Welcome, it’s Adrian Bo and today I’m on Carr Street to talk about a very early subdivision of Coogee, as well as what we can learn about the local streets that evolved in this area from the archive real estate subdivision maps. According to a subdivision sometime in the 1890s on Carr Street, there were six blocks of land adjacent to each other which together were collectively known as Napoleon Terrace. Of course, as we know, Napoleon Bonaparte had been a French military and political leader during the early part of the 19th century. So I’m presuming that Napoleon Terrace was so named due to some French owner who wanted to commemorate that local great hero. These blocks ranged in size from 12 to 1300 square metres. Block sizes on Carr Street today, tend to be more around the 4 to 500 square metres so these original blocks have certainly been subdivided over the years since the 1890s. At the time Napoleon Terrace was described by the selling agent as, “The Choicest Spots in Randwick and Coogee, displaying the most splendid perspective.” Interesting catch lines for selling purposes in those days. They went on to explain that the view was described as “magnificent ocean views”. At that stage, according to the subdivision map, parallel to Carr Street, at the end of Melody street and Nathan Street was a road named Whale Street, which was later changed to Belmore Road. But today it’s currently known and was renamed to Coogee Bay Road, which is obviously a main arterial through Coogee precinct itself.

Long Bay Road was renamed also into Dudley Street as we know it today and has been for so many decades. On a slightly later subdivision map, there was a large block of land named Hebblewhite which was presumably owned by a relative of S. Hebblewhite who was elected as part of the very first Randwick Council back in 1859. On a side note, the council’s very first investment was to build what is now Coogee Bay Road between Carrington Road and Beach Street. Also referenced on the subdivision map, was a street called Swamp Street which is now known as Wolseley Road in South Coogee, being a very prestigious street in the South Coogee pocket. The road referenced as Perouse Street is now known as Oberon Street. Back to the modern world and according to the records, Carr street has 361 units, six townhouses and 22 houses. In 2021, there were 22 sales on Carr Street, the highest recorded price being three and a half million for a three bedroom apartment, being number 1006 in the Coogee View building, at 56 Carr Street.

The only standalone sale house last year on Carr Street, which was number 23 selling for just over 3 million dollars. Now I’m very familiar with this area as I’ve literally sold thousands of properties and some of them include 6/74 Coogee Bay Road, a two bedroom, no parking art deco unit, which I sold for $1.44 million. I also sold number 4, Pitt Street in Randwick, a two bedroom semi for $2.66m. I also sold 9/158 Oberon Street in Coogee, a two bedroom, 70’s style unit for $1.14m. 6/4 Edgecumbe Avenue also was a great sale. A two bedroom being $1.7 million and 40 Dudley Street bordering Randwick there which was a six bedroom house I sold for $5.3 million amongst many others. If you’d like an update market valuation of your property, I’d be delighted to oblige and assist you. Please reach out to me on 0418-278-316, or my email adrian.bo@raywhite.com. I really hope you enjoyed this insight into how Carr Street and the surrounding areas evolved through their initial subdivisions. I’m so passionate about keeping our history alive, as well as serving my local community in the capacity of a professional real estate trusted advisor. Please enjoy the autumn as the rain starts to clear and always remember, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.