Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.
Millers Point lies on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, beside Darling Harbour. The Barangaroo development is taking place on 22 hectares of land on the western side of the suburb. Sections of Millers Point have been included as part of The Rocks area in the past and some residents and businesses still use it in their address.
History
Hotel Palisade Millers Point NSW - Hotel Palisade, this historic hotel has stood like a sentinel on Millers Point for nearly a century, and although it spent time as a boarded up beauty, inspiring a million "if I bought that...
On 30 June 1814 Thomas Miller, a Sergeant in the 73rd Regiment of Foot, received a grant of land from the governor. A small mill that was owned by Jack Leighton was located here. The area became known as Jack, the Miller's Point. In 1833 Governor Bourke granted the Catholic Church land at Millers Point for the construction of a school house that could serve as a chapel on Sundays. The Colonial Architect, Ambrose Hallen in consultation with Bishop Ullathorne, designed the school building which was completed by May 1835. It was a one-story building constructed in sandstone with two rooms that could be opened into one. St Brigid's Millers Point is the oldest existing place of Catholic worship in Australia. The school was closed in 1992 but the church continues to be used by the local community.
The current Sydney Observatory building on Observatory Hill was completed in 1858 by English astronomer and clergyman William Scott. Also on Observatory Hill is the old Fort Street School, converted from the old Military Hospital at Fort Phillip in the 1850s. Fort Street School incorporated the first government secondary school in Australia, and after the secondary school moved out in 1975, its building has housed the National Trust of Australia; the primary school remains nearby in a separate, heritage listed, building.
Two separate pubs in the area claim to be Sydney's oldest surviving pubs, the Lord Nelson at Millers Point and the Fortune of War nearby at The Rocks. Others in the area include the Palisade and the Hero of Waterloo.
Population
In the 2016 Census, there were 1,482 people in Millers Point. 42.5% of people were born in Australia and 59.9% of people only spoke English at home. The most common response for religion was No Religion at 29.3%.
Protests
A protest movement developed from 2008 when various governments announced plans to lease and sell Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks properties and move existing public housing tenants. "Save Our Community", "Friends of Millers Point" and the associated "Save Our Sirius" formed to protest relocation of residents.
Heritage buildings
Millers Point has many heritage-listed buildings, including:
- Garrison Church and Church Hall, Argyle Place
- Argyle Cut and Argyle Street Space
- Georgian Warehouse, 2-4 Jenkins Street
- Richmond Villa, Kent Street
- Glover cottages, Kent Street
- Lord Nelson Hotel, Kent Street
- Agar Steps and houses
- National Trust Centre (former Fort Street School), including S.H. Ervin Gallery
- The Observatory, Observatory Hill
- Carlson Terrace, Kent Street (state heritage listing)
Further reading
- Grace Karskens. Inside The Rocks. Published by Hale & Iremonger, Australia. 1999. (ISBNÂ 0 86806 666 4)
- Shirley Fitzgerald & Christopher Keating. Millers Point, The Urban Village. Hale & Iremonger, Australia,1991. (ISBNÂ 086806443 2)
- Isadore Brodsky. Heart Of The Rocks. Published by Old Sydney Free Press, Australia. 1965.
- http://millerspointcommunity.com.au
See also
- Barangaroo, New South Wales
- Sirius building (with other public housing in Millers Point, threatened by sell-off during 2014)
References
External links
- Shirley Fitzgerald - City of Sydney Historian (2008). "Millers Point". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 28 September 2015. [CC-By-SA]
- Terri McCormack (2010). "Hero of Waterloo hotel". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 10 October 2015. [CC-By-SA]
- Mark Dunn (2008). "St Brigid's Catholic church Millers Point". Dictionary of Sydney. Dictionary of Sydney Trust. Retrieved 3 June 2016. [CC-By-SA]
