In 1793 the government granted the Commissary-general in charge of stores, John Palmer, land in Woolloomoloo. Palmer could not have foreseen how his farm came to be one of the closest suburbs to the CBD with grand terrace houses.

The suite of grand terraces named “Vere-de-Vere” at 137-141 Dowling Street, built in 1888, now sits on the site.

Palmer’s farm land was sold to Edward Riley, after whom nearby Riley Street is named. In the 1840s the name ‘Woolloomooloo’ was widely applied to parts of East Sydney and Darlinghurst, as well as to the horse shoe-shaped valley and the heights beyond to today’s Potts Point. Dowling Street was named after Supreme Court Chief Justice, Sir James  Dowling (1787-1844). He was known for his tact, geniality and innate kindliness and often worked until 3am.

“I am a peaceable person,” he wrote. His 237 notebooks of decisions and five volumes of personal notes are held in the Mitchell Library, all painstakingly indexed. He owned extensive land in the area and lived in Brougham Lodge near today’s Holiday Inn in Victoria Street.  He had received an eight acre land grant in 1831 bounded by William, Dowling and Victoria Streets.

The lower area was still unchanged until 1845, described as “merely paddocks”.

After the post-1851 gold rushes demand for accommodation escalated with large-scale migration to Sydney.

Local development began in the area with the sub-division of Cathedral Street. Reclamation of swamp land from the harbour and construction of the Finger Wharf nearby also created jobs for the shipping industry along with local fish markets. All these created demand for accommodation in a low-lying area previously known for its swampy unhealthy air, slums and poor sanitation.

“Ver-de-Vere” may well have been named after Baron Alfred Vere de Vere whose recent peerage and elevation from the ranks of the working classes proved controversial at the time. It may be a comment that origins and hard work can create wealth, not inheritance.

The terraces were then mainly rented. Mr and Mrs Divorty celebrated the both of their son there on 19^th June 1899 said The Sydney Morning Herald.

Mainly unchanged, their filigree cast iron balconies look benignly over the street’s gold-leafed London Plane trees, ushering in the seasons for over 130 years.

By Andrew Woodhouse, Heritage Solutions