Randwick

Randwick is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Randwick is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwick. Randwick is part of the Eastern Suburbs region. The postcode is 2031.

Randwick was named after the village of Randwick, Gloucestershire, England, birthplace of Simeon Henry Pearce, who became Mayor of Randwick six times. Simeon, who migrated to Australia in 1842, and his brother James who arrived in 1848, were responsible for the founding and early development of Randwick. Simeon built the first stone house in the area in 1848, called Blenheim House, which can still be seen in Blenheim Street. It was neglected for some time in the mid-1900s, but was eventually acquired by Randwick City Council and restored.

Proclaimed as a Municipality in February 1859, and as a City in 1990, Randwick has a rich history and a number of heritage buildings. Another Mayor of Randwick, George Kiss, lived in the house known as Ventnor in the 1870s. A two-storey sandstone house, Ventnor was built by Alderman Edward Dawson in 1859, and is situated on Avoca Street, overlooking Coogee. It is now owned by the nearby Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church (built 1888). Other buildings of note include the St Jude's Church group, also on Avoca Street. Originally designed by Edmund Blacket, (who also designed St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and the University of Sydney), the church was completed in 1865. It was modified by H.M. Robinson in 1889. The rectory next door was built in 1870. The Verger's Residence, designed by Thomas Rowe and completed in 1862, was the original Randwick Municipal Chambers. This distinctive building, with its Gothic touches, was followed by the present Randwick Town Hall, which was built further north in Avoca Street in 1881. The church group and Ventnor are listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Further south down Avoca Street is the sandstone building with a tower, built in 1859 as an investment property by William Ellis, one of Randwick's first six elected aldermen. After briefly being used as the 'Star and Garter' Inn by Mrs Elizabeth Shipway, it was later the home of Captain Thomas Watson, who was responsible for commissioning the 1874 statue of Captain James Cook, sculpted by Walter McGill, which still stands at the south side of the building. Captain Watson also heightened the square tower, thus ensuring another distinctive landmark feature of the area.

Close by is another even more imposing building in Randwick's heartland - the Prince of Wales Hospital, which started life as the Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children. Opened in 1858, it was partly financed by the legacy of Dr. Cuthill, whose name is commemorated by the adjacent Cuthill Street. The southern wing was added in 1863, by which time over 800 children were being cared for. In 1915 the Asylum buildings were finally deemed unsuitable as premises in which to provide a realistic home life for children, and they were then adapted for WWI use as a military and repatriation hospital. In 1953 the complex was officially renamed as the Prince of Wales Hospital, which continues to grow as a renowned medical facility.

Other noteworthy buildings include private homes like Ilfracombe, Clovelly and Torquay in Avoca Street, and Venice, in Frenchmans Road. The latter was built 1884–84 on part of St Mark's Glebe. The land had been leased in 1880 for 99 years to S.Holmes and J.Parsons. The house features Tudor and Gothic elements and has stained glass windows. It has been described as a "comparatively rare and distinctive example of late Victorian Gothic architecture retaining most of its detailing intact." It has a New South Wales heritage .

Another notable home was Sandgate, located in Belmore Road. This sandstone house was built circa 1870 on Crown land purchased by Simeon Pearce in 1853. It was bought by the Federal Government in the 1920s; it was then used as a Red Cross facility for First World War veterans. It was saved from demolition in 1978 and restored by Randwick Council.

The last Gothic mansion left in Randwick is Nugal Hall, located in Milford Street. It was designed by Mortimer Lewis and the southern portion of the house was built in 1853 for Alexander McArthur, a shipping merchant. The house features a staircase with glass dome above; the staircase was built of Mauritius mahogany and cedar. The coach house building at the front was originally a lodge for horse-drawn vehicles. The northern portion of the house was completed by Dr Fred Tidswell who owned the Coogee Bay Hotel. The architect of the northern portion is thought to have been Mortimer Lewis's son, Oswald. The Tidswell family owned the house from c. 1880 – 1903. Frederick Squire Tidswell (1831–1898) and his wife Mary Ann (1836–1912) had nine children including the microbiologist Dr Frank Tidswell (1867–1941) and architect Thomas Tidswell (1870–1950).