Wentworth Avenue

Can you find Wentworth Avenue on this map from the late 1920s? It isn’t as long or as vital as it is today but it does exist if you look very carefully.

Botany map from a street directory c. late 1920s 
City of Botany Bay Library & Museum Services

Close up of the original Wentworth Avenue (mid left hand side) and the neighbouring streets ( Smith & Nilson) and that would later make the busy Wentworth Avenue we know today.
City of Botany Bay Library & Museum Services

In its original form Wentworth Avenue was as a residential street in the Dudley Estate. It was not until after WWII that Wentworth Ave as we know today began to take shape.

Close up of Park Road and the Botany dams, that now make up Wentworth Avenue
City of Botany Bay Library & Museum Services

The section of road where Wentworth Avenue meets Botany Road, was previously known as Park Avenue. While the middle part of Wentworth Avenue, the section that crosses the lakes, may possibly have formed during WWII and been called Burma Road. Many locals recall this name but it is unclear which stretch of Wentworth Avenue they mean. Do you know the answer? If so please contact us on 9366 3802 or museum@botanybay.nsw.gov.au 

Our next exhibition which will open late February 2013, will look at the people behind the district’s street names.  For more on Charles William Wentworth see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wentworth-william-charles-2782