# Waterloo, New South Wales

Waterloo is an inner southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Waterloo is located three kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Waterloo is surrounded by the suburbs of Redfern and Darlington to the north, Eveleigh and Alexandria to the west, Rosebery to the south, and Moore Park, Zetland, and Kensington to the east.

## History

Waterloo took its name from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, when Allied and Prussian forces under the Duke of Wellington and Blücher defeated the French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the 1820s, Waterloo began supporting industrial operations including various mills such as the Fisher and Duncan Paper Mill and the Waterloo Flour Mill.
The Paper Mill was a partnership with three partners (Frederick George James Fisher, George Duncan and John Walker. Established in 1818 it is the first mill known to produce paper in Australia.
The Lachlan and Waterloo Flour Mills Waterloo Flour Mills was originally a partnership with Thomas White Melville Winder and Samuel Terry in 1820 with a flour mill established in what is now Kensington. Six partners made up the new partnership including William Hutchinson, Daniel Cooper, Thomas White Melville Winder, Samuel Terry, George Williams and William Leverton trading as Hutchinson, Terry & Co. William Hutchinson, superintendent of convicts and public works, had been granted 1,400 acres (5.7 km$^2$) of land in 1823 in the Waterloo area what had previously a water powered flour mill developed (c. 1818). The other partners sold out to existing partner Daniel Cooper in 1825 and new partner Solomon Levey. These two became the sole owners of the Waterloo Co., which was generally known as Cooper & Levey. Cooper later bought out Levey's share and on his death the Waterloo Estate passed onto his nephew, also named Daniel Cooper, who was the first speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. This part of Waterloo was part of Daniel Cooper's landholding before being subdivided in the 1880s.
In 1974, the Builders Labourers Federation placed a green ban against the construction of demolition of low-income housing to make way for new apartments.

## Location

Waterloo is historically a working-class region. Since early 2000s, the region has undergone some degree of gentrification with a rising business district focusing on technology-oriented firms and the development of more green space such as parks. By 2006, median individual income in Waterloo was slightly higher than the Australian average.
Nevertheless, the suburb maintains a large housing commission estate shared with Redfern with around 4,000 tenants. The Waterloo estate is set for a facelift, with the older flats/tower blocks getting redeveloped into large luxury apartment blocks mixing social housing with affordable housing alongside the new Metro station being developed nearby.
New development and redevelopment in this area is encouraged to be sympathetic to the existing heritage style.
Green Square is a district in the south and east of the suburb including the suburbs of Waterloo and Zetland that is being redeveloped. It involves an urban renewal program which has seen many industrial buildings redeveloped or replaced by new residential and commercial developments. The area adjacent to South Dowling Street contains many high-rise apartment buildings with retail space at ground level.
In January 2019, the Government of New South Wales released a redevelopment masterplan of the Waterloo social housing estate. The government's plan outlines a 20-year vision for the area, which is about 4 kilometres from the Sydney CBD. It will include building 6,800 new homes and will comprise 6 high-rise buildings of 33 to 40 storeys.

## Transport

Waterloo is serviced by Transdev John Holland routes to the Sydney CBD. Green Square station, on the Airport line of the Sydney Trains network, is located in the south-west corner of the suburb. Redfern railway station is located close to the north-west corner of the suburb.
The Chatswood to Bankstown Metro North West & Bankstown Line line includes Waterloo station which opened in August 2024. There will also be large commercial and residential redevelopment to service the new Metro.

## Churches

Waterloo hosts the city campus of Hillsong Church (affiliated with the Assemblies of God). Other churches include Grace City Anglican Church, Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Waterloo Congregational Church, South Sydney Uniting Church and Waterloo Salvation Army.

## Demographics

At the 2021 census, Waterloo had a population of 16,379, compared to 14,616 at the 2016 census.
In 2021, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.8% of the population and 37.2% of people were born in Australia. The other most common countries of birth were China 11.5%, England 5.6%, New Zealand 2.6%, Ireland 2.3% and Brazil 1.8%. 45.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 12.0% Cantonese 3.0%, Spanish 3.2%, Russian 2.7% and Portuguese 1.6%. The largest religions were Catholicism (16.5% of the population), Buddhism (4.4%) and Anglicanism (4.2%). Furthermore, 50.2% of the population marked no religion, well above the national average. 91.1% of residences were units, well above the rest of Australia (where only 14.2% of residences were units). Furthermore, 72.7% of dwellings were rented, compared to 30.6% in Australia as a whole.

## Recreation

The Waterloo Skate Park is a modern skate park and the first of its kind to copy the urban streetscape layout of popular skate spots like Martin Place and Cathedral Square in Sydney. The park is located next to Waterloo Oval and the Weave Youth Services (formerly South Sydney Youth Services) building on Elizabeth Street.
* Fernside skate park
* Waterloo Oval

## Notable people

* Samuel George Ball, rugby league administrator
* Nellie Cameron, criminal
* Fred Chaplin, rugby league player
* Anne Clark, netball administrator and coach
* Claude Corbett, journalist
* Harold Corbett, rugby league player and soldier
* Tom Dadour, doctor and politician
* Dick Daley, rugby league player
* Jim Davis, rugby league player
* Frank Easton, cricketer
* Reta Mildred Findlay, businesswoman
* Edward Hallstrom, businessman
* Edward Hocking, politician
* Perce Horne, rugby league player
* Ernie Hucker, rugby league player
* Vince Hughes, rugby league player
* Rangi Joass, rugby league player
* Jim Kenny, politician
* Perry Keyes, singer-songwriter
* The Kid LAROI, rapper, singer and songwriter
* George Kilham, rugby league player
* Jack Lawrence, rugby league player
* Vic Lawrence, rugby league player
* Elaine Nile, politician
* Syd Price, Australian Rules footballer
* Edward Root, rugby league player
* Alf Sadler, rugby league player
* Eric Spooner, politician
* Clarrie Stevenson, rugby league player
* David Watson, rugby league player
* Frank Wilkins, rugby league player
* Ern Wilmot, rugby league player