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About Us
The Balmain Association represents Balmain, Birchgrove and Rozelle communities. It was formed in November 1965 by a handful of residents who wished to preserve the best of the suburbs’ history, architecture and natural beauty and aims to:
- Improve the living, working and recreational amenities of our area;
- Maintain all features having natural, architectural and or historical value of the area and keep a permanent collection of historical interest;
- Seek the cooperation of everyone concerned in the realisation of the above.
We are located at
The Watch House
179 Darling St Balmain NSW
on Wangal Country
Our History
George Whitfield received he first grant of land on the peninsula, 30 acres surrounding Snails Bay in 1796. Whitfield’s Farm soon became Birch Grove. In 1800, a further 550 acres was granted to Dr. William Balmain, a surgeon on the First Fleet. Balmain did not use the land and sold it to John Gilchrist in 1801 for five shillings. After an initial sale of land in East Balmain in 1836-40, Gilchrist’s death in 1841 prompted a protracted legal dispute with Balmain’s heirs. This stymied further development until 1852, when Gilchrist’s executors and trustees resumed subdivision and sale of the remainder of the Balmain Estate.
The Balmain Watch House at 179 Darling Street was built in 1854 as a police lock-up, designed by colonial architect Edmund Blacket as a single storey building with 2 cells. With the expansion of Balmain’s waterfront industries and the growth in the local population, the Watch House was extended in 1881 to its present form, also providing accommodation for the local police sergeant. Although a new police station was built further up Darling St in 1887, adjacent to the Court House, the Watch House continued to be used as an overnight lock-up and policeman’s residence until the 1920s. In the late 1920s it became solely the residence of the local police sergeant, Ira Gray, and his family who lived there from 1930 to 1947. By 1965, with the departure of various tenants, the Watch House lay abandoned, in a sorry state, and slated for demolition. The Balmain Association was formed to save it and, with the support of the National Trust, lobbied successfully for its preservation. Today it is the embodiment of the Association’s efforts to preserve our heritage.
The Association has its headquarters in the Watch House, a National Trust building leased to and maintained by the Balmain Association. The Watch House is available as an exhibition space for art, sculpture, pottery and crafts.