Page 126 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Australia

124  SY DNEY

portico dates from 1893. The
interior is furnished to reflect
Macleay’s occupancy from
1839–45, and is based on
inventories drawn up in 1845
for the transfer of the house
and contents to his son,
William Sharp. He took the
house in return for paying off
his father’s debts, leading to a
rift that was never resolved.
Macleay’s original 22-ha
(55-acre) land grant was sub-
divided for flats and villas from
El Alamein Fountain, commemorating the World War II battle the 1880s to 1927. In the 1940s,
the house itself was divided
1El Alamein development. Juanita Nielsen, into 15 flats. In 1942, the artist
Fountain heiress and publisher of a local Donald Friend saw the ferry
newspaper, vigorously took Kuttabul hit by a torpedo from uttabul hit by a torpedo from uttabul
K K
Fitzroy Gardens, Macleay St, Potts up the conservation battle. a Japanese midget submarine
Point. Map 2 E5. @ 311. On 4 July 1975, she disappeared from his flat’s balcony.
without trace. An inquest into The house was restored and
This fountain in the shape of a her disappearance returned opened as a museum in 1977.
dandelion in the heart of the an open verdict, and the case It is a property of the Historic
Kings Cross district has a that captivated Sydney and Houses Trust of NSW.
reputation for working so dominated the front pages of
spasmodically that passers-by newspapers remains unsolved.
often murmur facetiously, “He As a result of the actions of
loves me, he loves me not.” Built the union and residents, most
in 1961, it commemorates the of Victoria Street’s superb old
Australian army’s role in the siege buildings still stand.
of Tobruk, Libya, and the battle
of El Alamein in Egypt during
World War II. At night, when it is 3Elizabeth
brilliantly lit, the fountain looks Bay House
surprisingly ethereal.
7 Onslow Ave, Elizabeth Bay. Map 2
F5. Tel (02) 9356 3022. @ Sydney
2Victoria Street Explorer, 311. Open 10am–4pm Fri–
Sun & Australia Day. Closed Good Fri,
Potts Point. Map 5 B2. @ 311, 324, 25 Dec. 8 & 7 ground floor.
325, 389. ∑ sydneylivingmuseums.com.au
The sweeping staircase under the oval
At the Potts Point end, this Elizabeth Bay House contains dome, Elizabeth Bay House
street of 19th-century terrace the finest colonial interior
houses, interspersed with a few on display in Australia. It is a 4Beare Park
incongruous-looking potent expression of how the Ithaca Rd, Elizabeth Bay. Map 2 F5.
high-rise blocks, is, by depression of the 1840s cut @ 311.
inner-city standards, short the 1830s’ prosperous
almost a boulevard. The optimism. Designed in Originally a part of the Macleay
gracious street you see Greek Revival style by John Estate, Beare Park is now
today was once at the Verge, it was built for encircled by a jumble of
centre of a bitterly Colonial Secretary apartment blocks.
fought conservation Alexander Macleay, A refuge from hectic Kings
struggle, one which from 1835–39. The Cross, it is one of only a few
almost certainly cost oval saloon with parks serving a populated area.
the life of a prominent its dome and Shaped like a natural amphi-
heritage campaigner. cantilevered staircase theatre, the park has glorious
In the early 1970s, Juanita Nielsen is recognized as Verge’s views of Elizabeth Bay.
many residents, backed masterpiece. The exterior The family home of J C
by the “green bans” put in is less satisfactory, as the Williamson, a famous theatrical
place by the Builders’ Labourers intended colonnade and entrepreneur who came to
Federation of New South Wales, portico were not finished Australia from America in the
fought to prevent demolition owing to a crisis in Macleay’s 1870s, formerly stood at the
of old buildings for high-rise financial affairs. The present eastern extremity of the park.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp482–3 and pp504–7