Rebecca's Story
It was the end of 2025 when it was time for Rebecca and her family to relocate from Waterloo South ahead of the impending demolition of the apartment block. They waited hopefully to be offered a new public property to move into, but began to feel anxious as neighbours in units around them moved away, leaving them almost alone in the block.
Rebecca’s family has lived in Waterloo since she was a ten-year-old girl. This is where she and her friends grew up and still live today. She had been a student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the same institution her two sons attend today, along with the children of her childhood friends. Everyone knows each other here, in the public housing community of Waterloo; they know each other’s stories, they understand where they came from and what challenges life throws at them.
Back in the day, Rebecca remembers, the area had been dangerous, with drug users’ and sellers’ dominating presence impacting the community's ability to enjoy their neighbourhood. These days, it’s more relaxed, neighbours flock to BBQs in the park and kid-friendly events. They keep an eye out for one another and try to help out where they can.
Rebecca's mum lives near the Redfern Oval and is pleased to stay close to her, residing in the area where she grew up. After all, that wasn’t a guaranteed outcome when she, along with everyone else in Waterloo, first learned that the government decided to redevelop the estate. The announcement arrived as a letter just before Christmas 2015 and caught everyone by surprise. With the holiday closure, there was no way to make further inquiries, so neighbours relied on word of mouth to learn their fate. Most people Rebecca knew wanted to stay put and followed her lead in hanging a sign opposing the demolition and redevelopment in their apartment windows.
Housing got me to take it down immediately. We didn’t even get a chance to take a photo of the signs in the windows, she remembers.
The community rallied in opposition to the redevelopment and displacement in the area. Some took part in the art project #WeLiveHere2017 - a light installation in the towers' windows, a colourful proof of life and vibrant spirit of the estate. A documentary, produced by a local filmmaker to capture the experiences of the community being put to the test by change and disruption, There Goes Our Neighbourhood, followed.
Over the years since the redevelopment announcement, Rebecca’s family was moved from a 2-bedroom apartment in the Joseph Banks tower to a 3-bedroom unit in a low-rise property in Waterloo South and again to a different 3-bedder after a dispute with a difficult neighbour. It wasn’t until 2025 that a clear indication that the redevelopment would be going ahead arrived at the Waterloo estate. A designated drop-in office for the project opened, and the contracted developer, Stockland, began engaging with residents on the subject.
It was the end of 2025 when it was time for Rebecca and her family to relocate from Waterloo South ahead of the impending demolition of the apartment block. They waited hopefully to be offered a new public property to move into, but began to feel anxious as neighbours in units around them moved away, leaving them almost alone in the block.
I felt the pressure to move. There were only three other families left in the building, and I wasn’t feeling safe here, Rebecca remembers. So when they showed me the place, I was like, ' Yeah, great, let’s do it.
After she accepted the new place, Rebecca was given 2 weeks to pack and be ready to move. She was also told to begin paying rent immediately.
For two weeks, I was paying double rent: for my old place and the new one, which we didn’t even live in yet.
The stress of moving and the double rent payment would perhaps be worthwhile if it weren’t for the fact that the new house Rebecca and her family moved into was not the safe destination she had hoped it to be. Within days, it was clear the property had serious drainage issues. Each time the family showered or used the bathroom, the front yard flooded with raw sewage.
Six months and dozens of plumbers’ visits later, the drainage issue persists, and Rebecca is now seeking advice from the Inner Sydney Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service to help resolve it. Despite the difficulties she is facing in her newest public housing property, Rebecca says she won’t take up the government’s offer of “right of return” to the redeveloped social housing area of the Waterloo South precinct.
I don’t want to have anything to do with it, she says, ’these [Community Housing] operators, they don’t care about the people, all they look after is their property, and that’s it.
