Kerry Packer's godson, David Gyngell; Olympics Minister turned construction consultant, Michael Knight; billionaire heir and Scientologist, James Packer; founder of failed One-tel, Jodee Rich; five-time defending Australian 400 metres champion, Steven Solomon; six-time Olympic medalist and swimming champion, actor, sports commentator and marketing executive, Murray Rose; Sir Laurence Street, son of Sir Kenneth Street and the 14th Chief Justice of New South Wales.