Rushcutters Bay Explained

Type:suburb
Rushcutters Bay
City:Sydney
State:nsw
Local Map:yes
Zoom:13
Lga:City of Sydney
Postcode:2011
Elevation:28
Area:0.2
Stategov:Sydney
Stategov2:Vaucluse
Fedgov:Wentworth
Dist1:3
Dir1:east
Location1:Sydney CBD
Near-N:Elizabeth Bay
Near-Ne:Port Jackson
Near-W:Potts Point
Near-E:Darling Point
Near-Sw:Darlinghurst
Near-S:Paddington
Near-Se:Edgecliff

Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney.[1]

The suburb of Rushcutters Bay sits beside the bay it takes its name from, on Sydney Harbour. It is surrounded by the suburbs of Elizabeth Bay, Darlinghurst, Paddington and Darling Point. Kings Cross is a locality on the western border.

History

After British settlement, the area was first known as 'Rush Cutting Bay' because the swampy land was covered in tall rushes used by early settlers for thatching houses. In 1878, 60NaN0 were reserved for recreation; and, after reclamation work was completed, Rushcutters Bay Park was created, bounded by New South Head Road and the bay at Sydney Harbour.

Rushcutters Bay was once the site of the famous Sydney Stadium.[2] On Boxing Day 1908 at the Stadium, Tommy Burns lost his heavyweight title to the legendary Jack Johnson, famously the first African-American to win a world title. For many years Rushcutters Bay was home to White City Stadium for major tennis tournaments, prior to the establishment of tennis facilities at Sydney Olympic Park.

On 6 April 1927 Herbert Pratten, Federal Minister for Trade, appeared in a Lee DeForest film to celebrate the opening of a Phonofilm studio in Rushcutters Bay.[3]

In the 20th century, when neighbouring Darlinghurst was seen as down-at-heel, some businesses and residents abutting that boundary would, for appearance's sake, list their addresses as being in Rushcutters Bay. This phenomenon persists despite Darlinghurst's gentrification; for example, a BMW dealership on Craigend Street, Darlinghurst, provides customers with an incorrect address.[4]

The bay at Sydney Harbour served as host for the sailing events during the 2000 Summer Olympics.[5]

Heritage listings

Rushcutters Bay has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, there were 2,335 people living in Rushcutters Bay.[7]

At the, the suburb of Rushcutters Bay recorded a population of 2,547 people. Of these:

References

-33.8774°N 151.2282°W

Notes and References

  1. Gregory's Sydney Street Directory, Gregory's Publishing Company, 2007
  2. Book: Pollon, Frances. The Book of Sydney Suburbs. Angus & Robertson. 1990. Australia. 0-207-14495-8. 232.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20220817052551/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dcc6x1hkJwcJ:members.optusnet.com.au/picturepalace/De%20Forest%20Phonofilms.doc+australia+film+archive+phonofilm&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us De Forest Phonofilms – Rushcutters Bay
  4. https://www.bmwsydney.com.au/discover/contact
  5. http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2000/2000v1.pdf 2000 Summer Olympics official report.
  6. 01339. 18 May 2018.
  7. Web site: 2021 Rushcutters Bay, Census All persons QuickStats . 2022-08-20 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.