My journey through our city continues with yet another stop in the Inner West.
Erskineville
As Inner West suburbs go, Erskineville is among the most easterly ones we have. Originally, this suburb was called Macdonaldtown (which explains the train station in neighbouring Eveleigh), but in the late 1800s the name was changed because poor people used to live in Macdonaldtown and they figured that changing the suburb's name would increase property prices. No, really.Anyway, from my previous suburb of Eveleigh, my suburb-mate and I walked across the border into Erskineville, immediately arriving at the train station.
The station is relatively unnotable, apart from some interesting mosaiced tiles on the floor outside.
Anyway, we were really only here to have lunch, but how can you pass up an opportunity for an easy suburb to add to the list? Thankfully, the suburb's commercial area is immediately next door to the station. Being a rather trendy area (I guess the name change worked), life on this weekend afternoon was very much bustling today.
We were hungry folks so we picked the second or third business on the shopping street, a pub named Rose. This turned out to be a rather nice spot for a weekend pub lunch, especially with the outdoor seating offering the chance to watch Inner Westies walk their fluffy dogs.
For lunch, my companion went for the beef nachos, but I had to go for something a little wild so I did a "pork abomination", which is basically a halal snack pack without the halal. Between the super juicy pulled pork, the crispy chips and the fresh salsa, this thing was so good that I nearly died.
Oh, the nachos were apparently good too.
After lunch, I continued on by myself to explore what else Erskineville has to offer. Erskineville's shopping district isn't the most interesting place in the world, but a busy strip full of people on a beautiful blue sky day like this never goes astray.
Some highlights on this street are these two cute signs,
another mosaic,
Erskineville's town hall,
and this parking sign wearing pyjamas (with the addition of some anarchist graffiti).
There are also a couple of interesting pubs on the street too. Rather than describe them myself, Google Maps gives a better description of the type of Inner West tomfoolery we're dealing with here.
The Erko Hotel: Quirky hipster pub for smoked meats
The Imperial Hotel: Longtime pub for drag shows & cocktails
Are you really in the Inner West if you can't have smoked meats and then cross the road for a good drag show?
By The Imperial, I turned off of the commercial street (Erskineville Road, for those of you playing along at home), and set off to explore residential Erko.
Once again, this is all fairly standard issue Inner West fare, with the lion's share of the homes being rather pretty terraced houses from the late 1800s.
Combining the terraces with the surprisingly high amount of small parks and murals makes suburban Erskineville a gorgeous place for a weekend stroll.
A few highlights of this area are this adorable (and political) duplex,
this Japanese-vibed corner home,
and this classic mini that joined to say hello.
Continuing towards the southern edge of the suburb,
I soon reached something that put Erskineville on the map.
This here was once a mural of "Saint" George Michael. Shortly following the same-sex-marriage survey, the mural was vandalised with black paint. On my visit, not much was left of the mural, with half of the wall having been painted over in blue, and Georgie's face poking out from behind it all. I'm not sure if this the intended final state of the mural, or if there are plans to restore it to its original glory, but I actually like it like this. It keeps the mural's divisive story alive. Here's an article about the mural if you're interested. It shows it in its original form, as well as its post-vandalism state.
The Saint George was my final point-of-interest in Erskineville. From here, I was at the border of the suburb and St Peters, making St Peters train station my preferred way home.
Erskineville: The Inner West showing off its finest.
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