Hi, it’s Adrian Bo here. And last week I delved into Avoca Street, Randwick in quite some detail, relating to the tale of local legend John Grice, who appears to have been unheralded by the history books, as well as overlooked for the street naming of the Randwick area in its entirety. And unfortunately, there is no Grice Street in Randwick to speak of. Street naming has developed in a fascinating way over the years. And it’s amazing how there’s often quite a deep story behind most street names in this local area, mainly resulting from subdivisions of large blocks of land. Now today I’m on Moore Street in Coogee to talk about a subdivision that happened in 1893 called “The Gordon Bay Estate”. Note “Gordon” not “Gordon’s” because apparently this is how it was originally known. Now by 1893 several streets had been established in Coogee that have remained the same name, including Beach Street, Arden Street, Bream Street, Dolphin Street, and Brook Street. However, Alison Road was back then known as Allison Street with two “l’s” named after Mrs. Allison who owned the Queens Arms in Darlinghurst and was Simeon Pearce’s landlady before he became so influential in the Eastern suburbs.

Arcadia Street was called Fish Street back then. Alfreda Street that runs along the Coogee Oval was then called Bondi Street. And Coogee Bay Road was Belmore Street. Dolphin Street had originally been called William Street. Now at this stage, Fish Street also known as Arcadia Street, ran all the way to the coastline. And in latter years, Arcadia Street was cut short and the sweeping coastline reserve was established. Now the Coogee Bay Aquarium had been built in 1887, taking over the block surrounded by Dolphin, Beach, Bream and Arden Streets. I’ll cover that in more depth in a future episode, as that is such an interesting, and constantly evolving, Coogee landmark. So the Gordon Bay Estate subdivision established Moore Street, where originally 15 blocks were offered as well as four blocks on what is now, Major Street, originally, part of Moore Street. Moore Street being named after Sir Charles Moore, who was the Mayor of Randwick in 1863 and also the Mayor of Sydney between 1867 and 1869. And he lived at Coogee at a house he built called “Ballamac” located at 39 Arcadia Street, which eventually turned into the Baden Hotel. The standard block sizes on Moore Street were 40 feet frontages with 122 feet depth, which in today’s terms is approximately 450 square metres. The blocks on Major Street were much larger as they tapered up into the edge of the coastline. The blocks for sale, based on a deposit of five pounds with the balance paid in 24 monthly payments at a rate of 6% interest rate, or 60 monthly payments. In other words, over five years at a 7% interest rate.

Now I’ve been selling real estate for 32 years in the Coogee, Randwick, Clovelly and Maroubra areas, including many properties in this immediate area, including number one and number 27 Moore Street in the last few years. According to the records, Moore Street has 40 units, 20 houses, and one townhouse development. 60% of residents on Moore Street are owner occupiers and 40% are renters. And the average resident has stayed here for eight years and 11 months. The Gordon’s Bay area is a secluded oasis that has developed into one of Coogee’s treasured neighbourhoods. The offshore reef has given the bay a protected calmness making it a great spot for divers. I really hope you enjoyed this story of subdivisions and street names. Please keep smiling and always remember, your home is worth more with Adrian Bo.