Welcome. It’s Adrian Bo. This week I’m on Greville Street in Clovelly to talk about the origins of the Clovelly area as well as some of the characters involved in the early subdivisions of land. Originally this area was known as “Little Coogee” and it wasn’t until 1913 when the president of the Local Progress Association, F.H. Howe, suggested the name Clovelly after a local estate, named after the English village on the Devon coast. The name Eastbourne was also being considered for the suburb, however it was decided the name would be Clovelly. Though the naming of Eastbourne Avenue paid homage to that particular English seaside town. In June of 1834 William C. Grenville, a clerk in the Colonial Secretary’s Department bought 20 acres including a large bay frontage and in the 1860s an enormous home was built on the vast parcel of land around Burnie Street called Mundarrah Towers. It was originally built for John Dickson, an MP and an important member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, though within a few years it was sold to Samuel Bennett. Bennett, who was a trained printer, originally worked for the “Sydney Herald.”

He then began building an empire of newspapers including the “Empire”, the “Evening News” and “Australian Town & Country Journal.” His publishing empire faced a fierce battle with the established Fairfax Group and the Reuters Cable Company. In 1878 he suffered a minor cut to a finger and developed tetanus from which he died at Mundarrah Towers in 1878. The story goes that on the day of his burial a rainbow appeared in the sky from Mundarrah Towers to his grave site. The first records of a land subdivision in Little Coogee as it was known then, was in 1881. It was called the Arden Vale at Waverley, and established vacant blocks on Greville Street and Vale Street, some fronting onto Arden Street as well. The next recorded subdivision was in 1886, called the Carlingford Estate, which established residential blocks on Boundary Street, Park Street, Northumberland Street and Ocean Street. The tram coming all the way to the coast became a catalyst for a substantial interest in living in the area.

A raft of subdivisions ensued over the next couple of decades until a large parcel from the grounds of Mundarrah Towers was subdivided in 1910. It was called the Little Coogee Beach Estate and it established blocks either side of Burnie Street and on Battery Street as well as more blocks on Park Street. It wasn’t until 1926 that Mundarrah Towers was demolished, of course Mundarrah Street between Clovelly Road and Battery Street was named to commemorate this early landmark of Clovelly history. Now the real estate market in Clovelly has been one of those markets to really spike during the Covid period. Three-bedroom houses in Clovelly have seen a 52.4% rise in the median price this year to $3.7 million on 17 registered sales. The median price for four bedroom houses in Clovelly is up 20.1% on 18 registered sales. Two bedroom units have also seen a substantial rise in Clovelly, with the median being up 22.3% this year on 22 sales. In fact most units and houses in Clovelly will have had a substantial rise in value, though some categories have had too few sales to establish a median. I’ve been selling real estate in the Clovelly area as well as Coogee, Randwick and Maroubra for over 32 years and I’ve sold many properties in Clovelly including 271 Clovelly Road, a five bedroom semi, I sold for $2.64 million, 4 at 61 Arden Street, a three bedroom apartment I sold for $2.025 million and 40 Park Street, a three bedroom house I sold for $3.5 million. The lockdown is now hopefully behind us, the real estate market is continuing to flourish so if you would like an updated valuation on your property please don’t hesitate to give me a call on 0418 278 316. Keep smiling and always remember your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.