NSWPlanned settlement
Woollahra
A suburb built on leases from the Cooper family’s great estate.
1860Municipality of Woollahra proclaimed
WHAT STARTED IT
Most of the land east of Paddington belonged to the Point Piper Estate, 1,130 acres that Daniel Cooper held outright by 1847. Much of the land was let on leasehold rather than sold, so houses and shops went up on Cooper land. Cooper chose the name Woollahra for his planned mansion in 1856, and the municipality took it in 1860.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Residents petitioned for a municipality in 1859, and it was proclaimed in April 1860. Houses such as Hawthornden, begun in 1858, were built on leasehold from the Cooper estate, and council chambers opened at Jersey Road and Ocean Street in 1864. Some Cooper land stayed in the family’s hands until 1930, and Queen Street, once Piper Street, grew into the suburb’s shopping street.
TURNING POINTS
1847Daniel Cooper becomes sole owner of the 1,130-acre Point Piper Estate.
1856Cooper chooses the name Woollahra for the mansion he plans at Point Piper.
1858Broker William James Lennon begins Hawthornden on land leased from the Cooper estate.
1860Governor Denison proclaims the Municipality of Woollahra on 17 April; the first council meeting is held on 6 June.
1864The council moves into new chambers at the corner of Jersey Road and Ocean Street.
1883Woollahra House is built at Point Piper for William Cooper; it is demolished in 1929.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A leafy residential suburb of Victorian terraces and villas, with antique shops and galleries along Queen Street. The suburb gives its name to the Woollahra local government area.