Across the Border: Kings Cross: New York Restaurant Photographs by John Webber

Take-Out Roast, The New York Restaurant, Kings Cross

Photograph by John Webber, 2010

When my photographer friend, John Webber, heard about the impending closure of the New York Restaurant, which I wrote about in a previous post, he grabbed his Canon camera and zipped over to the diner at 18 Kellett Street.

And I am so glad he did.

John Webber has lived in and around Kings Cross and Surry Hills for most of his adult life - if indeed he could be termed a "grown-up". He began his career in photography in the 1970s, shooting jewellery for magazines and advertisements and later took food shots for restaurant light-box displays (if you've ever seen a photograph of a Mr Whippy ice-cream, chances are John Webber took it).

In the 1980s he was employed as the staff photographer for Countdown magazine, which was a tie-in with the ABC TV music-program hosted by Molly Meldrum. During his years with Countdown, John Webber photographed hundreds of Australian and international musicians, including Hunters and Collectors, Mental As Anything, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol and Madonna.

As a result, he has dozens of stories to tell too.

In the 1990s he moved to Terraplanet publishing, based in Surry Hills, and worked across their titles, which included Australian Style, Monument, Juice and HQ. It was on Juice, a dedicated music magazine, that John Webber was able to express his creative side by each year shooting and printing a photo series for the Juice Annual.

The Juice Annual photos were heavily styled, quirky and published in punchy, vibrant colour. One such photo was of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin in a 1950s kitchen. Luhrmann wore a dress and apron and was holding up a plate of lamingtons, while Martin, dressed as a little school boy, sat perched on the kitchen bench.

Other photos included musician Kylie Minogue sitting on the bonnet of a hoon-car eating watermelon, actor David Wenham in a strip-joint (shot at the original Dancers Cabaret), and my favourite Darlinghurst-based actor, Hugo Weaving, playing a game of pool.

All the pictures were shot on John Webber's medium-format Hasselblad and printed on his home colour-machine as large broad-sheet sized prints.

These days John Webber uses the much less expensive digital method, but as you can see in the following pictures the results are still fabulous, even though he considers them his ''spares'' (he's keeping the even better ones for himself).

John Webber is presently working on a project with writer Louis Nowra to document the Kings Cross area. If you would like to contact him about photography, his email address is johnwebber33@hotmail.com

He took these photographs on the last night of the New York Restaurant on Saturday October 2, 2010.

New Yorker, New York Restaurant, Kings Cross

Photograph by John Webber, 2010

The Boss, New York Restaurant, Kings Cross

Photograph by John Webber, 2010

Last Supper, New York Restaurant, Kings Cross

Photograph by John Webber, 2010

Diners, New York Restaurant, Kings Cross

Photograph by John Webber, 2010

Darlinghurst: Heritage Items: Iona

Iona

- Register of the National Estate, NSW Heritage Act

From St Johns Church I ducked down Tewkesbury Avenue to the imposing gates of Iona, a 30-room mansion, whose actual address is listed as 2 Darley Street.

The 1888 Victorian Italianate pile was bought by filmmakers Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin - of Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge and Australia fame - for a neat $10 million in February, 2006.

I once knew someone who lived in The Hopes apartment building, at 251 Darlinghurst Road, which backs on to Iona. One evening while I was visiting, a very fluffy grey cat arrived at the person's door and was grandly introduced as Baz Luhrmann's Cat. I think the Hopes resident spent about one year befriending the cat just so he could make such introductions to impress his guests.

Back before the cat, in the mid-nineteenth century, the site was home to Iona Cottage, which was first occupied by Elizabeth Grose and later, Robert Carter, who in 1879, extended and improved the small dwelling to become worthy of the title ''gentleman's residence''.

In 1888, the year of Australia's centenary, wealthy businessman and farmer Edward Chisholm purchased the property and was responsible for building the two-storey mansion with verandas, still known today as Iona. He lived with his family at the grand palace until his death ten years later.

Another decade on, in 1908, Iona was purchased by Adela Taylor, wife of former Sydney Mayor Allen Taylor (of Taylor Square fame), and renamed, for reasons unknown to me, Wootten.

Over the next 70-odd years the building changed hands three times and was used throughout as a private hospital with the respective names, Wootten PH, Winchester PH and Hughlings PH.

During this period the building and site also underwent minor alterations and additions, including the construction - in 1935 - of a seven-room nurses' residence, which was demolished in 1984.

In the 1970s and 80s the site fell into the hands of developers who variously wanted to raze the grounds and build three, 60-storey apartment blocks (can you imagine!), or convert the residence into 13 apartments.

The projects failed for a number of reasons, mostly financial, but it was during this time that the National Trust successfully campaigned for Iona to be included on the Register of the National Estate.

Iona is now listed on the State Heritage Register (with a permanent conservation order), the Local Environment Plan and the National Trust register, so no one can mess with it.

Yet most people don't have a chance to see it either.

It would be good if Luhrmann and Martin opened the grounds to the public for one day each year.

Darlinghurst: An Introduction

Located on the eastern edge of the Sydney CBD, Darlinghurst - with a population of just over 10,000 - is bordered by Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross, Paddington and Surry Hills.

William Street, known for its street prostitution, borders the neighbourhood on the north, while Oxford Street, famous for its gay bars and night life, runs along Darlinghurst's southern end. To the east are the posh suburbs of Woollahra, Darling Point and Double Bay.

Linking William and Oxford Streets, running north to south, are Darlinghurst's main streets - Victoria Street and Darlinghurst Road, which are home to cafes, pubs and boutiques.

I have names for all the different parts of the neighbourhood, such as The Ridge, The Flats, and The Lowlands but I won't go into that now, suffice to say that I live on "Darlinghurst Hill", the highest point of the suburb on Royston Street.

Darlinghurst is home to writers, musicians and artists, including actor Hugo Weaving, filmmaking couple Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin (who live in the suburb's historic mansion, Iona), author Peter Robb and novelist Mandy Sayer, whose husband, playwright Louis Nowra, lives across the border in Kings Cross.

The neighbourhood's prominent sites include St John's Anglican Church (the steeple of which I can always see from the window of a plane):

St Vincent's Hospital:

and the Sydney Jewish Museum (which I used to live across the road from).

Another famous landmark is the Harry Seidler-designed, 43-storey Horizon building, which casts a shadow on the neighbourhood and can also be used to pinpoint Darlinghurst by air.

The suburb also hosts a fire station, a Ken Unsworth sculpture (unaffectionately dubbed "Poos on Sticks"; shown in the photograph at the top of the page), as well as the Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst Courthouse and the National Art School.

Darlinghurst does not have a train station (Kings Cross Station is nearby) but is serviced by the rogue 311 Bus (more on that another day).

For a history of Darlinghurst read Larry Writer's fine book, Razor, and for the suburb's Wikipedia entry click here.