From wetlands to wool washing, dairies to designer apartments – Zetland and Green Square are constantly transforming.

Our new self-guided walk, Transform, peels back the historical layers of this remarkable area which is part of Gadigal country. It has been home to Chinese market gardeners, shopkeepers, clairvoyants and factory workers.

Start at the Green Square Library and plaza, and encounter parks, laneways, Aboriginal culture, artworks and modern architecture on a 2.3km wander.

Learn the stories behind place names and tales from the area’s industrial past. Spot a horse trough and find out why the area used to smell so bad.

Highlights include:

• pockets of terrace housing and laneways that were part of the Zetland estate, an early residential subdivision for sale in 1885
• a bronze sculpture, Bangala, by Elder Aunty Julie Freeman and artist Jonathan Jones modelled on handheld water carriers Aboriginal communities once used along the east coast
• Matron Ruby Grant Park on the old Royal South Sydney Hospital grounds.

This new self-guided walk is available now on the Sydney Culture Walks app. Take the walk in your own time, at your own pace – it’s the perfect pocket companion for your daily stroll.

The walk has been put together by our City historian to celebrate History Week.