The A to Z of 2205: Avenal St, Arncliffe

Named after a castle in Scotland. Most streets in this subdivision have Scottish names. (The Origins of Street Names in the Municipality of Rockdale, compiled by Alderman Ron Rathbone, 1990)

Our first street on the "other" (eastern) side of the Princes Highway.

Below: I don't know what the red border around the street sign means. This is at the West Botany St end.
Below: The street sign at the Princes Highway end is obscured by tree foliage.
Below: Looking from the Princes highway. Arncliffe Public School is on the left. It has frontages on Princes Highway (elevated), Avenal St and Segenhoe St. More views will be provided at those entries.
Below: Arncliffe Public School - the stairs lead to the path and footbridge across the Princes Highway.
Below: The original school house at Arncliffe Public School is still standing in the grounds of the present school. It is the oldest school in the St George district. In 1877 residents petitioned to have a school opened in the are. It opened on 12 July 1880, in the stone building, built to accommodate 135 children, with qn attached teachers' residence. Then known as West Botany Public School, its name was changed to Arncliffe in September 1885.
Below: Before school traffic jam in Avenal St. With more and more people shopping around for schools, and greater cotton-wooling of kids, the "school drop off" is a relatively recent phenomenon. In days past few kids were driven to school; most walked or cycled.
Below: Kiss and drop zone, with 15 min parking.
Below: View back towards the Princes Highway
Below: View from near the top of the ridge at Segenhoe St towards West Botany St and over Sydney airport. Despite its proximity to the airport, Arncliffe gets very little aircraft noise. The north-south parallel runways are further north at Sydneham. This part of Arncliffe is closer to the east-west flightpath, which is not used as much.
Below: This backyard displays the older style black and white wooden street signs
Below: A classic fibro house and wooden paling back (or side) yard fence, and corrugated iron gate
Below: Street view from West Botany St
Below: Also from West Botany St
Below: The Segenhoe St frontage of frontage of "Teluba" , occupying the corner of Avenal and Segenhoe Sts. It is owned by the DEpartment of Education and Training, used as a Regional Office. It was once Arncliffe Intermediate Girls High School, until the late 1960s/early 1970s when it closed.


View Larger Map

The A to Z of 2205: Arncliffe St Arncliffe to Wolli Creek

Arncliffe St is a street mainly of light industry and car workshops etc. Many of the car yards on the Princes Highway back on to Arncliffe St. It is narrow. Recently the Wolli Creek end has been re-developed with multi-storey apartments. At first I thought that surely the road must be widened to cope with the increase in traffic. No! Then there was a breakdown in undergound services uner the road (water and electricity, I think) and it was dug up for months on end. I think it is a case study in how NOT to undertake a development. I am not necessarily troubled by re-use of land for alternative purposes, but such developments cause unnecessary inconvenience and seem designed to benefit the developers more than anyone else.

Starting at the Wolli Creek end

Below: Looking from Brodie Spark Drive up Arncliffe St from the Wolli Creek end
Below: "Proximity" is the high rise development fronting Arncliffe St. The amazing thing is that this narrow road, which carries a large amount of the traffic into and out of Arncliffe is also a designated "cycle route" ! They have to be joking.
Below: Proximity, by developer Multiplex. Two bedroom apartments routinely cost over $400 000
Below: What is this? A Substation?
Below: Warehouse building currently used for indoor Go-Kart racing


Below: Looking towards Brodie Spark Drive at Wolli Creek, 'Proximity' on the left.


Below: Morris McMahon was the site of a prolonged industrial dispute in 2003
Below: There used to be houses, however, there are only two left, and they have been converted to other purposes. One is a sandwich and lunch shop servicing the factories in the area, and this one.
Below: Looking towards the Arncliffe end. On the right, the other house, now afood outlet, and across the railway line the Al-Zahra mosque
Below: Looking from the corner of Allen St
Below: On the station side of Arncliffe St, near Burrows St, looking along Arncliffe St. Allen St corner is in the middle. This is the station's commuter car park
Below: Looking in the oppositie direction from the previous shot.
Below: From the corner of Allen St. Empress resewrve is on the left. The green box near the letter box is a mail collection box for the postie to pick up from.

Below: The station from the commuter car park
Below: The park at the end of the carpark, behind Arncliffe Scots. The walkway extends from the end of Arnclife St where it meets Burrows St to the station overpass.


View Larger Map

Photos taken 03 and 04 August 2008

The A to Z of 2205: Argyle St

Named after the county of Argyll in Scotland, birthplace of John McInnes who subdivided this area as the Innesdale Estate.(The Origins of Street Names in the Municipality of Rockdale, compiled by Alderman Ron Rathbone, 1990)

Part 1: The residential end

Below: At the Ann St end, the street sign is one of the older black and white variety
Below: Nothing but units in the stretch between Allen and Ann Sts.
Below: looking from Allen St towards Ann St
Below: from Ann St
Part 2: The Other End

Below: The end of Arglye St looking from Allen At. It goes around the corner at then end and emerges on the Princes Highway.

Below: Looking towards the Princes Highway
Below: The most interesting thing about Argyle St is that it has a "mound" cutting off one end from the other. It is an elevated section of the Southern and Western Ocean Outfall Sewerage pipes.

Below: The next bit of Argyle taken from on top of the sewer
Below: Lookign along the sewer, back to the Princes Highway. You can see the minaret of Al-Zahra mosque.
Below: The last stretch of Argyle St
Below: From Princes Highway

Below: Looking towards the sewer
Below: The Princes Highway at the end
Below: From Allen St to the sewer


View Larger Map

Photos taken 03 and 10 August 2008