Darlinghurst, New South Wales, 2010

Population: 9176 (2001 census)
Postcode: 2010
Area: 0.8 km sq (0.3 sq mi)
Property Value: AUD $773,000 (2007)
Location: 1 km (1 mi) east of Sydney CBD
LGA: City of Sydney
State District: Sydney
Federal Division: Wentworth, Sydney

Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. Darlinghurst is colloquially known as Darlo.

Darlinghurst is a densely-populated suburb with the majority of residents living in apartments or terraced houses. From a slum in the 1920s and a red-light prostitution district, Darlinghurst has undergone urban renewal since the 1990s and early 2000s to become a rather upmarket, cosmopolitan and diverse area. The main thoroughfare of Darlinghurst is considered to be Oxford Street which is well-known around the world as the centre of Sydney's gay community, and is home to a number of gay venues. In recent years, Oxford Street has garnered a reputation as being Sydney's primary "nightclub strip", popular with both gay and straight clubbers, and surpassing the notorious red-light district of Kings Cross in popularity. Subsequently, crime rates increased in the area, particularly for assaults and robberies.

East Sydney is a locality in the western part of the suburb; Taylor Square is another locality within the suburb. Kings Cross is a locality on the northern border. Darlinghurst is surrounded by the suburbs of Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Paddington and Surry Hills.

History

The suburb was originally known as Eastern Hill and then Henrietta Town, after Governor Lachlan Macquarie's wife, whose second name was Henrietta. The loyalties changed with the change of governors and the suburb became Darlinghurst in honour of Elizabeth Darling, the popular wife of Governor Ralph Darling, during the early19th century. The 'hurst' is an old English word for a wooded area.

Culture

The area is most famous for the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The parade which marks the end of this festival takes place on Oxford Street, the main street that runs through several suburbs, including Darlinghurst.

Source: wikipedia.org