The ’fern: A mix of old and new, and don’t forget the Rabbitohs

August 19, 2000, was the day my feet first touched Chalmers Street pavement. My

dad and I had driven the thirty or so kilometers into the city on a chilly

Saturday night to see South Sydney take on the USA Tomahawks at Redfern Oval.

 

At six years old, I had no idea that I was seated just a few meters away from the location of Paul Keating’s 1992 speech. In

my opinion, the most pressing civil rights concern for the residents of Redfern was

the expulsion of my dad’s team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, from the

league. This team would eventually become my own.

 

The Tomahawks were not, of course, the true enemy of the 20,000-strong gathering. This match was a fundraiser;

there would be other matches, marches, and eventually legal actions so that,Dad

and I attended the preseason Charity Shield game at the football stadium, 18

months later, in anticipation of Souths’ comeback.

Sitting in front of me were two Redfern residents who struck up a conversation. One of them encouraged me to “always

bet against your own team.” “You’ll have enough money to get yourself a beer if

you lose. Even if you lose, someone will still buy you a beer.

I, now aged eight, clocked that the man’s tray had four beers, so he clearly knew

what he was on about. Souths and St George tied that game, although the advice hasn’t left me.

 

By 2016, I was living in Redfern, renting with two friends. We were all midway through increasingly elongated degrees

at the nearby University of Sydney, editing the student newspaper.

 

You don’t see many student share houses in Redfern any more: the rent is just too

high. It feels as if we came in at the end of an era, paying $720 a week for three

bedrooms and only a few minutes’ stumble to the train station.

 

This nostalgia is, of course, laughable to anyone who was in the area 15 or even

five years before that. I know this because they will tell you. Constantly.

Redfern is a suburb that has always been characterized by its past. “It used to be

too dangerous to drive around here” is a barely disguised racist remark made

during the taxi chat. Then, in a few of years, the abandoned warehouses were

transformed into PR agencies and craft breweries. A artwork with multiple

colors on Lawson Street that read, “Love grows in the ‘fern,” was covered with

paint. Heffron Park is now home to Souths’ training facilities.

It’s simple to glance at Redfern and see only the hip eateries, immaculately remodeled patios, and people shopping at Carriageworks Farmers Market for $16 loaves of bread. But if you look a bit closer, you can see the Souths Cares van, the Instagram-famous local convenience store, and the $10 lunch menu at the Glengarry.

 

When these elements—old and new—come together in a single scene, Redfern is at its best.

 

A few weeks ago, the Aboriginal Housing Company’s Pemulwuy property on The Block had a community barbecue. Families who have revitalized the area conversed and children played on their bikes while cooktops were arranged in front of the boxing gym.

And waiting in line for a sausage? That would be the foreign Chinese students residing in the new Scape tower across the street. Everyone was conversing with one another. Even if the painting has been covered with paint, love continues to blossom in the fern.

 

Best coffee shop? For traditional breakfast cuisine and people watching, head to Hunter’s Corner. Though it crosses the Darlington line, the Redfern sandwich at Terracotta Roasters (thick slices of roast pumpkin, wilted spinach, goat cheese, and relish) is a great example of gently breaking the rules.

Best restaurant? Fontana, in the old Ron’s Upstairs space, is as good as everyone says.

Best beach, park or pool? … guess we are going with a park! The oval is the winner, but Eveleigh Green’s treehouse and community garden also deserve a mention.

First place you take visitors? On a proud tour of the new Redfern Station southern concourse.

Perfect night out in your suburb? Dinner at the Sunshine Inn followed by another drink or two at Arcadia Liquors. Then you can either head to Ciccone & Sons for ice cream, the Bearded Tit for more drinks or The Dock for a dance (or all three, judge not lest ye).

What would make your suburb better? A theatre space, after Giant Dwarf shut in 2021.

The best hidden place in your suburb? Again breaking the rules because it’s in Eveleigh, but a midweek summer evening in the blacksmith’s workplace at Carriageworks. You might be surrounded by students filming a school project, parents training their children to ride bikes, or a community choir performing Billy Bragg songs.