The suburb of Malabar is located in the south east of Randwick City and is bounded by the suburb of Maroubra to the north, Matraville and Chifley to the west, and Little Bay to the south. The suburb has an extensive coastline which includes Long Bay and Malabar ocean pool. The Anzac Rifle Range (owned by the Federal Government) is located on Malabar Headland and is zoned part private open space and part residential.
The residential land is primarily low-density residential development with areas in the south of the suburb allowing villas and townhouses. Approximately 60 per cent of all private dwellings in Malabar are separate houses, significantly higher than the Randwick City average (28 per cent). Malabar has a low proportion of semi-detached housing, 6 per cent compared with the Randwick City average (15 per cent). The suburb provides a generally low density residential environment, but does include a number of residential flat buildings (predominantly one-three storey), which account for approximately 29 per cent of housing in Malabar (compared with 48 per cent average for Randwick City).
The Malabar shopping centre, along Anzac Parade, provides for local needs, and includes the Council's Malabar Community Library and community hall. Bus services operate along Anzac Parade; these bus services are the only form of public transport available to the suburb.
The suburb includes the large open space areas of the Malabar Headland, Anzac Rifle Range and Randwick Golf Course. Malabar also includes Malabar also includes the Malabar sewage treatment plant and the Long Bay Correctional Complex, which houses a large proportion of the suburbs population (approximately 2000 inmates). This affects the male/female ratio of the suburb with approximately 60 per cent male. Malabar had a higher proportion of family households and a generally more stable population than the Randwick City average with 30.9 per cent of people moving house in the five year period. The suburb has more houses and few residential flats, with the majority of people owning (or purchasing) their own home.
History of Malabar
Malabar was named after a ship which was wrecked off the northern side of Long Bay in 1931. Once there was swamp ground and a stream flowed to the beach. The area was a 'principle camping place for Aboriginals with several well-beaten paths leading down to the bay. Long Bay remained isolated in the 19th Century, there was a small fishing village and the district attracted weekend picnic parties.
The State Reformatory for Women opened in 1909. It was also an asylum for female inebriates and it was felt the open fresh atmosphere of Malabar would be beneficial for inmates. In 1914 the Public Works Department completed the State Penitentiary for male prisioners. In 1970 the Long Bay Metropolitan Remand Centre opened. The tramline extended from South Kensington to the gaol in 1901. In the 1920s weatherboard houses in Austral Street typified residential development in Malabar. During the 1930s Depression there was a makeshift camp of unemployed at Long Bay. During World War I, land at Long Bay was used for musketry practice and land was set aside for Defence purposes. The State Government granted the land to the Commonwealth two years later. In 1967, when the Anzac Rifle Range closed at Liverpool, numerous rifle clubs transferred to Long Bay.
Lawrence, J. Pictorial History of Randwick, Kingsclear Books, Alexandria, 2001, pp.64-70.