Once known as Woolloomooloo
Hill, Kings Cross was home to Sydney's nineteenth century elite who
built grand mansions along the ridge to enjoy sea breezes, a wonderful
view and access to the city. These villas of the rich and famous were
sold, abandoned or demolished with the march of time and a number were
resumed during the construction of Garden Island in the 1940s. Some
became home to the bohemia who were moving to the Cross to enjoy the
vivacity and night life. Anything went and wild girls like Dulcie Deamer
and Rosaleen Norton walked the same streets as the crime queens Tillie
Devine and Kate Leigh.
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The Cross, as it evolved from giant gardens and
massive mansions into the gold mine of Art Deco apartments and
multi-storyed blocks of flats, attracted lovers of the Parisian
lifestyle. Cafes and nightclubs appeared where visitors could get a
drink after 6 pm, a Continental meal and stay awake until dawn. The
Cross magnetised artists of all types: writers, cartoonists, painters,
sculptors, publishers. Everyone wanted to be there and live it up in all
its wonder. Change to the bohemian character came with the US servicemen
who docked at Woolloomooloo Wharf and came up the hill to the sparkle
and escape. The Great White Fleet in 1906, World War 2 servicemen with
stockings and cigarettes to give away and the R and R soldiers during
the Vietnam War.
The Cross's classy nightclubs turned into seedier strip
joints, Go-Go clubs, huge brothels and sex shops. Elegance prevailed in
Macleay Street which today houses the rich and famous who seek the
colour and life of the Cross. It is like no other place in Sydney and
people come from far and wide to live it up on the weekend. This
self-contained suburb where the mundane falls away is well pictured in
this new book on Kings Cross.
Written by Anne-Maree Whitaker. 128 pages, black & white. A4
format. Soft Cover $24.95, ISBN 978-0-9871840-4-7. Hard Back $34.95, ISBN 978-0-9871840-5-4.
plus $10 postage (includes GST).
