Village News

Does this lane have a name?

A reader who walks the laneway between View Street and the Crescent every day has written in with a question: does it have an official name? Her family calls it Lily Lane, after their late cat who used to meet them there on the way home from work. Council replaced the rotted handrail there last weekend, and the garden has grown wild since the neighbour who used to tend to it passed.

‘Lily Lane’ connecting the Crescent with View Street

The Troll thinks that if the lane is unnamed, that we could put up a sign and name it Lily Lane. If you’re crafty enough to make this happen, please get in contact by replying here 🙂 Thank you to Hayley for writing in and sharing.

Annandale local’s tenth time in the Archibald

Local artist James Powditch is a finalist in this year's Archibald Prize for his portrait of Governor-General Sam Mostyn. The painting, "Once upon a time in Yarralumla", is built from synthetic polymer paint and paper on plywood. Mostyn brought an unusual gift to the sitting: a branch of palm inflorescence from the grounds of Admiralty House. Powditch wove it through the portrait as a sash, echoing the Constitution and the weave of Mostyn's own knitting practice. It's his tenth time as a finalist, and here’s hoping for his first Archibald win this Friday 8th of May. You can see the portrait here: James Powditch FB Page

Coworking space for Inner West Startups

A council-backed coworking space for Inner West startups has opened at Clontarf Cottage, 4 Wallace St Balmain… eight desks, monitors, and internet, free of charge, Monday to Friday. The building is a sandstone cottage which dates to 1844. The wifi, presumably, is more recent. It's a short ride from Annandale on the 433. and you can check it out and register your interest here: innerwest.tech/coworking

The history of the Annandale Hotel

The modern day Annandale Hotel

The Annandale Hotel has been part of local life through many of Annandale’s eras. The Troll went long on its story and you can read the full article here (4min).

Events

Council Watch

Address Description DA Number
166 Johnston Street Alterations and additions to an existing dwelling, including ground floor interior changes and a rear verandah addition. DA/2026/0360
72 Trafalgar Street Removal of one tree within the rear setback. DA/2026/0355
76 Ferris Street Alterations and additions to an existing detached dwelling, including ground floor changes and internal reconfiguration, plus construction of a carport and associated landscaping. DA/2026/0352

Real Estate

BEN’S WRAP sponsored by Ben Southwell , Cobden Hayson

Autumn and winter have always been underrated selling seasons in the Inner West. While most property pundits lean toward spring and summer, the cooler months have long performed well locally, helped in part by tighter supply and less competition.

The bigger reason, though, is character. Unlike waterfront markets that can feel exposed once the southerlies arrive, the Inner West carries a warmth that isn’t seasonal. Fireplaces come to life, period homes feel richer, and the neighbourhood takes on a different kind of charm. Even the barer gardens seem to suit it.

There’s something about this time of year here, the pink morning skies, shepherd’s warning, and the soft pink evenings, shepherd’s delight, that makes these old homes feel even more inviting.

JUST SOLD

Address Price Beds Baths Garages
31 Breillat Street $3.9m 4 2 1
21/52a Nelson Street $1.6m 3 2 2
72 Alfred Street $2.17m 3 2 2

Letters to the Troll

❝

Hi, Mark

I was particularly interested in two of your articles in this issue.

1.   Ben's Wrap discussing the virtue of greenery and verge gardens

Inner West Council run the verge gardens scheme and provide native plants local to our area for free on application. If people would like to start a verge garden and want to know more, the following link gives all the details.  Living Streets Verge Gardens and Adopt-a-Spot program | Inner West Council

I volunteer at our local Annandale Native Plant Nursery at the bottom of Wisdom Street, which backs onto Whites Creek wetlands area.  We propagate native plants for bush care, citizenship ceremonies and schemes such as this.  Also, the nursery sells native plants to the public and opening times are 10:00 am to 12:30 pm on Wednesday and Friday mornings.  We're also in need of more volunteers if anyone is keen to help.  Call in for a chat or find out more and apply via Community Native Plant Nurseries | Inner West Council.

2.  With regard to the turtles in the wetlands

Unfortunately there have been instances of people taking the turtles, but a couple of the long necks have been released there by WIRES to join the others.  There is one short neck that I'm aware of, which was rescued from the creek by Peter when he was caretaker.  No idea how it got down there, but it was very grateful for its new home!  Council staff have been monitoring the wildlife in the pond and apparently the turtles have been breeding as juveniles have been spotted.  Unfortunately, the ponds are still very overgrown with weed which makes turtle spotting difficult, but I saw three earlier this week.

If Sean would like to drop in to the nursery on a Wednesday, the staff who care for the wetlands are usually there, so he would be able to chat to them about his concerns.

Thanks for the Troll, such a great way of keeping in touch with local matters.  

Best wishes,

Jan

Picture of the Week

‘Lily Lane’ with its overgrown garden, courtesy of Hayley

Sincerely,

Mark (resident of Annandale)

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