Editing Woolloomooloo

{{Short description|Suburb of New South Wales, Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox Australian place | type = suburb
| name     = Woolloomooloo
| city     = Sydney
| state    = nsw
| image    = (1)Finger Wharf-6.jpg
| caption  = [[Finger Wharf]]
| local_map = yes
| zoom      = 12
| lga      = City of Sydney
| postcode = 2011
| est      =
| pop       = <!--Leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata-->
| pop_year  = <!--Leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata-->
| pop_footnotes = <!--Leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata-->
| density  = 10240
| area     = 0.37
| stategov = [[Electoral district of Sydney|Sydney]]
| fedgov   = [[Division of Wentworth|Wentworth]]
| fedgov2  = [[Division of Sydney|Sydney]]
| near-nw  = [[Sydney central business district|Sydney CBD]]
| near-n   = ''[[Port Jackson]]''
| near-ne  = [[Potts Point]]
| near-w   = [[Sydney central business district|Sydney CBD]]
| near-e   = [[Potts Point]]
| near-sw  = [[East Sydney (locality)|East Sydney]]
| near-s   = [[Darlinghurst]]
| near-se  = [[Kings Cross, New South Wales|Kings Cross]]
| dist1    = 1.5
| dir1     = east
| location1= [[Sydney central business district|Sydney CBD]]}}

'''Woolloomooloo'''  ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|w|ʊ|l|ə|m|ə|ˈ|l|uː}} {{respell|wuul|ə|mə|LOO}}) is a harbourside, inner-city [[Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)|eastern]] suburb of [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Australia, 1.5 kilometres east of the [[Sydney central business district|central business district]], in the [[Local government in Australia|local government area]] of the [[City of Sydney]]. It is in a low-lying, former docklands area at the head of Woolloomooloo Bay, on [[Port Jackson|Sydney Harbour]]. [[The Domain, Sydney|The Domain]] sits to the west, the locality of [[East Sydney (locality)|East Sydney]] is near the south-west corner of the suburb and the locality of [[Kings Cross, New South Wales|Kings Cross]] is near the south-east corner. [[Potts Point]] is immediately to the east.

Woolloomooloo was originally a [[working-class]] district of Sydney and has only recently{{when|date=March 2024}} changed with [[gentrification]] of the inner city areas of Sydney. The redevelopment of the waterfront, particularly the construction of the housing development on the [[Finger Wharf]], has caused major change. Areas of [[Public housing in Australia|public housing]] still exist in the suburb, with 22% homes in the 2011 postcode, owned by [[Housing NSW]], in front of [[Redfern, New South Wales|Redfern]], [[Eastlakes]] and [[Glebe, New South Wales|Glebe]]. 

Woolloomooloo is home to [[Artspace Visual Arts Centre|Artspace]], an independent, not-for-profit, contemporary art space which is located in the heritage-listed [[The Gunnery, Woolloomooloo|Gunnery]] building.

==History==
===Aboriginal culture===
[[File:Woolloomooloo Bay Watercolour 1855.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Woolloomooloo Bay in 1855 (watercolour)]]
The current spelling of "Woolloomooloo" is derived from the name of the first homestead in the area, ''Wolloomooloo House'', built by the first landowner John Palmer. There is debate as to how Palmer came up with the name with different [[Australian Aborigine|Aboriginal]] words being suggested. Anthropologist J.D. McCarthy wrote in 'NSW Aboriginal Places Names', in 1946, that Woolloomooloo could be derived from either ''Wallamullah'', meaning ''place of plenty'' or ''Wallabahmullah'', meaning a ''young black kangaroo''.<ref name="Requiem">{{cite book |last=Farwell |first=George |year=1971 |title=Requiem for Woolloomooloo |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0-340-15777-1}}</ref>

In 1852, the traveller Col. G.C. Mundy wrote that the name came from ''Wala-mala'', meaning an "[Aboriginal] burial ground". It has also been suggested that the name means ''field of blood'', due to the alleged Aboriginal tribal fights that took place in the area, or that it is from the pronunciation by Aboriginals of ''windmill'', from the one that existed on Darlinghurst ridge until the 1850s.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

===European settlement===
[[File:Woolloomooloo 1866 SLNSW FL1104967.jpg|thumb|Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney, 1866]]
After the [[First Fleet]]'s arrival in Sydney, the area was initially recognised as Garden Cove or Garden Island Cove after the nearby small wooded [[Garden Island, New South Wales|Garden Island]], off the shore. The first land grant was given to John Palmer in 1793 to allow him to run cattle for the fledgling colony.

An 1832 map by [[Thomas Mitchell (explorer)|Thomas Mitchell]] shows "Woolloomooloo Estate" <!-- sic, one 'l' --> extending from the road "To South Head" northwards to Woolloomooloo Bay. To the east lies a hill with windmills and a "New Prison", and land grants on the peninsula that is now the suburbs of [[Potts Point]] and [[Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales|Elizabeth Bay]].<ref>{{cite map |last1=Mitchell |first1=Thomas Livingstone |title=Sketch of the coast from Darling Harbour to Elizabeth Bay: showing the grants to Mr McLeay and six other gentlemen. |url=https://dictionaryofsydney.org/media/5514 |publisher=House of Commons |date=16 July 1832}} The map shows the original shore-line of Woolloomooloo Bay, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay. The land to the northwest around Farm Cove is designated "Government Domain".</ref>

In the 1840s, the farm land was subdivided into what is now Woolloomooloo, [[Darlinghurst]] and parts of [[Surry Hills]]. Originally the area saw affluent residents building grand houses, many with spectacular gardens, attracted by the bay and close proximity to the city and [[Government House, Sydney|Government House]].<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.warrenfahey.com/articles/woolloomooloo.html |title=Australian Folklore Unit |access-date=31 December 2006 |last=Fahey |first=Warren}}</ref>

The area slowly started to change after expensive houses were built in [[Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales|Elizabeth Bay]] and further east and a road was needed from Sydney. It was for this reason that [[William Street, Sydney|William Street]] was built, dividing the land for the first time.

Woolloomooloo Bay was used extensively as a port. As recently as October 1971, the [[Maritime Services Board]] opened a 200 metre berth on the western side of the bay.<ref>Materials handling ''[[Freight & Container Transportation]]'' October 1971 page 53</ref>

===Trams===
The Woolloomooloo [[Trams in Sydney|tram line]] opened in stages between 1915 and 1918. This line branched off from [[Park Street, Sydney|Park Street]] and ran north along Haig Avenue, Sir John Young Crescent and Lincoln Crescent to Brown's Wharf at Woolloomooloo. Through service ran from [[Circular Quay]] via [[Elizabeth Street, Sydney|Elizabeth]] and [[Park Street, Sydney|Park]] streets. The line was an early closure, in 1935, being replaced by a bus service from [[Pyrmont, New South Wales|Pyrmont]].

=== Green ban ===
In February 1973, the [[Builders Labourers Federation]] placed a two-year long [[green ban]] on the suburb to stop the destruction of low-income housing and trees.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Green Bans Art Walks Project |date=2023-06-23 |title=Green Bans Timeline: 1971-74 |url=https://commonslibrary.org/green-bans-timeline/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> It succeeded and 65% of the houses were placed under rent control.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/green_bans_movement|title=Green Bans movement|last=Burgmann|first=Verity and Meredith|date=2011}}</ref>

== Heritage listings ==
Woolloomooloo has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Cowper Wharf Road: [[Finger Wharf]]<ref name=nswshr-1437>{{cite NSW SHR|5051359|Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf|hr=01437|fn=EF14/5703; S90/03363/6|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>
* 43–51 Cowper Wharf Road: [[The Gunnery, Woolloomooloo]]<ref name=nswshr-927>{{cite NSW SHR|5014138|The Gunnery|hr=00927|fn=S90/00703|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref>

==Population==
{{Historical populations
|type=
|2001|3038
|2006|3518
|2011|3716
|2016|4011
|2021|3792
}}

According to the {{CensusAU|2021}}, there were {{formatnum:3792}} people in Woolloomooloo. [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people]] made up 3.6% of the population. 51.5% of people were born in Australia; the next most common countries of birth included [[England]] 5.4%, [[New Zealand]] 3.7%, [[China]] (excluding [[Special administrative regions of China|Special Administrative Regions]] (SARs) and [[Taiwan]]) 2.4%, [[Vietnam]] 1.6%, and the [[United States|United States of America]] 1.5%. 67.1% of people only spoke [[English language|English]] at home; other languages spoken at home included [[Spanish language|Spanish]] 3.5%, [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] 2.5%, [[French language|French]] 1.6%, [[Cantonese]] 1.5%, and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] 1.4%. The most common responses for religion included [[Irreligion in Australia|No Religion]] 46.7%, [[Catholic Church in Australia|Catholic]] 18.8%, [[Anglican Church of Australia|Anglican]] 6.6%, and [[Buddhism in Australia|Buddhism]] 3.1%; a further 10.5% of respondents for this area elected not to disclose their religion.<ref name="Census">{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL14424|name=Woolloomooloo |access-date=20 August 2024 |quick=on}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
[[File:1Woolloomooloo.jpg|thumb|350px|Overlooking Woolloomooloo from the Domain Park, with the Bells Hotel (red brick building) in the foreground]]
Woolloomooloo is home to the [[Finger Wharf]], known for its remarkable size. It is {{Convert|400|m|ft|-1}} long and {{Convert|63|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} wide and stands on 3,600 piles.

The Sydney Harbour Trust built the Finger Wharf, or Woolloomooloo Wharf, between 1911 and 1915 with the charter to bring order to [[Sydney Harbour]]'s foreshore facilities. The wharf became the [[World's largest buildings|largest wooden structure in the world]]. The area's commerce was dominated by shipping at the wharf and by the regular influx of sailors and officers from the [[Garden Island, New South Wales|Garden Island]] base of the [[Royal Australian Navy]].

The wharf's influence diminished for Woolloomooloo during the 1970s when other more modern wharves were preferred. By the 1980s the wharf lay derelict and empty and in 1987, the [[Government of New South Wales|state government]] decided to demolish the Wharf.<ref name="Maju">{{Cite web |title=The Finger Wharf History |publisher=Maju Sequence |url=http://www.maju.com.au/wharf_history.cfm |access-date=11 February 2007}}</ref> A new complex was approved to replace the wharf in Woolloomooloo Bay, but when demolition work was due to begin in January 1991, locals blocked entrance to the site.<ref name=smh1991>{{Cite news |title=Live and let lie policy for wharf |first=Anne |last=Susskind |newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=15 January 1991 |page=2 |issn=0312-6315}}</ref> Unions imposed a [[green ban]], which stopped demolition crews from undertaking work.<ref name=smh1991/>

[[File:HMAS Sydney at Kuttabul.jpg|thumb|Aerial view]]
In the mid-1990s the wharf was renovated into 300 private residential apartments and a boutique hotel with 104 guestrooms. It also has several restaurants and bars, including the popular Water Bar, frequented by many visiting celebrities. At first, the hotel was launched as "W Sydney - Woolloomooloo" and was the [[W Hotels]] brands' first internationally launched property outside of the United States. The hotel's licensing expired in 2007 and rebranded as "Blue Hotel", managed by [[Taj Hotels & Resorts]]. Notable residents include actor [[Russell Crowe]], who lives in a $14 million penthouse which as a result has become famous in Australia and abroad and one of the most expensive and sought after places in the country. Another prominent resident is controversial former Australian radio presenter [[John Laws]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Christine |last=Sams |title=On the move with Russell and Danielle |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/31/1054177765250.html |work=[[The Sun-Herald]] |date=1 June 2003 |access-date=22 October 2006 }}</ref>

Woolloomooloo is home to [[Artspace Visual Arts Centre|Artspace]], an independent, not-for-profit and non-collecting residency-based [[contemporary art]] centre. Artspace is housed in the historic [[The Gunnery, Woolloomooloo|Gunnery Building]]. Devoted to the development of certain new ideas and practices in contemporary art and culture, since the early 1980s Artspace has been building a critical context for Australian and international artists, curators and writers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Digital |first=Atlas |title=Home |url=https://artspace.org.au/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=ArtSpace}}</ref>

The [[Andrew "Boy" Charlton Pool]], sits on the western side of Woolloomooloo Bay, amongst the [[Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney|Royal Botanic Gardens]].

==Popular culture==
* [[The Bushwackers (band)|The Bushwackers]] play a song "Woolloomooloo Lair" about an inhabitant of the suburb.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grainger.de/music/songs/woolloomooloo.html|title=Woolloomooloo Lair|last=G.H.Grainger|website=grainger.de|access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>
* Steve Mullins recorded "Woolloomooloo" in 1910 for Jumbo Records in the UK.<ref>National Film and Sound Archive: [http://nfsa.gov.au/collection/sound/sounds-australia/songs-about-towns-and-places/ Does your town have its own song?]</ref>
* The [[Tommy Leonetti]] song "My City of Sydney", later covered by the post-punk band [[XL Capris]], mentions "That little church steeple in Woolloomooloo".
* The [[Bruces sketch]] by [[Monty Python]] is set in the fictitious University of Woolloomooloo, mainly due to its typical Australian name.
* In the show ''[[Flight of the Conchords (TV series)|Flight of the Conchords]]'', Jemaine claims that his short-time girlfriend Keitha ("[[Unnatural Love]]") is from Woolloomooloo.
* The 1984 album ''[[Zoolook]]'' by [[Jean Michel Jarre]] has a track titled "Woolloomooloo".
* In 1970, Australian educator, journalist and politician [[Irina Dunn]] created the phrase "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle," scribbling the phrase on two bathroom doors: one at Sydney University where she was then a student, and the other at Soren's Wine Bar in Woolloomooloo. The quip is often incorrectly attributed to American feminist [[Gloria Steinem]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://john-s-allen.com/humor/herstory.htm |work=A Bit of Herstory
|title=The Definitive Word on the Origin |publisher=The Fish and Bicycle Page |last=Allen |first=John S |quote=I scribbled the phrase on the backs of two toilet doors, would you believe, one at Sydney University where I was a student, and the other at Soren's Wine Bar at Woolloomooloo, a seedy suburb in south Sydney.}}</ref>
* The 1982 album ''[[Circus Animals]]'' by [[Cold Chisel]] contains the song "Numbers Fall", which refers to Forbes Street and Springfield Avenue, Woolloomooloo.  "Letter to Alan", on the same album, also refers to the Wayside Chapel in neighbouring Potts Point.
* The 1989 album ''[[The Big Don't Argue]]'' by [[Weddings Parties Anything]] contains the song "Ticket in Tatts", which refers to Woollomooloo.
* The popular children's book ''The Kangaroo from Woolloomooloo'' (written by [[Joy Cowley]]; illustrated by Rodney McRae, 1985), featured, among a wide variety of other Australian fauna, a kangaroo from Woolloomooloo.
*Author/musician and sometime resident Nathan Roche set his novels ''Vagrer'', ''Cleaning Off The Cobwebs on the Skeletons in the Closet'' and ''The Harbour Review'' in the suburb and also wrote the song "Sailors into Woolloomooloo" which appeared on his 2013 record, ''Watch It Wharf''.
* In the Dutch city of [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], a student's disco is called Her Majesty's first discobar "Woolloomooloo", or "Woo" in brief.
* The song "[[Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (soundtrack)|Slow Motion Angreza]]" from the Hindi movie ''[[Bhaag Milkha Bhaag]]'', featuring [[Farhan Akhtar]] and [[Rebecca Breeds]], references Woollomooloo in its lyrics.
* The infamous brothel owner and underworld figure [[Tilly Devine]] was based at Woolloomooloo, and was nicknamed the Queen of Woolloomooloo<ref name="adb">{{cite book|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/divine-matilda-mary-tilly-5970|title=Devine , Matilda Mary (Tilly) (1900-1970)|publisher=Australian Dictionary of Biography|author=Judith Allen/Baiba Irving|chapter=Matilda Mary (Tilly) Devine (1900–1970) }}</ref>

==Public transport==
Woolloomooloo is served by [[Transdev John Holland]] bus route 311 from [[Eddy Avenue]] to [[Millers Point]].<ref>[https://transportnsw.info/routes/details/sydney-buses-network/311/30311 Route 311 timetable] [[Transport for NSW]]</ref>

==Notable residents==
[[File:Woolloomooloo-visual-pun-Cathedral-Street.jpg|thumb|Visual representation of the suburb's name on Cathedral Street]]
* [[Mark Bosnich]], former Socceroos football player
* [[Russell Crowe]], actor<ref>{{cite news|author1=Macken, Lucy |title=Russell Crowe pulls his Finger Wharf apartment off the market, says no to $25m|url=https://www.domain.com.au/news/russell-crowe-pulls-his-finger-wharf-apartment-off-the-market-says-no-to-25m-20170203-gu56ck/|access-date=5 February 2017|work=domain.com.au|date=5 February 2017}}</ref>
* [[Alessandro Del Piero]], former Sydney FC football player
* [[Delta Goodrem]], singer
* [[John Laws]], radio presenter<ref>[https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/john-laws-18-million-apartment-raided-by-alleged-intruder-who-strolled-in-back-door-but-was-nabbed-escaping-out-the-front/news-story/172fbbefedc7e7069cb090ac3cb1e0e4 John Laws $18 million apartment raided by alleged intruder who strolled in back door but was nabbed escaping out the front] ''[[Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|Daily Telegraph]]'' 10 November 2014</ref>
* [[Tilly Devine]], underworld figure<ref name="adb" />
* [[Lang Walker]], property developer

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Woolloomooloo, New South Wales}}
*[http://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-city/potts-point-and-woolloomooloo/ SYDNEY.com - Potts Point and Woolloomooloo]
* {{cite web | url = http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/woolloomooloo | title = Woolloomooloo | access-date = 29 September 2015 | author =  Shirley Fitzgerald - City of Sydney History Unit | date = 2008 | work=[[Dictionary of Sydney]]}} <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Creative Commons license|CC-By-SA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>

{{Coord|-33.8704|151.2223|format=dms|type:city_region:AU-NSW|display=title}}
{{Sydney City of Sydney suburbs|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Woolloomooloo| ]]
[[Category:Suburbs of Sydney]]
[[Category:Green bans]]