[2] Pre-1780s the local Aboriginal people in the area used the site for fishing and cultural activities; rock engravings, grinding grooves and middens remain in evidence.
[5] By the mid nineteenth century the traditional owners of this land had typically either moved inland in search of food and shelter, or had died as the result of European disease or confrontation with British colonisers.
[4][1] One of the earliest land grants in this area was made in 1824 to Captain Francis Marsh, who received 4.9 hectares (12 acres) bounded by the present Botany and High Streets, Alison and Belmore Roads.
The village was isolated from Sydney by swamps and sandhills, and although a horse-bus was operated by a man named Grice from the late 1850s, the journey was more a test of nerves than a pleasure jaunt.
The wealthy lived elegantly in large houses built when Pearce promoted Randwick and Coogee as a fashionable area.
An even poorer group were the immigrants who existed on the periphery of Randwick in a place called Irishtown, in the area now known as The Spot, around the junction of St.Paul's Street and Perouse Road.
Many European migrants have made their homes in the area, along with students and workers at the nearby University of NSW and the Prince of Wales Hospital.
To this section it is believed that the southern, single storey wing was added in 1880-83 when the Fennelly /James White interests began in earnest the training of thoroughbred horses for racing.
The design of the Stables has been attributed by the official history of Randwick's first 50 years (1859-1909) to "an artist named Fowler" (possibly Fowles) and the actual date of construction is not known precisely, c. 1880.
[6][9][1] Stabling at the Barker Street (eastern) end of the site has included areas established for the accommodation of Randwick - Sydney coaching horses in 1877-8.
When Arthur Inglis was a boy, trainers would exercise their horses by walking them around the streets near his family's thoroughbred sales complex in Randwick every afternoon.
After buying the site in 1917 for £50,000, William Inglis & Son developed the property to include a sales arena and four stables accommodating up to 620 horses.
[8][1] A number of prominent racing men including Thomas Payten, Jim Pike, William Inglis and Son and W.J.
[7][1] Racing royalty and quality thoroughbred horses have walked through Inglis Stables for over 100 years but it has also been the venue for fashion, celebrities and red-carpet events.
Now the renowned auction centre and function venue will be turned into a residential and commercial development with up to 700 dwellings, and buildings up to 25m high.
The Inglis empire is about to shift to new headquarters near Warwick Farm Racecourse in south-west Sydney, where there will be plenty of space, easy access for out-of-towners, a new auditorium and luxury hotel.
The core of the design is a large central space roofed at a high level with clerestory glazed sashes on both sides, for the full length of the building.
The atmosphere on entering this building, with its only external light from the glazing between 7 and 9 metres (23 and 30 ft) above floor level, with free standing timber posts, is very impressive.
An American influence in the design has been suggested and could derive from familiarity with buildings of similar function in the blood stock states of the Southern Mississippi.
[9][1] The "Big Stable' is significant on the grounds of architectural quality, unusual function and building type of historic importance.
The graceful, homely and unpretentious structure of this site survive almost intact from the 19th century amid well kept trees, lawns and pavements.
Respect for Newmarket's prestige in its associations with Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry also extends beyond national borders.