Since the 1840s, when the Newtown area began to change from a rural to a commercial and residential landscape, it has been home to a very diverse community, which is evidenced by the styles of domestic architecture. The few remaining houses of the 1830s and 1940s range from "Golden Grove" on Forbes Street to tiny and austere "working-men's" cottages in Hordern Street. This trend of class diversity was to continue and expanded into cultural diversity in the mid 20th century with post-war migration bringing hundreds of European migrants to the area.