Annandale, New South Wales

Annandale is a suburb of Inner West Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Annandale is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt. Annandale's northern end lies on Rozelle Bay, which is on Sydney Harbour. Glebe lies to its east, Leichhardt to its west and Stanmore to its south.

Johnston Street, completed in 1888, is notable for being the first 30 metre (100 ft) wide street in Sydney. Located on this street is the Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church. Constructed in 1885-89, this Gothic revival church's 56 m sandstone spire was the tallest in New South Wales for over 100 years, until the 70 m twin spires of Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral were completed in 2000. Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church was designed by Cyril and Arthur Blacket, sons of the famous architect Edmund Blacket.

History
Major George Johnston (1764-1823) captained a ship of the First Fleet, which brought convicts to Australia from England. He was granted 100 acre of land in the area around Annandale and Stanmore, which became known as Johnston's Bush. He later renamed it Annandale after his birthplace Annan in Scotland, United Kingdom. His name is remembered in Johnston Street, Johnston Lane, Johnstons Creek and Johnstons Bay. Johnston and his wife Ester Abrahams, one of the convicts on the ship, farmed it with their children. They built a fine residence called Annandale House in 1799, a distance back from Parramatta Road. It was demolished in 1905 but the gatehouse still stands in Johnston Street on the grounds of Annandale Public school. His son Robert inherited the estate but in 1877 sold it to John Young, who was a businessman, architect and mayor.

Young began turning the Johnston estate into an attractive suburb by building some very picturesque houses. One of those houses was Kenilworth, with a "witch's cap" style of roof common to that period of architecture, which Young rented to Henry Parkes, father of Federation and former Premier of NSW. Kenilworth was sold for $3.35 million in 2007. Other houses in the group were The Abbey, Oybin, Rozelle (now demolished), Greba, Hockingdon, Highroyd and Claremont (now demolished). Some of the houses are popularly known as "witches houses" because their towers resemble witches' hats. Highroyd was given a major restoration which took twenty years and was completed in 2009. The restoration was supervised by heritage architect David Springett and led to Highroyd being nominated for the heritage category of the Australian Institute of Architects New South Wales awards in 2009. Of the various houses in this group, The Abbey is the most notable. Built by John Young, The Abbey has been described as a stone Gothic Revival mansion, modelled on Scottish manors. Young gave his imagination a free rein and the house incorporates gables, arches, gargoyles, lions, quatrefoils, chimneys, turrets, a cloister and a tower with copper cladding (it was rumoured that Young may have stolen gargoyles from St Mary's Cathedral, which he built, but there was no proof). Young was the highest ranking Mason in Australia and The Abbey incorporates Masonic themes. It is possible that the building may have been used by Young as a Masonic Lodge. After Young's death, The Abbey was occupied by a series of tenants, who subdivided the house to create flats and flatettes.

A new owner acquired the house in 1959 and restored it. It is now on the Register of the National Estate. Following the death of this owner the contents of the Abbey were auctioned over the weekend of 23-4 May 2009. The house itself was sold for $4.86 million in November, 2009. The price was a record for the Annandale area. The selling agent had been hoping for a price of $5 million, but bidding was relatively cautious.

Another home in the area was Kentville, which was built as John Young's home, in a three-hectare garden setting adjacent to Rozelle Bay. The land was bought by Young in 1877, and included a cottage built by Robert Johnston. Young enlarged the cottage and named it Kentville after his home county in the UK. He also built a bowling green on the land and opened it to the public. Young hoped that the Annandale area would be fine enough to rival places like Darling Point, but was unable to get rid of industries in the area or prevent the subdivision of lots. He died in 1907. The land was subdivided in the late part of the 19th century and more so after Young's death. Since then it has undergone a number of social transformations, from factory floors, migrant stop off, ageing population, to now young families and modern small and micro businesses. Source.

Young was an alderman on the Leichhardt Borough Council from 1879, and mayor that year and in 1884-85. Returning in 1891 from travels in Europe and Asia, Young led a secession movement resulting in the incorporation of the Annandale Borough Council. The Municipality of Annandale was incorporated on 2 January 1894 and merged into the Municipality of Leichhardt in 1949. The Annandale Council Chambers are now the home of the Annandale Neighbourhood Centre.

Heritage
Annandale has many heritage listed buildings including 'Grant Leigh' on Johnston Street which is classified by the National Trust. The following buildings are also listed on the Register of the National Estate: ]


 * Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church, Johnston Street
 * Annandale Council Chambers, 79 Johnston Street
 * Uniting Church (former Methodist Church), 81A Johnston Street
 * Annandale Public School, Johnston Street
 * North Annandale Public School, Johnston Street
 * The Abbey and stone walls, Johnston Street
 * Victorian semi-detached villas, 13-15 Collins Street
 * Annandale Post Office, Johnston Street, an example of the Federation Queen Anne style, is on the Register of the National Estate.
 * Goodmans Buildings, 2-12 Johnston Street and 103-119 Parramatta Road
 * North's Factory, 43 Trafalgar Street, the former Beale Piano Factory, the first and largest Australian piano manufacturer.

Schools

 * Annandale Public School at 25-31 Johnston Street and Annandale North Public School at 198 Johnston Street are both on the Register of the National Estate.
 * St Brendan's Catholic School is at 34 Collins Street.

Churches



 * Village Church, Annandale (Anglican), 120 Johnston Street
 * Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church, Johnston Street
 * St Brendan's Catholic Church, Johnston Street
 * Annandale Uniting Church, Johnston Street

Sport

 * Annandale once had a Rugby League team in the NSWRL Premiership competition between 1910-1920.

Music

 * The Annandale Hotel is a popular live music venue for rock/indie bands. Live At The Annandale is an album recorded at the Annandale Hotel by American punk rock band The Bronx. Isis released a DVD of their full performance at the Annandale Hotel from 2005.
 * Trafalgar Studios was where many influential bands of the 70-80s in Sydney recorded their albums. Artists who recorded here included Cold Chisel, Radio Birdman, Died Pretty, Midnight Oil and Paul Kelly. Trafalgar Studios is currently home to Christian music label Emu Music.
 * Australian music label Didgeridoo Records is located in Annandale.
 * The band Sparkadia originated from Annandale.

Pop culture

 * American author, Mark Twain, stayed in Johnston Street, in the home of Sir Henry Parkes toward the end of Parkes' life, according to Bill Bryson in his 'Down Under' book.
 * Booth Street, one of the main streets of the suburb, is a song by popular local band Youth Group on their debut album 'Urban and Eastern' (2000).
 * Sydney band Seventeen (featuring members of Smudge and 2 Litre Dolby) have a song called Annandale on their 1999 album 'Gaggin For It'.

Notable residents

 * Nightclub owner and property developer Abe Saffron was born in Annandale
 * 'Father of Federation' and Premier of NSW Henry Parkes died in Annandale
 * Painter Fred Cress had a studio in Annandale