The land that would become the suburb of Paddington was originally part
of a large estate owned by emancipated convict distiller, merchant and mariner
James Underwood who named his estate after the borough of Paddington, in
England. In partnership with Robert Cooper and Francis Forbes, he would
subdivide this land with the intention to set up a gin distillery and with the
surrounding land used to support grain crops the estate soon housed a granary
and several distillery vats.
Paddington’s oldest house Juniper Hall was built
by Cooper as a family home in 1822 and was named in honour of the Juniper berry
which is an essential ingredient in the production of gin. Eventually leased to
the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children in 1855, the house was due for
demolition in the 1920s but outcry from local residents prevented the building
being removed with the compromise of a row of shopfronts erected on the garden
in front of the house. These were eventually these removed and an extensive
restoration project on the property was carried out by the National Trust to
preserve its significant architectural and social history.
Paddington's Victoria Barracks, built in 1848, is amongst the
oldest and most significant in Australian military history. Initially housing
British Troops, New South Wales forces would use the barracks as its focal base
in New South Wales with the Royal Military College of Australia housed there
during World War II. Still in use today, these large grounds are home to both
Headquarters Land Command and Headquarters Training Command.
Paddington would be subject to substantial residential development from
the mid 1800s through to the early 1900s with small Victorian terraces and
workers cottages piled next to one another and was one of Sydney's most over
crowded suburbs. It's working class population were particularly affected by
the Great Depression of 1929 with Paddington becoming home to several slums and
the suburbs reputation as polluted, dirty and overcrowded would not arrive
until the 1960s when the untouched Victorian era architecture had the suburb
come into vogue and undergo a period of gentrification. Today with a
significant proportion of its period architecture intact and restored,
Paddington retains its old world charm with the narrow lanes and one way
streets significant of a time before automotive transport. It is no longer a
working class suburb, instead a preferred home for wealthy young couples and
singles with a high proportion of second generation migrants with significant
communities from England, New Zealand and the United States.
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