Waratah Part 1 – c1840s to 1913

 

Today where Ward Avenue runs between Bayswater and Kings Cross Roads was once a handsome 1840s house, in generous grounds.

In Before Kings Cross, Freda McDonnell writes:

“’Goderich Lodge was bought in the [eighteen] fifties, after several brief tenancies, by Frederick Tooth.  Close by, in another portion of the Macquoid estate, was ‘Waratah’ in which lived Frederick’s brother, Edwin.  The two houses became famous for the hospitality and gracious living which the Tooth brothers enjoyed.”

The Tooth brothers were part of the Tooth and Co brewing dynasty.

After that, between the mid-1870s and c1905, it was occupied by the Walford family, including the father and grandfather of Leslie Walford, decorator and society columnist.

The photo below was taken c1910 – by which time Waratah had become a boarding house. 

Waratah c1910, Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection

Waratah covered the area today bordered by Bayswater and Kings Cross Roads; and the land in between covered by Ward Avenue and today’s 51-57 Bayswater Road (where Bones Ramen and Bayswater Kitchenette trade) and 52-54 Kings Cross Road (The Wardleigh). 

On 4 Dec 1911, the City of Sydney took a series of photos of Waratah, as part of its documentation of resumptions for street re-alignment. 

Waratah, 4 Dec 1911, Council of the City of Sydney Archives. 

A view towards the north west (ie of the eastern side of Waratah) showing a tennis court. 4 Dec 1911, Council of the City of Sydney Archives.

The rear buildings of Waratah viewed from the then Woolcott Street (now Kings Cross Road). 4 Dec 1911, Council of the City of Sydney Archives.

At the time the Council's photos above were taken, Waratah, with the address 19 Bayswater Road, was being operated as a boarding house by Mrs E. O’Connell. 

Waratah was resumed by the Council c1911 as part of the project to widen and re-align Bayswater Road and Woolcott Street.  The land was put back on the market by the Council in 1913, with the new alignments.