Enmore was named after Enmore House, built in 1835 by Captain Sylvester Browne, a master mariner with the British East India Company.[citation needed] Browne named his house after the Guyana estate of a business associate, the head of James Cavan & Co, which in turn took its name from Enmore in Somerset, England. Browne's son wrote several Australian classics, including Robbery Under Arms, under the name of Rolf Boldrewood.[citation needed]
In 1836, there was a report of snowfall in the suburb. Weather observer T. A. Browne stated, "the years 1836, 1837 and 1838 were years of drought, and in one of these years [1836] a remarkable thing happened. There was a fall of snow; we made snowballs at Enmore and enjoyed the usual schoolboy amusements therewith".[4]
Enmore House was the home of the Josephson family from 1842 to 1883, when it was demolished. After Josephson's death, his son Joshua Frey Josephson lived there until 1883. Joshua Frey Josephson had four sons and nine daughters from three marriages. One son, Joshua Percy Josephson, was Mayor of Marrickville in 1901. Five streets are named after five of the daughters: Clara, Laura, Marian, Pearl and Sarah.[5]
Enmore is primarily residential, although there is a commercial strip along Enmore Road, which turns off the more famous King Street, Newtown. The now disused, former Enmore Post Office (built 1895) on the corner of Enmore and Stanmore Roads, is listed on the Register of the National Estate as an example of Federation Queen Anne architecture.[10] It was designed by the government architect, Walter Liberty Vernon.
The Enmore Theatre is a renowned live music and comedy venue.
The Sly Fox, a lesbian/mixed pub. Both Enmore and Newtown have a significant gay and lesbian population.[citation needed]
Enmore is also a focus for goth subculture in Sydney, with related speciality stores.
Population
At the 2016 census, there were 3,880 residents in Enmore.
62.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.9%.
71.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek at 3.3%.
The most common responses for religion in the 2016 Census were No Religion 52.4%, Catholic 14.3%, Not stated 13.5%, Anglican 5.3% and Eastern Orthodox 3.8%.
Major industries of employment in Enmore included Higher Education at 5.6%.
Of occupied private dwellings, 45.4% were semi-detached houses, 34.1% were flat or apartments and 14.7% were separate houses.
50.2% of people were renting their home and this was considerably higher than the national rate of 30.9% for renting.[11]
