Introduction
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the suburb but its administrative centre is located in Double Bay. Woollahra is famous for its quiet, tree-lined residential streets and village-style shopping centre.
Lifestyle
Among the many chic and stylish cafes and restaurants are a number of antique shops and art galleries. The suburb is also the location of many government consulates, including Serbia, Germany, Russia, Poland and Turkey. Like nearby Double Bay, Woollahra has a cosmopolitan air about it with a number of quality boutiques selling everything from imported French soaps to cookery books.
Woollahra is an extremely affluent suburb, due in part to its proximity to the city and the shopping centre at Bondi Junction The suburb boasts a wide range of picturesque homes, mostly in various Victorian styles. Moncur Street and Queen Street are particularly well-to-do areas, with a mixture of residential and commercial buildings and an extraordinarily high number of heritage-listed buildings. High-rise development has been avoided completely, maintaining the heritage atmosphere of the suburb.
Woollahra Public School opened in 1877. It is a two-storey brick building that was designed by J.Wigram and W.Kemp. The building is listed on the Register of the National Estate. The school includes Opportunity Classes in Years 5 and 6 for gifted students. The school celebrated its Centenary in 1977 and a time capsule was buried in the grounds.
History
Woollahra is an Aboriginal word meaning camp or meeting ground or a sitting down place. It was adopted by Daniel Cooper (1821–1902), the first speaker of the legislative assembly of New South Wales, when he laid the foundations of Woollahra House in 1856. It was built on the site of the old Henrietta Villa (or Point Piper House). Cooper and his descendants were responsible for the establishment and progress of the suburb and its name was taken from the house.