The Wroxton is a six-storey apartment block, designed by Dudley Ward and completed circa 1936. Wroxton itself is an English village in the north of Oxfordshire about 5 km west of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish’s population as 546. It includes All Saints’ Anglican church dating from 1217, thatched roof houses, a pub and the former 18^th century Wroxton Abbey, now a university campus and conference centre.

It is not known why Wroxton apartments are so named.

Dudley Ward was influenced by German architecture when designing European Modernist style theatres in Australia. His career began in the 1930s. He was the designer of Sydney’s Minerva Theatre [now Metro Theatre, Orwell Street, Kings Cross] and the Tivoli. He often designed furniture for his domestic and commercial commissions.

He also designed the Gowrie apartments in Macleay Street, built in 1938 just before World War Two.

Wroxton is eye-catching with its blonde brickwork and use of Art Deco v-shaped, chevron patterns, fretwork and curved balconies.

Flats were originally frowned upon. A typical complaint came from Ku-ring-gai Alderman Mr McFadyen who stated: “The flat dweller belongs to the floating population of the big cities and is of no value to the community, as a flat is not a home.”

Contradicting this claim and despite this, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay became the area containing the highest density of flats in Australia and is recognised by the National Heritage database for its significant contribution to urban living.