Dictionary of Sydney
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The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Surf City

Club, Entertainment venue

One of Sydney's biggest 'beat' music venues in the 1960s, located in the former Kings Cross Theatre that was demolished to make way for the underground railway station and the Crest Hotel.

-33.874602114744, 151.22217425206

Milestone
Opened
1963
Closed
Mar 1966
Position
Manager
Harrigan, John William
1963
Property
Occupied
Kings Cross Theatre
1963 - 1966
Type
Club
Entertainment venue

Breeding delinquents: Surf City 1963-1966

CC BY 2.5 AU
by
Jake Ollett
,
2020

The venue Surf City in the former Kings Cross Theatre on Darlinghurst Road was accused of ‘breeding delinquents’ soon after it opened in 1963. Despite its short lifetime, the venue is crucial to the musical history of Australia. For three years it served as the spiritual home of Australian beat music, giving rise to mainstream pop stars and underground cult heroes whose influence remains today.

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