Woolloomooloo: A Biography

by Louis Nowra

It was no wonder I was glad to be down in Woolloomooloo. The Old Fitzroy reminded me of how Kings Cross used to be. Told in his vivid and entertaining style, Louis Nowra writes Woolloomooloo’s biography, drink in hand, from the vantage point of the Old Fitzroy Hotel, the cosy, eccentric and wonderful pub on Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo. It’s a world of sex, sin, sly grog, sailors, razor gangs, larrikins, workers, artisans, murderers, fishermen, activists, drinkers, fashion designers, tradies, artists and the downright dangerous. It’s also a story of courage, resilience, tolerance, compassion. And though the pub has a real theatre, it’s the cast of real-life characters that are the stars of this show. Woolloomooloo’s past wraps around its present. Louis – often accompanied by Coco the Chihuahua and other two-legged locals, often walks the streets, uncovering history – some official, some never revealed. He stumbles across pockets of beauty and charm, and the derelict and abandoned. Unforgettable – and unspellable – Woolloomooloo in this book is a place as fascinating as its name.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2017

About the author

Louis Nowra (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. His most significant plays are Così, Byzantine Flowers, Summer of the Aliens, Radiance, and The Golden Age. In 2007 he completed the The Boyce Trilogy for Griffin Theatre Company, consisting of The Woman with Dog's Eyes, The Marvellous Boy and The Emperor of Sydney. Many of his plays have been filmed.[1]
He was born as Mark Doyle in Melbourne. He changed his name to Louis Nowra in the early 1970s. He studied at Melbourne's La Trobe University without earning a degree. In his memoir, The Twelfth of Never, Nowra claimed that he left the course due to a conflict with his professor on Patrick White's The Tree of Man. He worked in several jobs and lived an itinerant lifestyle until the mid-1970s when his plays began to attract attention.
His radio plays include Albert Names Edward, The Song Room, The Widows and the five part The Divine Hammer aired on the ABC in 2003.[2]
In March 2007, Nowra published a controversial book on violence in Aboriginal communities, Bad Dreaming.
Nowra has been studied extensively in Veronica Kelly's work The Theatre of Louis Nowra.
He resides in Sydney with his wife, author Mandy Sayer.

From Wikipedia

Reviews

[Victoria Gillespie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tossed up between 2 and 3 stars for this , it’s interesting but the historical episodes jump with no seeming relation apart from “oh this seems cool”.

Some chapters I skimmed or missed.

I think my issue is more with the creative non-fiction style and its home in trade publications. I find it untrustworthy , not for the authorial intrusion but for the absence of source material! give me footnotes!

[Pascal Blanquer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Woolloomolloo I wish I was walking with this book in hand
Fascinating history of the area
It would be great to add few pictures to complement the detailed description
I will probably go to some of my neighbourhood looking for the terraces described

The only low note for me is the author and narrator. I just didn’t warm to him at all and made a portrait of him as a « wankxxer » in my head without knowing him.
But good book

[Kelly McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet and definitely shocking at points. Even more magical to know I was there at one point!

[Benjamin Farr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-researched walk through the streets of Woolloomooloo; a quintessential part of Sydney's unique fabric. Nowra introduces the readers to an eclectic array of 'Loo locals (both past and present) while meandering through the roads, lanes and pubs of this incredible part of Australia.

[Barby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis Nowra writes an entertaining, but predictably down at heel story about Woolloomooloo. The true message is something underneath the cliches which is that locals retain a set of values which elevate friendship, loyalty, creativity and little respect for rules.

[Naomi Parry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picturesque drinker's tour of a small and notorious suburb and a handful of its characters. Glib. Extremely poor grammar, with this as a case in point:

"The second floor had once been rooms for guests and staff but is now in a state of apathetic neglect, its ceilings and cornices browned with water damage, its rooms filled with abandoned spider webs dotted with the carcases of dead flies, dusty old furniture and boxes with forgotten contents."

Fortunately, the author says the grammatical bloopers and factual mistakes are his ...

[DomBlack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and engaging.

I thought that his other book, Kings Cross, was going to be hard to beat but he did it with this.

I like the way he centred the story and the different times in the suburb's history through the lens of the one pub, which suits the 'biography' style that Nowra adopts.

I also think it’s important that lower class and working class stories are told, which they seldom are in history, even though, as seen in this book, they are often more interesting than a lot of the stories that are recorded.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eclectic mix of tales, surprisingly many of them were historic. The author obviously did a lot of research into the area. I would've enjoyed some photos to go along with the words, especially comparisons between the different areas in the past vs now.
The modern day characters are a mix of alcoholics, drug addicts, violent passers-by and mentally disturbed individuals; all up a quite depressing bunch.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5. Very disjointed, skips from one anecdote to a seemingly unrelated one in the next paragraph. Some of the stories seem to go nowhere while other chapters read more like a list of incidents with very little detail. Disappointing overall.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the Fitzroy Hotel from the early Seventies. Sounds like it has gone a bit up market since those days. Back then, I recall it was just 'The Fitzroy.' Given it is now the Old Fitzroy, there must be a new one somewhere? Anyway, a good read.

[Benito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history of Sydney through the portal of one of its most ancient, infamous and misunderstood suburbs - Woolloomooloo.