Sticky date pudding, street tennis and food swapping – what it’s like to live on a heritage street in Subiaco

The residents of Sadlier Street know how to make a neighbourhood into something truly special with food swapping, afternoon tea and street tennis all common place in this heritage small cul sac.

“We know each other’s names, and are a community,” Fiona Halsey from 7 Sadlier Street said. “People rarely leave and some have lived in Sadlier Street for more than 60 years.”
 
Fiona said the catalyst for the tight knit community seemed to be Shirley Nathan who lived at 5 Sadlier Street with her husband, Lew Nathan, for more than 50 years, adopting four children while living there. 
 
“If it looked like rain, Shirley would bring our washing in; if our front hedge was out of shape, Shirley would clip it; she made lemon and passionfruit butter for all the neighbours...Shirley is no longer with us, but the spirit of neighbourliness she embodied lives on,” Fiona said.
 
Sadlier Street has an afternoon New Year’s Eve drinks party every year for all residents, and street tennis is played. The first spring afternoon tea is coming up. 

“Food swapping is common,” Fiona said. “Jon and Carroll bake wonderful sourdough bread; Coralie (who lives just around the corner) makes delicious jam – her fig and Cointreau jam is special; Elizabeth cooks a killer sticky date pudding.
 
“Kylie and Steve have a generous mandarin tree, often with hundreds of mandarins, and Sylwia, Graeme, Oliver and Oscar have a mulberry tree on the verge. We have a pink grapefruit tree on the verge, and grapefruit lovers come and take as many grapefruit as they like.”
 
Mayor Penny Taylor said it was the generous people in neighbourhoods like this one on Sadlier Street that made the City of Subiaco such a special place to live.
 
“Great neighbours are able to create safe, welcoming and happier communities and Sadlier Street is a great example of this,” Mayor Taylor said.
 
“Friendly, welcoming neighbourhoods can enrich your social life, lend a helping hand when you need it, and help keep an eye on your home and family. With the pandemic leading to more time at home, kind and accepting neighbours have never been more important.
 
“It’s wonderful to see Sadlier Street residents taking the time to build their sense of community – it’s kind, friendly people that make the City of Subiaco such a fantastic place to live.”
 
Sadlier Street was named after Clifford William Sadlier who was living in Subiaco at the time of his enlistment in 1915. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918.