Originally known as Little Coogee, the name was changed to Clovelly in 1913. When the search for a new name began, the English seaside town
Eastbourne was suggested. The president of the local progress association, Mr. F. H. Howe, suggested Clovelly, the name of a local estate owned by Sir John Robertson, which was named after the village of
Clovelly on the north
Devon coast,
England. William C. Greville bought , which included the whole bay frontage, for 40 pounds in 1834. The area was dominated during the nineteenth century by the grand estate of Mundarrah Towers. Mundarrah Towers was built for
Dr Dickson in the 1860s. Samuel Bennett, who owned
Australian Town and Country Journal, one of the most influential newspapers of the day, bought the property and made further grand additions. The Mundarrah Towers estate occupied the land around Burnie Street overlooking the western end of Clovelly Bay. Mundarrah Street honours this once grand part of Clovelly's heritage. Between Coogee and Clovelly, on the shores of Gordon's Bay, stood Cliffbrook, the home built for John Thompson. By the early twentieth century the first governor of the
Commonwealth Bank owned this grand mansion which was substantially demolished in 1976. Some of the buildings of the Cliffbrook estate survive today at the corner of Beach and Battery streets. Today the suburb is affectionately referred to as "Cloey" by many residents and locals.
Trams The Clovelly tram line began at Alison Road to the intersection of Clovelly and Carrington Roads in 1912, then extending to Clovelly in 1913 helping to popularise the area. This line branched from
Anzac Parade at Alison Road, and ran on its own tram reservation beside
Centennial Park as far as Darley Road. Here it diverged from services to Coogee, to run north along Darley Road, then turned right into Clovelly Road to run down to its terminus at Clovelly Beach. Though services ran from Circular Quay and from Railway Square (from 1923), the line closed in 1957. The tram line followed the route of
Transdev John Holland bus route 339. ==Commercial area==