ELIZABETH BAY
Elizabeth Bay lies within the traditional lands of the Cadigal people, part of the wider
Dharug speaking language group.
In December 1792, Governor Phillip established the boundaries of the Township of
Sydney. The eastern-most boundary stretched from the present-day junction of
Elizabeth and Albion Streets to the south-eastern corner of Hyde Park and thence to
Woolloomooloo Bay. From 16 January, 1793, successive colonial governors granted
land outside the newly declared boundaries of the township of Sydney in order to open
up the land and augment the colony’s food supplies.
As part of Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s attempts to encourage the settlement of the ‘Sydney tribe’, huts were built in the bay to the east of Woolloomooloo. The Governor called the settlement ‘Henrietta Town’ and the bay ‘Elizabeth Bay’ after his wife, Elizabeth Henrietta. As European use of the area rose, Aboriginal use declined. Subsequent governors displayed less interested in the plight of Sydney’s original inhabitants than Macquarie and Henrietta Township failed.
Woolloomooloo Hill offered spectacular harbour views and possessed an abundance of space, seclusion and fresh air. Governor Darling's intention was that it should be:
‘…a high status area…which would serve as both example and
chastisement to the debased populace of Sydney Town.’
Equally important was the need to create a place where government officials, whose
duties required their daily attendance within the township but whose social position
demanded out-of-town estates, would be content to reside. Governor Darling selected the nominees for the allotments on Woolloomooloo Hill in 1828. With the exception of the prosperous merchant Alexander Sparke, all were senior government employees; there were no emancipists. Oceana stands on 54 acres granted by Darling to the Colony Secretary Alexander Macleay on 19 October, 1831.
By the early 1840s, Alexander Macleay was experiencing economic difficulties and Elizabeth Bay (along with other family properties) was heavily mortgaged. His eldest son, William Sharpe Macleay, commenced the subdivision of the Elizabeth Bay Estate. Ninety-nine year leases for allotments on the Elizabeth Bay Estate were first offered in 1841, and a second subdivision of allotments along Macleay Street to the west of Elizabeth Bay House and to the east along Rushcutters Bay Road was carried out on similar terms in the 1860s.
The land on which Oceana stands was alienated from the Elizabeth Bay Estate during
the mid-nineteenth century. Council Valuation Records for 1948 identify No. 108 Elizabeth Bay Road as a villa mansion known as Fairlight. This villa was erected between 1871 and 1877 and is variously described as comprising two storeys, being of brick or stone construction with a slate roof and as having between ten and fifteen rooms.
By the late 1950s, the grounds of Fairlight had been subdivided. The first application for
the erection of a flat building on land including the subject site was made by H.I.
McCarthy in 1958. The proposal was for an eight storey building on land part of No.
110 Elizabeth Street, designed by architect Theodore Fry, A.R.A.I.A.
A new application was made in October 1958 by E. Eiser Esq. (of Warrawee) for a part 12 and part 9 storey building on this same site, which was enlarged with the addition of land
that had formerly been part of No. 108 Elizabeth Bay Road as well as some reclaimed land. This architect for this project was also Theodore Fry.
In 1959, an application was made for the erection of an additional level, containing 2 penthouse apartments. Even while in the design phase, the building was referred to as Oceana. City records note the presence of the building's first residents in February 1961.
Text from 'Oceana', a report by Weir Phillips on the building's history, heritage properties and development considerations. Photographs on this page provided by Alan Barnes and Peter Bolton. Top image by Max Dupain, following images provenance unknown.