That address might not have been so fanciful if the government had acceded to the requirements of Paddington Council back in the day. Published in the SMH of 1 October 1887 (copied above) was an article reporting that the Mayor of Paddington was looking to resume the Chinese market gardens in Rushcutters Bay (now White City) so that he might let Cambridge street run down and join up with New South Head rd.
For anyone with a passing interest in government decision making it would be no surprise that this very issue kept going for a number of years. On February 10, 1894, Mr J. C. Neild MLA took the case to the Minister of Lands who didn't have the cash for it and suggested the railways department, as they had the power to make resumptions.
The issue was still hot years later in 1896. By that time the Chinese market gardens had been resumed and given to the Water and Sewerage Board for that dirty big stormwater drain that still exists today. The 20 November SMH reported that Paddington Council still wanted the land given to it and still didn't want to pay the State Government.
New South Head road was the big attraction due to the cable tram that operated along it. The cable tram's main stop was down at Rushcutters Bay, you can see a sign about this near Reg Bartley oval. The Paddington councillors had a grand plan to get the Rushcutters Bay tramline extended into the heart of Paddington (via Cambridge street!) and then on towards Centennial Park. As an aside, the Bellevue Hill Tramway (which ran along Hargrave street and Gurner street) was not announced until 1908.
For those interested in the price of what became White City (and more) back in 1896? 7,000 pounds baby. The interwebs tells me that would be about $1,027,666 in 2010 money. Substantially less than the cost of a single terrace. Not a bad deal really.
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