Each of these case studies illustrates a different question you might have while researching your house history, and how the answers to those questions might surprise you.
5 Hegarty Street, Glebe
Case study: 5 Hegarty Street, Glebe
Question: I live in a quiet street in an old terrace house which is probably the only one ever built on the site. There is nothing famous or special about it. Am I right to think that all I will find are dates and names of occupiers?
Answer: If that’s all you want, this should be straightforward. But scratch around and you might find out a whole lot more.
In brief:
- Early land history
- Subdivision of the land in the 1880s
- The first houses
- The 20th century
- How the history was found
- Other sources for further research
Case study: 5 Hegarty Street, GlebePDF · 1.28 MB · Last modified
The Macleay Regis, 1939 — State Library of NSW Digital Order no: hood_09832
Case study: 10-12 Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay
Question: There is a website that says my block of apartments was completed in 1939, and a lot of places around here are of similar vintage. I want to know the history of this building but I also wonder why these places were built back then when most people in Sydney wanted a house and garden.
Answer: Sometimes the history of your home can’t be separated from other general questions like the one you have asked. Sydney’s planning history will give you the answer.
In brief:
- Early land history
- The first houses, including land title history
- Blackburn’s ‘Greenhithe’
- The Macleay Regis
- About the art deco building
- The building today
- How the history was found
- Other sources for further research
Case study: 10-12 Macleay Street, Elizabeth BayPDF · 2.04 MB · Last modified
Victoria Park, 22 Gadigal Ave, Zetland — City of Sydney Archives: Unique ID: A-00065331
Case study: 22 Gadigal Avenue, Zetland
Question: I live in a new apartment. Not much history here?
Answer: Since the 1980s, many old factory and warehouse sites in Sydney became available for housing developments as the city deindustrialised. It is not so much a question of who lived in my house but what happened there?
In brief:
- Early land history
- What happened following the closure of the on-site Leyland factory
- About the apartment block-building
- How the history was found
Case study: 22 Gadigal Avenue, ZetlandPDF · 2.06 MB · Last modified
36 Caroline Street, Redfern — Image: Phoebe Pratt / City of Sydney
Case study: 36 Caroline Street, Redfern
Question: There is what seems to be a remnant of a house on the corner of our community park at the Redfern Community Centre. It has been painted with the colours of the Aboriginal flag. Why is it there?
Answer: Some buildings acquire a meaning beyond their original use. The history of this house is partly about its life as a house and partly about its life as a symbol for Redfern’s Aboriginal peoples.
In brief:
- Early land history
- About the house
- Houses for factories
- Factories for the community
- How this history was found
Case study: 36 Caroline Street, RedfernPDF · 2.16 MB · Last modified
Looking north from Observatory Hill, 1864 — State Library of NSW Digital Order No. a260002
Case study: 44 Argyle Street, Millers Point
Question: There are already histories written about my house. It is in a heritage precinct and several conservation and heritage reports have been produced over the years. The trouble is that there seems to be too much information and sometimes the different reports contradict each other. They don’t always provide what I’m looking for.
Answer: One way to make sense of the diverse information and reports which a heritage listed property generates is to start by creating a timeline. This will help you sort out your house history part of the story and show up any discrepancies that may need checking against original records.
Timelines are a good way to begin putting together information for any house history and this might be all you want to do. Or, if you want to go further, a timeline can also be a first step in developing a more descriptive piece of historical writing.
In brief:
- Timeline of the land
- The first houses
- Wentworth Terrace
- The 20th century
- How the history was found
Case study: 44 Argyle Street, Millers PointPDF · 1.25 MB · Last modified
City of Sydney Archives: Unique ID: A-00062215
Case study: 262 Bulwara Road, Ultimo
Question: This old house looks as if it may have once been a shop. How do I find out?
Answer: Sydney has many homes that were built as something else, especially as shops, workshops or factories. Today buildings that were once schools or churches are housing. Old houses are sometimes now offices, factories now schools, and so on. A home does not always have a house history. But this one did.
In brief:
- The locality
- European invasion
- History of the Harris family
- Ownership of the land changes hands
- 20th century developments
- How this history was found
Case study: 262 Bulwara Road, UltimoPDF · 4.62 MB · Last modified
Hercules Motors building façade, 142-48 Elizabeth Street Sydney, 2001 — Mark Stevens / City of Sydney Archives A-01129903
Case study: Hyde Park Towers, Sydney
Question: This apartment tower is fairly modern, but there is also an old section which was once part of a commercial property. Does that make it difficult to research its history?
Answer: Not necessarily. It might require finding out about more than one parcel of land in the original title records, but this is quite common, especially where large buildings straddle consolidated titles.
In brief:
- Early land history
- Brief land title history
- The Nithsdale estate
- 20th century developments
- How this history was found
Case study: Hyde Park Towers, SydneyPDF · 1.89 MB · Last modified
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