The Parish of Alexandria was established in 1835. The naming of Alexandria and neighbouring Waterloo, commemorates the famous British Empire military and naval victories over Napoleon. The Iron Duke Hotel in Alexandria, itself named after the Duke of Wellington, as is Wellington Street in Waterloo. It was thought Alexandria may have been named after Princess Alexandra, Queen consort of King Edward VII however, Alexandra was born on 1 December 1844 and the parish's naming predates the birth of Alexandra by six years. In 1868, the Municipality of Alexandria was formed, after separating from Waterloo. The former Alexandria Town Hall is in Garden Street. Land for the building was acquired in 1879; the building was designed by Ferdinand Reuss Snr and completed in 1881. Major alterations took place over the years, right up to 1928. The building is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. By 1943, Alexandria was the largest industrial district in Australia, and known as the "Birmingham of Australia", with everything from bricks to aeroplanes manufactured in 550 factories in just. The municipality was abolished upon merger into the City of Sydney in 1949, along with Darlington, Erskineville, Newtown, Redfern, Waterloo, Paddington and The Glebe. In 1968 the boundaries were changed again and Alexandria was part of a new municipality, South Sydney Council. South Sydney was brought back into the City of Sydney in 1982 and then became separate again under the City of Sydney Act of 1988. In 2004, Alexandria moved back into the City of Sydney, when the City of Sydney was merged with the City of South Sydney.
Trams
The former Alexandria tram line opened in 1902 as a single-track electric line that was duplicated in 1910. The line branched off from the Botany line at the junction of Henderson and Botany Roads in Alexandria. The line proceeded down Henderson Road then swung left into Mitchell Road. A turn-back was provided at Ashmore Road for short working. The line turned right into the present day Sydney Park Road before terminating at the junction with the Cook's River line at the Princes Highway near St Peters railway station. Services operated from Circular Quay in a route similar to the Botany line as far as the Henderson Road junction. The line was closed in 1959. State Transit route 308 generally follows the route as far as St Peters station.
Heritage listings
Alexandria has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
72.1% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 2.7%, Cantonese 1.7%, Spanish 1.6%, French 1.3% and Italian, 1.0%.
61.3% of residences were flats and 34.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc.
Commercial area
Alexandria is a largely industrial suburb with medium to high density residential areas. The suburb was once mostly terraced housing, that was demolished for light industrial use and warehousing which continues to this day. Pockets of quiet residential areas remain along the northern boundary of the suburb, adjoining Erskineville and Waterloo. Virgin Atlantic has its Australia offices on Level 3 Eastside in the Sydney Corporate Park in Alexandria.
Alexandria is part of the Green Square district, in the north east of the suburb, which is undergoing gentrification. This involves an urban renewal project that is constructing modern retail, business and medium-high density residential developments.
South Sydney Markets
Established in September 2009, its main purpose was to meet the community demand for local markets, providing fine produce and a venue for local handmade crafts. The children's activities kept the little ones entertained with face painting and a kids zoo. It was open every Sunday 10am - 3pm at however, it has unfortunately been temporarily closed.
Alexandria is the location for a Chinese community centred on the Yiu Ming Temple in Retreat Street. The temple was heritage-listed in 1999, along with the terraced houses that line Retreat Street.
Sport and recreation
is a large recreational area on the western border. Alexandria Park and McKell Playground are situated on Buckland Street. Tennis courts and a cricket oval are located here. Erskineville Oval is just over the western border. Erskineville Oval is the home ground of the Alexandria Rovers junior rugby league team. The Alexandria Dukes Rugby Football Club play in the New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union competition and will again contest the Meldrum Cup in 2014. The club rooms for the Dukes are at the Iron Duke Hotel. A number of popular pubs are located in the suburb including the Alexandria Hotel, Iron Duke Hotel, Buckland Hotel and the Parkview Hotel on Mitchell Road.
