Sydney and suburbs, continued

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Barangaroo

Location:

• Part of the Sydney CBD, located on the edge thereof.

 Map showing location of the Barangaroo site.

Name origin:

• Originally the area that is now Barangaroo was part of Miller’s Point, named after Thomas Miller, a soldier who was given a land grant there in 1814.

• In 2007 the area received its own identity as a suburb when it was named Barangaroo, following a public competition, after the second wife of Bennelong, an aboriginal who was the go between for the British colonialists and aborigines. Governor Phillip had kidnapped Bennelong and hoped he would assist in communications with the indigenous population. After escaping, he nonetheless worked with Phillip, learning the English language, dressing in European clothing and even travelling to England with Phillip.

Bennelong

• Barangaroo did not feel the same way, it being recorded in the journal of Watkin Tench, a marine with the First Fleet:

"Not seeing Barangaroo of the party, I asked for her, and was informed that she had violently opposed Bennelong's departure. When she found persuasion vain, she had recourse to tears, scolding, and threats, stamping the ground, and tearing her hair. But Baneelon continuing determined, she snatched up in her rage one of his fish-gigs, and dashed it with such fury on the rocks, that it broke. To quiet her apprehensions on the score of her husband's safety, Mr. Johnson, attended by Abaroo, agreed to remain as a hostage until [Bennelong] should return".

• When a convict stole the fishing gear of a group of aboriginal people, Governor Phillip had the gear found and returned, then had the thief flogged in front of Barangaroo and others to show justice was being done. Disgusted by the flogging, she then physically threatened the officer conducting it with a stick.

• She died 2 years after first contact. Her cremated ashes were buried in the grounds of Government House.

About:

• Barangaroo includes within it the area known from the Great Depression days the name that the dock workers gave to the wharves area as they walked from dock to dock in search of work as a ship needed loading. Click on the following previous Bytes post about The Hungry Mile: http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/hungry-mile.html#more

• The area is being redeveloped from its wharves and docks to one of mixed residential and commercial uses, spearheaded by James Packer’s six star luxury hotel and casino Crown Sydney. Don’t expect to see Mariah Carey as one of the featured performers any time soon.

What a $5.7m diamond ring looks like.

An artist's rendition of the Barangaroo redevelopment. James Packer's Crown Sydney hotel is visible on the right.

It is ironic that what was once an area of dockworkers and wharfies, that includes The Hungry Mile and was once an area of sadness, poverty and desperation, is now an area for the mega-rich with waterfront luxury.

Gallery:

Tall ship masts and smoke stacks line Millers Point in Sydney in 1870.

Wharves on Hickson Rd c.1920

Barangaroo construction

Aerial view of the wharves, 1937

The area prior to redevelopment

An artist's impression of James Packer's updated Crown proposal.

A recent picture of the completed Barangaroo Point reserve

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Barden Ridge:

Location:

• Located 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. 

Name origin:

• Barden Ridge was named after Alfred Barden, whose pioneering family is associated with the Bangorarea prior to the 1850s. 

• In early times Barden Ridge had been used to identify the geographical location and Lucas Heights was given to the suburb that developed here. In 1992 local residents voted to rename part of the suburb of Lucas Heights. 

• In 1996 the Geographical Names Board assigned the name Barden Ridge to the area 3 km south of Menai, to disassociate it from the area containing a nuclear reactor and waste management centre.

About:

• Barden Ridge is colloquially known to locals as 'The Ridge'.

• The character of the suburb has now shifted from a remote bushland area, when known as Lucas Heights, to an expanding suburb.

• From Wikipedia:

Barden Ridge is located on the Woronora River, which flows north into the Georges River. 'The Needles', is a body of water (fjord) on the Woronora River, on one of the original roads west from Helensburgh. On the northern side of the fjord lies the fresh water source of the Woronora River, whilst on the other side is salt water. The water, between two steep hills, remains so cold that even during summer it has been known to have caused heart attacks. While car access has been generally blocked, pedestrian access is still available.

Gallery:

The Needles

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Bardwell Park

Location:

• Bardwell Park is located 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. (bardwell Valley is a separate suburb to the east).

Name origin:

• Bardwell Park was named after free settler Thomas Hill Bardwell who owned land in the area. His grant was originally heavily timbered and bounded by Wolli Creek, Dowling Street and Wollongong Road. 

• In 1881, the land was auctioned and 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) were subdivided. 

• The railway station opened on 21 September 1931 which opened up the area for home sites. The name Bardwell Park was given to the suburb at that time.

Gallery:

The cottage known as "Hillsdon's Nursery" in Slade Road, Bardwell Park

Bardwell park Railway Station

From the Rockdale Council website: 

Bardwell Park Railway Station - including the 1931 platform, platform building, entry steps structure and overbridge - is of local heritage and historical significance. It was a major public work completed as an unemployment relief project during the Great Depression and today continues as a major transport hub for Bardwell Park. 

The Station is also of aesthetic significance as an austere 1930s railway building with simple Art Deco detailing and fine brick workmanship that is evocative of the effects of the Depression on building programs for the NSW railways.