Secret Suburb: Annandale is a classic mix of the old and new
LOCATED just 5km from Sydney is an urbane hub with a rebel past that offers a trove of treasures worth discovering. Jenifer Jagielski takes a tour of Annandale.
NSW
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LOCATED just 5km from Sydney is an urbane hub with a rebel past that offers a trove of treasures worth discovering, Jenifer Jagielski finds out.
Located, in a beautiful old building that dates to the early 1900s, this lovingly restored shop is a perfect representation of how the more we change, the more we stay the same.
The smiles and messy fingers say it all.
Amore Cooking Parties don’t just look like fun; they are fun…and tasty too.
The brainchild of Susy Tabacchi, a 20 year veteran of the hospitality industry, these culinary experiences are part tuition and part tradition.
Growing up in Northern Italy, Susy compares her approach to cooking to that of famous painter, Titian.
Where he had a relaxed approach to the mix of colour and light, Susy does the same with her food – mixing and blending ingredients by intuition not recipes.
It’s her creative and improvisational approach to cooking that makes it ideal for younger cooks. “I teach kids simple Italian recipes that give great satisfaction when serving,” says Susy adding, “Good food brings family together where decisions are often made.”
In this case, what’s for dessert?
Created in the 1700s as an elaborately painted floor covering, oilcloth was the material of choice for any hard-wearing areas.
Fast forward a couple of centuries and oilcloth is still being used for its durability and easy cleaning, and has virtually become synonymous with the canary yellow tablecloths of a 1950s kitchen.
The vibrant hue of the fabric may not be your go-to colour scheme, but there’s no denying its practicality, something that Lisa Joseph of Me Too Please recognised while on trip to Mexico.
She noticed that all the tables at roadside taco stands were using the brightly coloured oilcloth and seeing its potential in Australia, mainly for its durability and versatility, she began to import it to make everything from lunch bags to bike satchels.
The big winner though, is the uber-cool Chalk Cloth – this table cover that double as a sort of chalkboard will keep the little ones occupied while you share a frosty margarita with friends.
Terrific Scientific is a step back in time. You can almost smell the vinegar in the exploding volcano or hear the fizz of a Mentos and soda geyser.
Not familiar with those experiments? Fear not as this wonderful store, opened by a science teacher 20 years ago, has the books and chemistry sets to get things started.
It’s not all nostalgia, though. There are nifty things like the kinetic sand that sticks to itself and not to you or the very popular, very impressive and slightly disconcerting IQ Key – part construction toy system, part robotics.
That one may be a bit advanced for the toddler, so for them, there is a whole other section of the store with the softer side of science.
“Grandparents come in to buy gifts for their newborn grandchildren then become regulars as the kids grow up,” Anthony Poole, co-owner of the store, says.
He also tells how people will come in for something specific but often have a bit of a play then leave with a bit more.
There’s really no magic formula here. It’s just proof that if you make science fun, learning can be easy as Pi.
With the costs of petrol and parking taking a chunk out of your budget, the idea of riding to work can be pretty appealing but rocking up to the morning meeting sweaty and stinky just won’t do.
But the age-old method of transport is still feasible; it just need a little modern day twist.
Enter the electric bicycle, or more precisely, pedal-assisted bicycle.
The nuances are subtle but veteran cyclist, John Coffey, owner of Electric Bicycle Central Sydney is happy to assist.
A convert himself, John explains how the bikes do a sort of double-duty.
“You can have an easy ride to work, barely pedalling but then on the way home just use the pedal to get a great workout,” John explains.
Tired of going to fancy dress parties where you’re one of six Snow Whites or get lost in a parade of grim reapers?
For Belinda Crawford, of A Splash of Red, that’s never really a problem.
With a passion for costumes and an eye for detail, she’s just as comfortable mastering the finer points of a Tudor gown as she is hitting up Bunnings for kind corset steel cutters.
Belinda’s creativity comes with a fair dose of frivolity, like the roller-skating Little Bo Peep costumes she made for Chinese New Year’s year of the sheep; huge hoop skirts with LED lights and foam lambs around the hem.
“I love creating things that let me ‘build’ and make a mess. Tools, glue and paint make me happy,” Belinda says.
Now that’s how to stand out in a crowd.
The wonder of any well-loved park, especially Bicentennial Park, is that everyone who visits sees it differently.
For all dog lovers, it’s a social scene for both people and pups; for the keen joggers and walkers, it’s a wide paved path with a water view and plenty of bubblers.
For travelling artisans like Maureen O’Keeffe and Helen Tuthill, it’s a quiet place to paint the foreshore and the regal-looking Anzac Bridge and rather poignantly, while sitting in the shade of The Esther Abrahams Pavilion, named after the wife of Annandale Estate’s founder, Captain George Johnston.
Hen’s nights are notorious for gaggles of girls setting out to paint the town red — but come the next morning, all that’s left are embarrassing selfies and plastic tiaras.
But at Art Fusion Studio/Gallery, the bride and her BFFs can get together and create something more lasting – a painting of their own.
Working under the guidance of artist and studio owner Glenn Farquhar, relatively small groups like bridal parties, get to spend an afternoon brushing, pouring, dripping and smearing paints on a large canvas.
“At first it may seem random, but then there’s that point when the whole thing comes together and you see that you’ve made something special and not just messing around,” Glenn says.
The end result is an impressive piece of art that even the fussiest designers will appreciate, but best of all, no tiaras — rather a wedding gift that will always represent your family and friends- plus it’s heaps better than another toaster.
When land was granted to Major George Johnston a captain with the First Fleet, it was originally referred to as Johnston’s Bush, but later changed it, as tradition would have it, after his hometown in Scotland.
Johnston would later join the NSW “Rum Corps” Corps where he led a mutiny and ousted Governor William Bligh, taking over as Lieutenant Governor.
That lasted a mere six months when Johnston himself was arrested, sent back to England only to return and run the Annandale estate with his wife Esther Abrahams, a convict he met on his first voyage to Australia.
Upon Johnston’s death, his son Robert inherited the property, but only after convincing the court that his mother, Esther was legally insane.
Parcels of land were given to Robert’s son while others were sold to John Young, a successful businessman and renowned builder who had overseen the construction of St Mary’s Cathedral.
Young had visions of Annandale becoming a “model township” which included schools, shops and a post office.
He pegged Johnston St as the main parade building eight regal houses along the road, the most noticeable of which is The Abbey – a Victorian gothic mansion complete with gargoyles, masonic symbols that he built for his wife back in the UK. (She never came to Australia though so it got rented out.)
Another of Young’s houses – or one of the witches houses, so name because of the spires that look like witches hats – was Kenilworth which Young rented to Sir Henry Parkes, now considered the Father of the Australian Federation and, as rumour has it, a friend and host to Mark Twain.
Annandale is a town that truly encapsulates Sydney’s history – from the glorious green estates of in the early 1800s, to the subdivision of the property and establishment of the town in the late 1800s, which was then hit by the depression and the grand houses were converted to flats.
It became an industrial area but as post-World War II migrants moved into the area, it began to return to its village feel and with the help of local advocates has made a concerted effort to save those historical houses and return them to their former glory.
* Follow Jenifer Jagielski on Twitter @moxnixchick
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