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Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 5kms west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt.
Location Balmain is located on the Balmain peninsula in Port Jackson adjacent to the suburbs of Rozelle to the south-west and Birchgrove to the north-west. Balmain East is a separate suburb to the east. Balmain has Iron Cove on the western side and White Bay on the south-east side and Mort Bay on the north-east side. History Prior to white settlement, the area was inhabited by the Indigenous Eora peoples. Stories from early settlers in the area tell of how the local indigenous people used to hunt kangaroo by driving them though the bushy peninsula, down the hill to Peacock Point at the East end, where they were killed. The area now known as Balmain was part of a 550 acre (2.2 km²) grant to colonial surgeon Dr William Balmain (1762-1803) made in 1800 by Govenor John Hunter. The land was first settled in 1836 and by 1861 had been divided into the well populated eastern suburb of Balmain and the sparsely populated western area, extending to the gates of Callan Park, known as Balmain West. The peninsula changed rapidly during the 1800s and became one of the premier industrial centres of Sydney. Industries clustered around Mort Bay included shipbuilding, a metal foundry, engineering, boilermaking and a dry dock completed in 1855. In the 1920s the manufacture of railway and mining equipment completed the heavy industrialisation of Balmain. Balmain also boasted its own coal mine - a deep, gassy and watery affair that struggled to survive, supported mainly by its long-suffering, English shareholders, from its opening in 1897 to its final closure in 1931. The mine's shaft was located beside what is now Birchgrove Primary School. From the bottom of the shaft a decline led down to a block of coal situated under the harbour between Ballast Point and Goat Island. Trams once ran all the way down Darling Street to the Wharf at East Balmain. Due to the very steep incline at the bottom of the street, the trams used a complex 'dummy' counterweight system constructed under the road surface. The trams were pushed up the steep hill by the dummy, and rode the dummy on the way down to safely decend the hill. Balmain had a repuation as a rough working-class area of Sydney. Numerous phrases have been used to describe the suburb and its inhabitants, including "Balmain boys don't cry" (former NSW Premier Neville Wran at the Street Royal Commission; "You can take the boy out of Balmain, but you can't take Balmain out of the Boy" (Unknown); "There are only two types of man in this world: those who were born in Balmain and those who wish they were" (a Police Commissioner of New South Wales). Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating also once spoke of the "Basket weavers of Balmain". The industrialisation of Balmain created a demand for cheap housing. This was satisfied by the dock owners selling small blocks of land to entrepreneurs who then built tiny cottages and rented them to the workers. The post-industrial gentrification of Balmain has resulted in a suburb of considerable charm and interest where the modest, pretty houses command prices that would not have been dreamt of by their original tenants. However, Balmain still retains a diverse mix of residents due to the Housing Commission unit blocks in the suburb. It was in this suburb in 1891, in the meeting hall of the Unity Hall Hotel, that the Australian Labor Party was formed and first met. Balmain is still very much a Labor area, due to a high proportion of residents being socially-conscious middle class professionals, and a surviving connection with the area's old working class identity and history. Balmain's colourful past should also include mention of the notorious Balmain Nellie Boys - a house of ill-repute frequented by sailors, politicians and actors and staffed by local working boys. Landmarks Famous Residents Famous residents have included: Both Pearce and Wran attended the Nicholson Street Public School, built in 1883 and one of the oldest schools in the area. Sports Teams Balmain is home to the Balmain Tigers Rugby League Club (originally Watersiders), a foundation club who played the first rugby league match in Australia against the Western Suburbs at Birchgrove Oval in 1908. In 2000 the team merged with Western Suburbs Magpies to become Wests Tigers, and in 2005 the Tigers defeated the North Queensland Cowboys in the Grand Final to win the premiership; sparking scenes of jubilation in Balmain not seen since the last premiership victory in 1969. The suburb is also home to the Balmain Australian Football Club, a founding member in 1903 of the Sydney Football League. Gallery Image:Balmain_sandstone.jpg|Sandstone-fronted terrace Image:Balmain_fullbay.jpg|A full bay-windowed end of terrace Image:Balmain_neighbourhood_pub.jpg|Neighbourhood corner pub Image:Balmain_gentrified_residence.jpg|A 'gentrified' residence Notes | ||||||||
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