Sydney Kings Cross
Kings cross is the closest sydney has to a red light district. while alot of it is very cleaned up, it’s still a place that can be a tad dodgy at night. at 11am on a sunday morning, i saw quite a few girls sitting around drugged out of their brains, shaking away looking like death, spreading their legs to show off the “tools of the trade”. of course, i also saw the buffed gay boys walking around in their speedos after a hard night out, looking as if they are still high on xtc and the likes. The Kings Cross district of Sydney (also known as the “Inner East”) is one of the oldest areas of settlement in the city. It is home to much of Sydney’s nightlife and has enjoyed a mixed reputation over the years, largely due to being the city’s main “red light” district.
Close to the heart of Sydney’s central business district — and just about a quarter hour’s walk from Hyde Park — is the perpetually alive tourist enclave that is Sydney’s Kings Cross. In a city that closes down quickly after nightfall, Kings Cross is one of the few places that continue to sparkle and throb throughout the night.
Kings Cross is a wild mixture of prostitution and crime, with stylish restaurants and hotels. It has visitors of all kinds and although has some slightly run down areas has a certain quality to it as well. Kings Cross is also home to one of Sydneys oldest areas, Wooloomooloo. Here, opposite the Artspace Gallery, you will find Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, open for 18 hours a day, started in 1945. It is a must visit on the way home after a night out.
History
The intersection of William Street, Darlinghurst Road and Victoria Street at the locality’s southernmost limit was named Queens Cross to celebrate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897. Confusion with Queens Square in King Street in the city prompted its renaming as Kings Cross, after King Edward VII, in 1905.
Visitors to the area should be careful, especially at night, as people do get mugged here. The other thing to be careful of is the spuikers outside nightclubs: they can be intimidating and aggressive and have been a problem in recent times.
Best known to most Australians as the drug and red light capital of Australia, the “Cross” is a sleazy collection of strip clubs, adult bookshops, and tacky nightclubs. Over the years many attempts have been made to transform the area into something a little more “respectable”: small trendy cafes, restaurants, and shops have sprung up on the fringes, but the area still attracts a different type of visitor.
Location
Kings Cross is about 2 kilometers east of ‘downtown’, which is called the Central Business District, or CBD, in every Australian city. It’s surrounded by other neighborhoods on each side, so it’s not immediately apparent when you are leaving or entering the official Kings Cross neighborhood, at least until you are on the main section of Darlinghurst Road.
Sex aside, the Cross has plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. The Bourbon and Beefsteak, which is the best known and open all night, sprang up to cater for American servicemen on leave in Sydney during the Vietnam War. It always has good live bands in the main bar playing middle of the road music, has a disco, a restaurant, plenty of memorabilia, and is generally crowded. It is a popular spot for a late Sunday breakfast with the newspapers - which Australians call brunch.
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