History of Green Square
Green Square has a rich history and is socially, culturally, economically and physically diverse. The name “Green Square”, originated from a small triangular park at where Botany Road, Bourke Road and O’Riordan Street meet (now next to the Green Square railway station). This park was created in 1938 when O’Riordan Street was reconstructed as part of the preparations for the 150th Anniversary of Governor Phillip’s Landing. The park was named in honour of Local Labor Mayor, Frederick Green. The location of the new Green Square railway station adjacent to this small park, and the urban renewal planning process that followed, lead to the naming of the whole area “Green Square”.
The Carahdigal lands
The Carrahdigang clan (Cadigal and Gadigal are also used), of the Eora nation are the traditional owners of the area around Port Jackson, including the area now known as Green Square. The Carrahdigang people, who are from the Darug language group, were amongst the first Aboriginal people to make contact with Europeans in 1788, and were led by renowned Bidjigal warrior, Pemulwuy, in their resistance to British occupation.
The Carrahdigang called their land “Carahdigal”, and the fresh water creeks and wetlands of the cultural landscape provided abundant and varied food and materials.
The wetlands and creeks restricted development, but the water was used for irrigation and transport, and later for industry and urban water supply. The endemic ecological community, the Eastern Suburbs Banksia which is now endangered, adapted to the high proportion of inland water.
The Cooper Estate
During the 19th century almost all of the area known as Alexandria, Beaconsfield, Waterloo, Zetland and Rosebery was owned by Daniel Cooper, a convict turned businessman. By the 1850s the Cooper Estate had flourished into an industrial suburb. Along with brickworks, candle and soap factories, tanneries, breweries and wool washing firms, schools and churches were established. To the east of the suburb were sandhills and scrub which became Moore Park. In 1860 Waterloo became a borough and the Waterloo Town Hall was built in the 1880s.
The 1880’s also saw small residential subdivision being established as workers housing, particularly in the slightly higher ground in Zetland, Waterloo and Beaconsfield. The estate remained under his ownership until 1913, and the break up of the Cooper Estate provided large areas for purpose built factories. After the Second World War the area expanded even further with large scale ‘planned factories’.
Beaconsfield – the “Working Man’s Model Township”
Beaconsfield was subdivided from the Cooper Estate in 1884 and advertised as the “Working Man’s Model Township”. The area was primarily used for industry with only a small residential area and McConville Reserve, named after, Hugh McConville, Mayor of Alexandria.
New immigrants
Many Lebanese and Chinese people migrated into the area. The availability of fresh water saw the growth of local market gardening, particularly with Chinese migrants. There was also a large dairy which provided milk for much of the Eastern Suburbs. The first Lebanese church in Australia, St Mechael’s Melkite Church, was built in 1895 and in 1909 the Local/State Heritage Listed Chinese Temple was built in Retreat Street, Alexandria.
Victoria Park
In 1906, the Victoria Park Racecourse was created on former swampland in Zetland by Mayor of Sydney, Sir James Joynton Smith. During the 1950s the site was bought by British Motor Corporation for industry and today is the Victoria Park residential, retail and commercial development. The original Totaliser building remains on Joynton Avenue.
Rosebery
Rosebery was developed in 1911 and promoted as “Sydney’s model residential and industrial suburb”. The factories were separated from housing by parklands and no two adjacent houses were of the same design.
Post-war manufacturing decline
By 1943 the Municipality of Alexandria was the largest industrial Municipality in Australia, and was known as the “Birmingham of the Southern Hemisphere”. During the post-war years manufacturing either declined or decentralised to the western suburbs of Sydney leaving large areas of browfield land for urban renewal.
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Regeneration
Today, Green Square is being transformed into a vibrant and sustainable urban place, with a diverse mix of housing, open spaces, offices, shops and facilities that will create a focal point for the wider area.
