Welcome, it’s Adrian Bo here from Ray White Park Coast Eastern Suburbs. And this week as part of my local community and history series, I’m on Shackel Avenue in the beautiful beachside precinct of Clovelly to talk about the evolution of this stunning area, once known as Little Coogee. Even though the first school in Clovelly can be traced back to 1897, being in the Mission Hall in Varna Street, it wasn’t until 1909 when development really started to take place. The local progress association claimed that 717 houses were needed to be built within a short walk of the proposed new tram route, which took people in and out of the city. In 1913, 14 blocks of land were sold, forming Shackel Avenue and Eastbourne Avenue. The parcel was called the Waitemata Estate and the subdivision poster referred to the sparkling waters as well as the new tram line that had been built the other side of what was known as Little Coogee Bay, now known as Clovelly Bay. The blocks were around 5 to 600 square metres in size. At that stage what is now Bruce Avenue was just marked off as a 20 foot wide lane connecting Eastbourne Avenue and Shackel Avenue as were Park Lane, Campbell Lane, and Northumberland Lane. Interestingly, a mansion called “By The Sea”, remained at that stage at the Ocean Street end of Shackel Avenue. Four years earlier, the “By The Sea” property underwent stage one of its subdivision, when 30 blocks of the vast parcel of land were sold by auction, with an average block size of 600 square metres. At that stage, a large portion of the oceanfront reserve was set aside as military reserve.

This would have been as a result of Shark Point which sits amongst that area of the reserve. Shark Point was used as a coastal defence facility between 1871 and 1874. A subterranean barracks was carved out of the sandstone and manned with large anti-ship guns as one of Sydney’s major defence bases to defend against a feared Russian assault from the sea. Amazing to think that Russia threatens worldwide peace yet again 150 years later. Then in 1915, the rest of the “By The Sea Estate” was subdivided into “19 fine sites with grand views of the ocean”, as it was called, establishing Ocean Street, with block sizes nearer 550 square metres. The beach now known as Clovelly Beach, had sand stretching down each side of the bay with a proposed bridge to be built that crossed the bay right next to a foot bridge that already existed. That proposed bridge or causeway began construction in the 1930s only for it to be smashed by an enormous storm. When the tide is out, the remains of the causeway construction can still be seen today. I covered the concreting of the Clovelly foreshore and the birth of the Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club in a previous episode, which I will link to this post.

Now to the modern day and according to the records, Shackel Avenue has eight units and 39 houses, with 80% owner occupied and 20% rented, the average owner occupier having been here for nine years and 11 months. Number 28, a four-bedroom house was sold in March of this year for $9,150,000, having previously changed hands for $5.75 million in 2016 and there were three houses sold in 2021 ranging anywhere from four and a half million to just over eight million. Over the 34 years I’ve been selling real estate in the Eastern suburbs, I’ve sold many properties in Clovelly, including 271 Clovelly Road, 4 at 61 Arden Street, 40 Park Street, two apartments at 15 Barry Street, 3 at 59 Arden Street, 35 Douglas Street and 45 Knox Street, amongst many others. The market here in Clovelly remains very strong, the median for a three-bedroom house has risen to $4 million, 23.1% higher than last year. Four-bedroom houses are now $5.1 million, 53.8% higher than last year and two-bedroom units have risen by 14.8% over the last year with the median sitting at $1,645,000. I’m always available to offer an appraisal should you wish to consider a market valuation on your property. You can reach me on 0418-278-316 or adrian.bo@raywhite.com. Clovelly is one of the many local treasures in our Eastern suburbs community, and I enjoy keeping the stories alive of the area as I have lived and worked here my entire life. Please enjoy the Spring sunshine and always remember, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.