Three Randwicks
The 1800s
Between 1860 and 1910 the north of Randwick turned from fairly rural land to near continuous suburbs, served by horse buses and later trams. The 1888 Avonmore Terraces in The Avenue survive from that time.
Between the wars
The population rose sharply between the wars thanks to the uncontrolled growth of flats, and many of those blocks still serve their original purpose.
High-rise
In 2015 the Dictionary of Sydney noted the spread of eight-storey buildings over the previous 30 years, replacing low-rise inter-war streetscapes.
Half rented
Randwick had 11,786 occupied homes in 2021: 68.3% units, 16.0% semis or terraces and 13.8% houses. 50.5% were rented.
On Ausgrid's network
Report outages and fallen wires to Ausgrid on 13 13 88.
What each kind of home tends to need
| Terrace or old house | Inter-war flat | Newer apartment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical issue | Old or patched wiring, few power points | Original wiring in some units, ageing switchroom | Adding an EV charger or induction cooktop | |
| First step | An inspection to see what's original | Find out if the fault is in your unit or common property | Ask strata what the building's supply can carry | |
| Who's responsible | The owner | The owner inside the unit, strata outside it | The owner inside the unit, strata outside it |
Heritage on top of everything
Randwick's local heritage schedule lists approximately four hundred items, and conservation orders have protected key buildings since the late 1970s. Internal rewiring is licensed electrical work, not a planning matter. Work that changes the outside of a listed building, like moving a meter box, is worth raising with Randwick City Council first.
For tenants and landlords
With half of Randwick renting, the NSW rule is worth knowing by heart: any electrical fault in a rental is an urgent repair. Tenants should report it in writing. Landlords must also check smoke alarms every year and replace them within 10 years of manufacture.
The job we'd book first
For a Randwick terrace, we'd book an electrical inspection before anything cosmetic. For a unit, we'd sort out what's ours and what's strata's, then get the right person to look. Tell us the job and postcode, and we'll match you with one licence-checked local electrician who does that kind of work.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.