Paddington, known locally as “Paddo,” is an eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia, and boasts a rich historical heritage. In fact, nine buildings in Paddington are listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate.
With the exception of Paddington Court House, located on Jersey Road, and Royal Hotel, located on Glenmore Road, each of the other seven historical buildings are found on Oxford Street. History buffs can explore Victoria Barracks, Paddington Town Hall, Uniting Church and Parsonage, St. Matthias Church Hall, St. Matthias Church Group, the Former Rectory, and the Paddington Public School.
However, the history of Paddington, particularly that of Oxford Street, was once a “walking track” used by the Aborigine people. Oxford Street runs along a ridgeline above most of Paddington. The land within Paddington was once the home of the Cadigal people, who spoke a Dharug (or Eora) dialect of the Aborigine language; their rituals and stories feature this landscape. Oxford Street has now become a destination for discerning shoppers, and travellers will come to Paddington just to experience the shopping on this street.
As an ex-convict, Robert Cooper may have had a rough past, but he was also a gin distiller and an entrepreneur. He aimed to build a grand estate, complete with wonderful views, on Paddington’s ridgeline. It was Cooper who named the area after the London borough, and it was his house–Juniper Hall–which still is the oldest house in Paddington.