Guided Walk: The Glebe Society in Action - 50+ Years of Local Activism

About

Glebe owes much of its character to the actions of the Glebe Society, established in 1969. Founders, Kate and Bernard Smith, lived in Avenue Road; and we will pass their home as we make our way through Glebe to explore the many places and spaces that the Glebe Society was instrumental in preserving, improving or creating.

On this Walk, we will see exceptional heritage buildings, saved from demolition or restored; intact streetscapes; the foreshore walk and waterfront parks that have transformed Glebe’s industrial waterfront; the sites where battles to stop ugly blocks of flats were won and lost, the communities, parks and heritage buildings saved at the eleventh hour from demolition for the radial expressways that would have decimated Glebe; and the Glebe Estate that was saved when Tom Uren and others – including the Glebe Society – prevented its sale to developers. These, and so much more, including some unsuccessful campaigns (and campaigns yet to come!) to keep Glebe vibrant and safe from overdevelopment.

Our walk will include Toxteth House, Bidura, Ferry Road (scene of early 70s protests), Walter Burley Griffin Incinerator, Lyndhurst, historic sandstone paving in Cardigan Street, the old Post Office, St Phillip’s Estate, The Valhalla, Glebe Tram mural, the Light Rail, to name just a few.

If you are new to the Glebe Society, this walk will provide a perspective on the Society’s influence on Glebe and Forest Lodge and our community over half a century!