The A to Z of 2205: Dowling St

Named by the solicitor James Arthur Dowling, a grandson of the early Chief Justice, Sir James Dowling. (The Origins of the Street Names of the Municipality of Rockdale, compiled by R.W Rathbone, 1990)

There are some seriously gorgeous houses in Dowling St, mainly towards the Wollongong Rd end, where there are some magnificent Victorian and Federation houses, nicely restored. Most of these are opposite Athelsatne Public School (which was once a beautiful Victorian mansion).

Below: Athelstane Public School





Below: Looking along Dowling St from Wollongong Rd; fence of Athelstane PS on left.

Below: The mixed business shop on the corner of Wollongong Rd - the Dowling St aspect.

Below: The next few pics are the beautiful Victorian and Federation houses





















Below: And possibly the not-quite-so-beautiful?

Below: 19 Dowling St was once a Federation house, but these days its the place to get along to if you want to denounce homosexuality or celebrate the resurrection of the founder's dead daughter. It's now called the Life Centre. As their website explains:

"The church was founded by Pastor Elizabeth Brookshaw in 1982, just after her daughter was miraculously raised from the dead. From this incident, her whole family surrendered their whole lives to God and committed themselves to true repentance. From here, her whole family started to gather together to pray and worship God. This home fellowship continued to grow into a church that was known by the name of The Body of Christ Mission Centre and was blessed with a 2700 square metre property in Arncliffe, Sydney.In November 2003, the senior leadership of the church was handed over to her son and daughter-in-law; Ben & Cisca Irawan, leading a new generation church with a Godly influence. In November 2004, the church formally changed its name to Life Centre. "

“We firmly stand against and denounce homosexuality, adultery, sexual perversion, same-sex marriages, pornography, gambling, drug use & partaking of intoxicants, physical abuse, satanism, or divination in any form.”

Below: Looking towards Wollongong Rd, across Hirst St
Below: With back to Hirst St, looking along Dowling St

Below: From Gipps St to Hirst St

Photos taken 2001, July 2006 and 17 August 2008

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.


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Gone But Not Forgotten - Martin St Turrella

I came across this sign down by the railway line at Turrella, (at the end of Rickard St I think). Nice to see an acknowledgement of what went before. It loks like the sign may be a bit forgotten and neglected though! It would be great if there were something in the Almond St Reserve.

A big thanks to all the locals with such vast knowledge who let me know about the history of Almond St (see previous post).

Also, one corrspondent, Vik, has put up a page showing us the BEAUTIFUL exterior and interior of Glenwood in Eden St. <--------Click on the link to go to Vik's page. Coming soon - an update on Dapeto with the work taking place there now, and some new photos in the Wolli Creek/Tempe House area.

Victorian Domestic Architecture: some more modest examples!

Modified Victorian cottages, Wollongong Rd

'Tardis' , Stanley St (bigger inside than it looks on the outside, just like Dr Who's police phone box, I guess!
Victoria St
Old coach house/stables at rear of Victoria St terrace

78 Wollongong Rd

Wollongong Rd
Semis, Stanley St
Semis, Stanley St

71 Hirst St

23 Walters St

16 and 18 Wollongong Rd

16 Mitchell St. A lovely modest weatherboard cottage

9 Dowling St

1 Dowling St

3-4 Mitchell St. Terrace-style semis