Sunday, June 14, 2009

Project 3---Site Analysis (1)


There are three sites that we can choose from. All of them are in King St, Newtown.
Background of Newtown
Aboriginal history

The Newtown area was part of the land of the Cadigal band of the Eora people, who ranged across the entire area from the southern shores of Sydney Harbour to Botany Bay in the south-east and Petersham in the west. It was through the land management methods of the aboriginal people that the extensive grasslands of predominantly Kangaroo Grass, commented upon by Watkin Tench were maintained as ideal breeding grounds for kangaroos.The first Aborigine to receive a Christian burial was Tommy, an eleven year old boy who died of bronchitis in the Sydney Infirmary. He was buried in Camperdown Cemetery, in a section now located outside the wall. The cemetery also contains a sandstone obelisk erected in 1944 by the Rangers League of NSW, in memory of Tommy and three other Aborigines buried there - Mogo, William Perry and Wandelina Cabrorigirel, although their graves are no longer identifiable. When the names were transcribed from the records onto the monument, there was an error in deciphering the flowing hand in which many of the original burial dockets were written. It is now known that the fourth name was not Wandelina Cabrorigirel, but Mandelina (Aboriginal)
Commercial area

King Street is the main street of Newtown and centre of commercial and entertainment activity. Enmore Road branches off King Street towards the suburb of Enmore at Newtown Bridge, where the road passes over the railway line at Newtown Station. Enmore Road and King Street together comprise a 9.1 kilometre round-trip of some 600 shopfronts. The main shopping strip of Newtown is the longest and most complete commercial precinct of the late Victorian and Federation period in Australia. King Street is often referred to as "Eat Street" in the media due to the large number of cafés, pubs and restaurants. Newtown is a centre of Thai cuisine, but its diverse culture has attracted an astounding array of cuisines, including Balinese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese, Indian, Italian, Greek, Mexican, Spanish, African, French, Turkish, Sri Lankan, Lebanese and both traditional and modern Australian. Cafe's, restaurants and galleries can also be found in the streets surrounding King Street - in particular Enmore Road, Wilson Street and Australia Street. Erskineville Road's cafes and pubs are also a short walk from King Street.

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