New life Down Under for Wandsworth street sign

When Sheridan and Bruce met in a Wandsworth flat share, they couldn’t have predicted they would one day be hanging their street sign outside an Australian farm.

But more than five years after first connecting, the couple have a daily reminder of the place where their love blossomed.

The couple’s old street sign from Arabella Drive in Roehampton has travelled almost 15,000km to their home in Western Australia, where it is one of their “most treasured possessions”.

Having captured their hearts, Australian-born Sheridan and fiancé Bruce – originally from New Zealand – were determined never to forget their time in Wandsworth.

“After we left in 2020 we tried to get back to London as often as we could, about once a year, and each time we did we would make an effort to go back to our little flat and get a photo with the Arabella Drive sign, often making a joke that we wish we could take it with us and have the memories at home,” says 31-year-old Sheridan, who worked at luxury jewellery brand Tiffany & Co while living in the capital.

“In 2024 we took our annual photo with the Arabella Drive sign and noticed it was getting older and would likely need to be replaced quite soon.

“We decided to write to Wandsworth Council on Facebook sharing our story and asking if the sign was to be replaced, if we could have it as it meant so much.”

Our team stepped in and the sign was replaced as part of our 7 Rings, 7 Days Guarantee, which pledges to keep Wandsworth’s streets cleaner and safer.

We promise to replace broken and damaged street name signs within seven days of reporting.

With Sheridan and 30-year-old Bruce – both now working in Australia’s mining industry – covering all the costs of packing and transporting the sign, the precious cargo was soon on its way to Perth.

“We watched eagerly and refreshed the page almost hourly as we tracked its movements through all different countries along its journey and then the big brown package was at our front door,” explains Sheridan.

“We couldn’t believe it. We opened it up with a toast of Champagne and put it next to a photo we had of us by the sign in London when we first met.

“When we called our friends from our Wandsworth flat group to show everyone, they couldn’t believe we had a piece of our beginning sitting in Western Australia, soon to be moved to our newly-purchased farm and proudly displayed when we get married.”

Once the couple moved into their new home in the Margaret River area of south western Australia earlier this year with one-year-old Dalmatian Sky, the Arabella Drive sign took pride of place on the gate.

“The farm is our first house, everything we dreamed of when we were renting at Arabella Drive,” adds Sheridan.

“We couldn’t believe that the lovely staff at Wandsworth Council had made it happen - it’s truly one of our most cherished possessions and we look forward to being able to tell our story for years.”

Wandsworth Council is committed to taking Pride in Our Streets – find out more about our 7 Rings 7 Days guarantee and how to report broken or damaged street signs here.

We’re also restoring and replacing the borough’s heritage street signs as part of our commitment to Wandsworth’s streets.