Warrawee, New South Wales

For the heritage house in Queensland, Australia, see Warrawee, Brisbane.

Warrawee
Sydney, New South Wales
Pibrac, Pibrac Avenue
Map
Population3,170 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density2,440/km2 (6,320/sq mi)
EstablishedEarly 1800s[citation needed]
Postcode(s)2074
Elevation189 m (620 ft)
Area1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Location16 km (10 mi) north-west of Sydney CBD
LGA(s)Ku-ring-gai Council
State electorate(s)Ku-ring-gai
Federal division(s)Bradfield
Suburbs around Warrawee:
Wahroonga Wahroonga Turramurra
Wahroonga Warrawee Turramurra
Wahroonga Turramurra Turramurra
Warrawee Public School
Chauntreys, Heydon Avenue.

Warrawee is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warrawee is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council.[2] Warrawee is predominantly a residential suburb with few commercial entities. Notably, its railway station supports no commercial activities, which is uncommon on the Sydney train network.

The suburb should not be confused with Wirrawee, the fictional small country town in the Tomorrow series of books for young people by John Marsden, or the film derived from the first book, Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010).

History

The name Warrawee is believed to be an Aboriginal word meaning rest a while, stop here or to stand.[3]

The suburb has a notable architectural history, with a number of houses designed by prominent architects. The earliest significant homes were Pibrac (1888), Cheddington (1890) and Wirepe (1893).

In 1888, the public servant and patron of exploration, Frederick Eccleston Du Faur, built his house Pibrac in Pibrac Avenue. The house was designed by John Horbury Hunt, a Canadian architect who settled in Australia and favoured the Arts and Crafts style, as well as the North American Shingle style, which he introduced to Australia. Later alterations were carried out by B.J. Waterhouse. The house is built predominantly of timber, with extensive use of timber shingles, on a sandstone base. It is considered a good example of Hunt's work and is listed on the Register of the National Estate.[4]

Cheddington, the oldest home in established Hastings Road, is also attributed to Horbury Hunt, constructed in brick, with a slate roof and characteristic shingling. Wirepe, designed by M.B. Halligan for architect Walter Traill, uses deep verandahs and high ceilings to elicit a homestead atmosphere, with fine corbelled chimneys and cedar shingles. The brickwork is laid in colonial bond, and the house sits at the heart of the Ku-ring-gai heritage precinct on Hastings Road.

Upton Grey (now Kooyong) was built in 1894 to a John Sulman design, and its English features are a local landmark. Across the century it has served as a government social services home, a CSIRO field station, and a boarding house for Knox Grammar School. It is now in private hands and retains features replicated at Sulman's important Ingleholme.

Exley House, in Finlay Road, Warrawee, was designed by Harry Seidler in 1957 for Cecil Exley, an engineer with the Sydney Water Board, and his wife. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is the only red-brick single-storey dwelling Harry Seidler designed. It has recently been sympathetically extended.

As with all North Shore suburbs with Aboriginal names, Warrawee was the name of a railway station which was then attached to the surrounding suburb.[5] Warrawee developed in the early 20th century as an exclusive residential district, with no shops, offices, post office, public school, churches or through roads.[6] In 1923, Knox Grammar School was founded at Earlston, a Warrawee property across the railway line. All blocks were kept to between 1 and 4 acres (0.4 and 1.6 hectares), and the form of houses was tightly controlled.[6][7] Joseph Beresford Grant used his money to guarantee the exclusiveness of the development, and also ensured that there were no shops around the area.[6][8]

Transport

Further information: Public transport in Sydney

The Pacific Highway is the main arterial road. Warrawee railway station is on the North Shore railway line on the Sydney Trains network. The railway station built in 1900 was the last one built on the North Shore Line before it was extended to North Sydney. Local residents had to fight the railway commissioners for a railway station, that is only one kilometre from Wahroonga.

At the 2021 census, 3.7% of employed people travelled to work on public transport compared to 4.6% average for all of Australia, while 25.5% travelled by car (either as driver or as passenger) compared to 57.8% nationally.

CDC NSW operates one bus route through the suburb of Warrawee:

  • 573: Turramurra to Sydney Adventist Hospital[9]

Demographics

At the 2021 census, the suburb of Warrawee recorded a population of 3,170 people.[1] Of these:

  • Age distribution: The median age of Warrawee residents was 42 years. Children aged under 15 years made up 18.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 17.3% of the population.[1]
  • Ethnic diversity: More than half (57.7%) of residents were born in Australia, compared to the national average of 66.9%; the next most common countries of birth were China 10.3%, England 4.8%, India 3.3%, South Africa 3.0%, and South Korea 2.4%. The most common ancestries in Warrawee were English 34.0%, Australian 23.7%, Chinese 20.2%, Scottish 10.8%, and Irish 9.4%.[1]
  • Finances: The median weekly household income was $3,388, more than double the national median of $1,746. Real estate values were correspondingly high: the median monthly mortgage repayments were $3,500 compared to the national median of $1,863.
Housing
The majority (84.3%) of private dwellings were family households, 14.7% were single person households and 1.0% were group households. Separate houses accounted for 63.9% of dwellings, while 30.6% were flats or apartments and about 4.7% were semi-detached.[1]

Schools

Warrawee Public School is a primary school situated about 0.5 kilometres to the south of the station in Turramurra, on the Pacific Highway.[10] According to the school's website, it was established in 1906.[11]

Knox Grammar School is predominately in the suburb of Warrawee, and sits no more than 200m from Warrawee railway station. The school lists its address as Wahroonga since the Administration Office is situated within that suburb.[12]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Warrawee". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 January 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Warrawee New South Wales 2074" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  3. ^ Pollon, Frances (compiler) (1998). The Book of Sydney Suburbs. North Ryde, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0207144958.
  4. ^ The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p.2/33
  5. ^ Thorne, Les G.; Jillett, Leslie (1968), North Shore, Sydney from 1788 to today, Angus and Robertson, retrieved 14 October 2012
  6. ^ a b c Paul Davis, November 2010, Kuring-Gai Potential Heritage Conservation Areas North Review "HCA 23 – Warrawee" retrieved 16 April 2012.
  7. ^ Johnson, John. "North Shore Houses" (PDF). State Library of NSW, compiled for the Upper North Shore Architects' Network and the Institute of Architects. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2012. See especially p. 27.
  8. ^ a b "Mr. J. Beresford Grant". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 28 October 1940. p. 11. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2015 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "| transportnsw.info". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Warrawee Public School" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  11. ^ "About our school". 1486 Pacific Highway Turramurra NSW 2074: Department of Education (New South Wales). Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024 – via Warrawee Public School. Warrawee Public School, which has been serving its community since 1906, is proud of its warm, family atmosphere.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. ^ "Contact Us and Location". Knox Grammar School. 2 Borambil Street, Wahroonga NSW 2076, Australia. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ "Grant, Joseph Beresford". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sydney/Warrawee.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Warrawee, New South Wales.

33°43′30″S 151°07′24″E / 33.72500°S 151.12338°E / -33.72500; 151.12338