Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
around the top of the shark net, and two floating pontoons are sought-after posing plat-
forms for those who confuse beaches with catwalks.
Darling Point
LINDESAY
( 9363 2401;
www.nationaltrust.com.au
; 1a Carthona Ave; tour $8; tours 10am, 11am & noon 1st Thu of the
month; Darling Point)
It's rarely open but aside from Nicole Kidman inviting you in for tea,
this is probably your best chance to look inside an actual Darling Point mansion. Built in
1834, it's still got its Georgian interiors, servants' quarters and long lawn overlooking the
harbour. Lindesay is positioned directly above the Darling Point ferry stop.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Balmain
Balmain sits on its own peninsula, immediately west of the city centre. There are frequent
ferry services to each of its four wharves: Balmain East, Balmain (Thames St), Birchgrove
and Balmain West.
BALMAIN
( Balmain East)
Once a tough, working-class neighbourhood, Balmain now rivals Padding-
ton in Victorian-era desirability - with the added advantage of being surrounded by water
and city-bound ferries. Darling St traverses the spine of Balmain's peninsula, and makes
for a decent pub crawl. Balmain's frangipani-scented streets contain dozens of historically
significant buildings, most of which are privately owned.
NEIGHBOURHOOD
The most notable is the graciously proportioned
Hampton Villa
(12b Grafton St)
, a Georgi-
an marine villa (1847). NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes, the 'Father of Federation', lived
here from 1888 to 1892. Nearby is the squat, shingle-roofed
Clontarf Cottage
(4 Wallace St)
,
an impressively restored house (1844) saved from demolition by protests in the late
1980s; and the semiderelict
St Mary's Hall
(7 Adolphus St)
, built around 1851. Darling St
has the
Watch House
(179 Darling St)
, Sydney's oldest surviving lockup (1854),
Water-
man's Cottage
(12 Darling St)
, built in 1841, and
Cathermore
(50 Darling St)
, Balmain's first
bakery (1841), which later became the Waterford Arms pub.
ELKINGTON PARK
(cnr Glassop & White Sts; Balmain West)
If Balmain's endless photogenia doesn't float your
boat, head to Elkington Park, named in 1883 after a local politician. At the bottom of the
PARK
