Balmain East, New South Wales

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Balmain East

LGA:

Leichhardt Council

Established:

1995

Postcode:

2041^[1]

Population:

1,749 (2001 census)^[2]

Median house value:

A$871,000^[3] (Mar 2006)

Location:

Sydney, NSW

Suburbs near Balmain East
Birchgrove	Waverton	Kirribilli
Balmain	Balmain East	Sydney
Balmain	Pyrmont	Sydney

Balmain East is a small suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain East is located 4kms west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt. See Balmain for detailed information.

Balmain East is located at the eastern end of the Balmain peninsular, in Sydney Harbour. It has a single boundary with the suburb of Balmain to the west.

1 History
2 Debate on Balmain East being a separate suburb
3 Local Landmarks
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The area now known as Balmain East was part of a 550 acre (2.2 km²) grant to colonial surgeon Dr William Balmain (1762-1803) made in 1800 by Govenor John Hunter.

Balmain was first settled in 1836 and by 1861 had been divided into the well populated eastern areas of Balmain and the sparsely populated western area, extending to the gates of Callan Park.

The small peninsula that jutted out from the main Balmain Peninsula, along which the main artery road Darling St ran, was known to locals for decades as “East Balmain” and generally encompassed the area east of Hart St and Balmain Bowling Club. This dividing boundary was originally a natural swamp that was reclaimed early the early 1800's. Whilst the area was almost always referred to as East Balmain by locals, it was still generally regarded as just a name for the eastern peninsula of the suburb, in a similar way in that Birchgrove was the name given to the area of Balmain that encompassed Snails Bay (refer to the history of Birchgrove for more details on its name).

[edit] Debate on Balmain East being a separate suburb

In 1995, Balmain East became a separate suburb to Balmain.^[1] The term was first used by the Sydney Ferries Corporation to differentiate the many ferry wharfs in Balmain, specifically Darling Street Wharf (in East Balmain) and Elliot Street Wharf, further west. To assist visitors to the area, the Corporation changed the name of the wharfs to their respective geographical names before the Sydney Olympics.

Leichhardt Council, the local government authourity, still does not classify Balmain East as a separate suburb, as made evident in the Council's submission to the Boundary Commission in 2002 ^[2]:

"The local government area includes the suburbs of Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Balmain, Birchgrove, Annandale and Glebe."

The council's own description of the area states the following:

"The Balmain Peninsula lies at the north end of a ridge that runs through the suburbs of Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Rozelle and Balmain."

However the same report does make reference to Balmain East when discussing the Council's Wards. The area is placed under the greater ward of Balmain/Rozelle, which includes the areas of Balmain, Balmain East, Birchgrove and Rozelle.

Many long time residents of the Balmain area are opposed to the attempts by real estate agencies, who claim that East Balmain is separate to the rest of the suburb, because of the fact that the peninsula has a proud history of being one homogenous suburb for over two hundred years.^{[citation needed]} It is not uncommon to read letters in local papers, such as the Village Voice or The Glebe, stating outrage by some residents.

[edit] Local Landmarks

Balmain Pubs - Balmain is home to many famous drinking establishments.

[edit] Notes

↑ Postcode 2041 covers the suburbs of Balmain, Balmain East and Birchgrove.
↑ Combined population for all residents of postcode 2041.
↑ Median house price for all residents of postcode 2041.

[edit] References

^ East Balmain. Geographical Names Board of NSW. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
^ Submission to the Boundary Commission. Leichhardt Council.

Solling, M; Reynolds, P; Leichhardt: On the margins of the city, Allen & Unwin, 1997, ISBN 1-86448-408-X.
Lawrence, J; Warne, C; A Pictorial History of Balmain to Glebe, Kingsclear Books, 1995, ISBN 0-908272-40-5.