Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is about 3 km south of the Sydney CBD.

The population of the suburb spans a broad spectrum of socioeconomic characters. This may be, in part, due to the geography of the suburb - long, thin, and centrally-located. To the north of Redfern lies the more affluent suburb of Surry Hills whilst Darlington lies to the west.

East Redfern has gone through a process of urban renewal. Unlike its southern neighbour Waterloo, which is developing into a technology and modern industrial and recreational centre, parts of Eastern Redfern are becoming the bohemian, artistic and stylish district of Sydney - much like nearby Newtown. Streets like Kepos, Bourke and Marriott have beautiful historical housing which give the area a really special feeling. There are also cosy corner bookshop-cafés, giving the area a distinctly European feel.

Redfern is accessible by CityRail trains, one station away from the city, with the station on the North-Western edge of the suburb, adjacent to the Block . East Redfern is also accessible by bus or walk from the city.

The area in the immediate vicinity of Redfern station, known as "The Block ", is home to a relatively socially-disadvantaged community. Eveleigh St in particular, the Eastern edge of the Block, to the north of Redfern station, is known for its community of Australian Aborigines. The crime rate around Eveleigh St and inside the station itself is, if not supported by statistics then by reputation, one of the highest in Sydney. Yet, just 50 metres down Lawson St, the gentrification of Redfern is reflected in the yuppie and student communities living in the terrace-style housing which predominate in Darlington.

Redfern station, notably, is the closest CityRail station to the main campus of the University of Sydney located across Camperdown and Darlington. Thus a near-constant stream of commuters, mostly students, flows from Redfern station along Lawson St and Abercrombie St towards the university in the morning and back towards the station approximately every hour in the afternoon.

February 2004 Riots

A riot occurred on February 14, 2004 at the end of Eveleigh Street outside Redfern Station sparked by the death of teenager Thomas 'TJ' Hickey. The teenager, riding home on his bicycle from his girlfriend's house, was allegedly chased by a police vehicle (the police denied that they were present - a subsequent inquest found that they were following Hickey, but that this had not caused the accident) and subsequently impaled on a fence. Members of his family were then reported to have started grieving for the child around Eveleigh Street with a crowd gathering commiserating with the family. Fliers were distributed blaming police for the death. The police closed the Eveleigh Street entrance to the Redfern train station but youths in the crowd had turned violent and begun to throw bricks and bottles. This violence then escalated into a full-scale riot.

There is some evidence to suggest that the riot was in fact pre-arranged by drug-dealers in the area, in retaliation for earlier raids.

A memorial service was held on February 19, 2004, in Redfern, and in Walgett, New South Wales (Hickey's hometown), on February 22, 2004.

The riots have sparked fresh debate into the welfare of Australian Aborigines and the response of the police to those living in the Redfern area. Redfern police have however called for greater police numbers to quash what was called "civil disobedience", which may further inflame Aboriginal leaders.

Name origin

The suburb is named after emancipist and surgeon William Redfern. He had been granted 100 acres of land in this area in 1817 by Lachlan Macquarie.

External links

• Riots - How it happened (Sydney Morning Herald)
• Redfern riots special (Sydney Morning Herald) - several stories surrounding the riots and its consequences.