Abstract
Surry Hills is one of those Sydney suburbs that has seen its stocks go up and down: it has been praised for its 'healthy breezes and beautiful views', but at other times damned as a squalid slum breeding crime and immorality. It has been home to colonial bluebloods in opulent villas and townhouses, but it has also sheltered the poor in dark basements and attics of appalling meanness. And for the Cadigal people, the original inhabitants of the land, the coming of the white men was an unmitigated disaster.
Highlights
Surry Hills is one of those Sydney suburbs that has seen its stocks go up and down: it has been praised for its 'healthy breezes and beautiful views', but at other times damned as a squalid slum breeding crime and immorality
One of the earliest references to the area that is Surry Hills expresses the disappointment of the new arrivals with it: Between Sydney Cove and Botany Bay the first space is occupied by a wood, in some parts a mile and a half, in others three miles across; beyond that, is a kind of heath, poor, sandy, and full of swamps
Governor Phillip's main concern was feeding his flock, and Surry Hills seemed to hold out little hope in this regard: on the north, the area was bounded by a sandstone traverse ridge rising in the east to a higher ridge where the military barracks would eventually be built
Summary
Surry Hills is one of those Sydney suburbs that has seen its stocks go up and down: it has been praised for its 'healthy breezes and beautiful views', but at other times damned as a squalid slum breeding crime and immorality. It has been home to colonial bluebloods in opulent villas and townhouses, but it has sheltered the poor in dark basements and attics of appalling meanness. For the Cadigal people, the original inhabitants of the land, the coming of the white men was an unmitigated disaster
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