Showing posts with label Loftus Street. Show all posts

Monday, March 15, 2021

Foundation Of Australia - Loftus Street, Eastern Side - Near Circular Quay

Foundation Of Australia

Loftus Street, Eastern Side, Near Circular Quay

On The 18th August 1786, Lord Sydney Wrote To The Lords Of The Treasury, Saying That It Was The Kings Pleasure That Ships Be Provided For The Carriage Of 750 Convicts To Botany Bay, Together With Provisions & Necessaries Useful On Arrival.

A Fleet Of 2 War Ships, 6 Transports, & 3 Supply Vessels, Commanded By Captain Arthur Phillip R.N. , Sailed From Portsmouth On The 12th May 1787 For The New Colony Of New South Wales.

Most Of The Fleet Dropped Anchor At Botany Bay On The 20th January 1788, After A Voyage Of 8 Months, In Which They’d Sailed 15,063 Miles.

On The 22nd January 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip Headed A Boat Party To A Harbour 9 Miles North Of Botany Bay, Which Captain Cook Had Sighted & Named Port Jackson In May 1770 As He Mapped The East Coast Of Australia (New Holland) With Sir Joseph Banks On The HMAS Endeavour, After The Planetary Conjunction Of Venus In Tahiti Upon King George III’s Instructions.

Captain Arthur Phillip Noted In The Official Journal That

“He Had The Satisfaction To Find One Of The Finest Harbours In The World, In Which A Thousand Sail Of The Line Might Ride In Perfect Security.”

“The Fleet Up Anchored Fro

The Fleet Up Anchored From Botany Bay And After A Few Hours Were Safely Anchored And Moored In Sydney Cove. Arthur Phillip Wrote - “

Fwwgeg

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Customs House Lane - Circular Quay - Sydney - New South Wales

If you duck off Circular Quay into the tight grid between Alfred, Loftus and Young Streets, you’re in the old customs-and-wool pocket of the working port. Customs House Lane sits hard against Sydney’s Customs House — the bureaucratic heart of the quay when wool and general cargo still came alongside. Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis designed the original Greek Revival building; construction ran 1843–45 on reclaimed foreshore. Overcrowding and damp pushed James Barnet to enlarge and rebuild in the 1880s (wings, another floor, the portico), with later twentieth-century alterations. After Federation the Commonwealth ran customs from here until operations wound down around 1988–90. Today it’s a City of Sydney cultural and library venue — not an active customs office.

On the south-west of the lane precinct, Hinchcliff’s stone wool store (Hinchcliff House, 5–7 Young Street) survives from the staple-export years. Andrew Hinchcliff’s firm built the stone store about 1860 (an earlier iron shed of 1845; a matching late-1880s addition). Mid-century the Society of St Vincent de Paul used it as Ozanam House and, from 1952, part of the Matthew Talbot Hostel for homeless men before the hostel moved on. The façade hoists still read as wool-bale kit if you know what you’re looking at.

Together the customs house and woolstore tell Circular Quay’s shift from working port to civic waterfront. Soften any claim that a particular Loftus Street flagpole marks the exact 1788 flag-raising site — popular tradition varies; treat flag symbolism as commemorative unless a heritage panel is quoted. Photographs here cover Customs House, Hinchcliff House / the lane, and Circular Quay streetscape.

Customs house was where shipping was cleared and goods passing through the Port of Sydney were taxed for import or export.
When the port was busy the house was crowded and noisy, a scene of raised tempers, delays in disputed dealings.

The six-storey colonnaded building you see today evolved through several phases of expansion between 1845 and 1917.
On Loftus Street alongside the house, a Union Jack flies permanently on the spot traditionally said to be where the first British flag was raised.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Customs House – 31 Alfred Street – Circular Quay – Sydney Cove – From Warrane to the City Library

Customs House

Customs House on Alfred Street today, looking across from the Quay. Enoch Lau, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Built - 1843 - 1845
Architect - Mortimer Lewis - Colonial Architect
Additional Architects -
1887 - James Barnet - Colonial Architect
1896 - Walter Liberty Vernon - Government Architect
1915 - George Oakeshott

Sydney's Customs House At Circular Quay Occupies A Unique Symbolic Place On The Site Of The First Fleet Landing In 1788. Today Its Location Is A Physical Reminder Of The Importance Of Circular Quay As The Original Maritime Centre Of The Colony, And The Colony's reliance On Trade. Its Renewal Over The Decades Also Embodies The Work Of Three Government Architects

The Customs Service Was Responsible For All Imports And Exports, Excise On Local Goods, Immigration Control, And Control Of Narcotic Substances And Morally Corrupt Goods (Such As Books And Films)
By 1844, With Sydney's Maritime Trade Booming, The Existing Customs Building In The Rocks Was Packed To The Rafters. This Prompted Governor Sir George Gipps To Commission A New 2 Storey Georgian Building, Designed By Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, With A Facade That Included 13 Large Windows Offering Commanding Views of Shipping Activity In Sydney Cove.

In 1887, The Building Was Partly Dismantled And Expanded To Three Levels By Colonial Architect James Barnet. It was Further Expanded In 1896 By Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon, Who Staged Alterations Adding Two New Levels And A Rear Wing In The Courtyard. In 1915, Architect George Oakeshott Added A New Framed Internal Structure That Opened Up The Ground Floor With An Atrium.

Despite These Later Additions During World War 1, Significant Parts Of The Original Building Remain Today, Having Been In Continuous Use For 145 Years As Headquarters For The Customs Service Right Up Until 1990. in 2003 The Historic Building Became The Venue For The City Of Sydney Library, Along With restaurants, Bars And Offices.

There Is A Scale Model Of Sydney's CBD, Under A Glass Floor In The Ground Floor Foyer. At A Scale Of 1:500, It Covers Around 10 Square Kilometres Of The City And Includes More Than 1000 Detailed Buildings, As Well As 5000 Trees, And People, And Cars And Boats

The 6 Storey Building Evolved through Several Phases Of Expansion Between 1845 & 1917.

On Loftus Street Alongside Customs House, A Union Jack Flies Permanently On The Site Where The British Flag Was First Raised On January 26th 1788. For Some Australians, This Is The Site Of The Invasion.

More On Customs House – Filling In The Story

I've walked past Customs House more times than I can count, usually on the way to a ferry, so I thought it was time to dig a bit deeper. Here's what I found.

Gadigal Country And Warrane

Long before any customs men turned up, this was Gadigal country. The cove the British called Sydney Cove is Warrane (Dharug), and Wikipedia's Customs House article notes that Eora people are said to have watched the First Fleet land here in 1788. The NSW State Heritage Register listing goes further and records the site's significance "as the initial point of European invasion of the lands of Aboriginal people". The building also sits on reclaimed land straddling the old high-water mark, so the shoreline the Gadigal knew ran right through where the foyer is now (Dictionary of Sydney).

The First Customs Men

According to Laila Ellmoos in the Dictionary of Sydney, customs duties were first collected in NSW in 1799, first by the Registrar of Imports and Exports and then by the Naval Officer until 1827. That year customs came under the London Board of Commissioners of Customs, and the NSW Customs Regulation Act of 1830 paved the way for a proper Customs House. From 1830 the customs offices were squeezed into the Argyle Stores in The Rocks. Wikipedia, on the other hand, says the first customs house was built in 1800, at or near the landing and flag-raising spot.

Colonel Gibbes, Governor Gipps And The 1845 Building

The driving force was Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes, Collector of Customs for a record 25 years (1834–1859). He talked Governor Sir George Gipps into building, and the job doubled as unemployment relief for stonemasons and labourers during the 1840s depression. Gibbes lived across the water at Wotonga (today's Admiralty House) and could watch the work from his verandah (Wikipedia). Mortimer Lewis designed a two-storey building with thirteen big windows looking over the cove; Wikipedia calls it Georgian, the Dictionary of Sydney calls it a simple Greek Revival building. It opened in 1845.

It wasn't a comfy posting. Staff complained bitterly that it was cold and damp because it sat on reclaimed land, repair bills climbed through the 1860s and 1870s, and by the early 1880s it was falling apart and bursting at the seams (Dictionary of Sydney). Bonded goods went into the Queen's Warehouse in the south-east corner of the grounds, with stables and staff quarters out the back.

Customs House before the upper storey was added, from the State Library of NSW collection. Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

James Barnet Rebuilds It

Colonial Architect James Barnet took it on in the 1880s. The NSW Heritage Register puts the work at 1885–1887: the old building was partly pulled down and rebuilt to three storeys with side wings, making a U-shape. Barnet kept the central wing, added east and west wings, lifted it a level and put a portico on the front. The Dictionary of Sydney reckons it was in effect a reconstruction, with only the Long Room surviving from Lewis's building. Wikipedia also mentions two new wings built 1883–1889 for the Shipping Office and Marine Board.

Customs House around 1900, after Barnet's rebuild and before Vernon's top floors were finished. Powerhouse Museum Collection, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Vernon, Federation And Oakeshott

Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon added two floors and a rear courtyard wing in two stages between 1896 and 1903, turning the plan into an E-shape, partly to house the Land and Income Tax Office. With Federation in 1901, customs became a Commonwealth job and the building became the NSW headquarters of the new Department of Trade and Customs. Then in 1915–17 George Oakeshott replaced everything inside the U with a steel frame, opened up the ground floor around a light well, and added a sixth storey for the caretaker (Heritage Register via Wikipedia).

The remodelled Customs House, about 1904, once Vernon's extra floors were on. State Records NSW, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Customs House decorated for the 1908 visit of the United States fleet, from a coloured postcard. Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Customs House in 1913, with the Quay's wharves and trams out the front. Unknown photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Circular Quay from the air, 1924–25, with Customs House set back behind the wharves. Unknown photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Customs Moves Out And The Library Moves In

Customs did its last day's work here on 15 June 1990. The City of Sydney took it on (leased in 1990 according to the Dictionary of Sydney; ownership transferred in 1994 according to Wikipedia). A conservation and refurbishment project opened in June 1997, more work in 1999 made it a "tourism gateway" for the Olympics, and Customs House Square was laid out out front by closing part of Alfred Street. The main City of Sydney Library moved here from Town Hall after a 2003 refit.

The atrium inside the City of Sydney library, the light well opened up by Oakeshott in 1915–17. Wpcpey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The City Under Your Feet

The best bit for me is the model. Wikipedia says it's 4.2 by 9.5 metres, weighs a tonne and was built by Modelcraft in 1998, installed during the 1999 refit and put back under the glass floor in 2003. Kids love it and so do I – you can usually find your own office.

The 1:500 model of the city under the glass floor in the foyer. Jason7825, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Flagpole In Loftus Street

I checked my earlier line about the Union Jack. The flagpole on its sandstone plinth in Loftus Street says it marks "the location at which the first ceremony of saluting the flag by Captain Arthur Phillip R.N. and his company took place to mark the foundation of Australia on 26th January 1788". The plaque was unveiled by Governor Sir James Rowland on 26 January 1988 for the Bicentenary (Monument Australia; SMH, 14 July 2022). A 1964 SMH clipping in the City of Sydney Archives put the first flag "50 ft south of" Customs House's north-western corner. The flag flown is a replica of the 1788 Union Flag, and the City keeps it up all year. But historians Michael Flynn and Gary Sturgess argued in a 2014 RAHS paper that the landing was on the west side of the cove, near the Bethel Steps in The Rocks, and the Fellowship of First Fleeters' Jon Fearon told the SMH the flagpole is "in the wrong place". So it's the traditional site, not a settled one.

Loftus Street beside Customs House, where the flagpole stands. -wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ghosts And Gossip

Wikipedia records that convict David O'Connor was hanged on the site in 1790, and the story goes his ghost still wanders Customs House offering people rum. I can't vouch for that one.

Timeline

Before 1788 – Warrane, in Gadigal country
26 Jan 1788 – British flag raised at Sydney Cove; Loftus St is the traditional site
1790 – Convict David O'Connor hanged on the site (Wikipedia)
1799 – First customs duties collected in NSW
1800 – First customs house built, per Wikipedia
1830 – Customs Regulation Act; offices in the Argyle Stores, The Rocks
1834–1859 – Col. John Gibbes is Collector of Customs
1843/1844 – Building starts (sources differ)
1845 – Mortimer Lewis's Customs House opens
1885–1887 – James Barnet's rebuild to three storeys, U-plan
1896–1903 – W.L. Vernon adds two floors and rear wing
1901 – Customs goes federal
1915–1917 – George Oakeshott's steel frame, light well and sixth storey
1988 – Flagpole plaque unveiled for the Bicentenary
15 June 1990 – Customs leaves the building
1994 – Ownership to City of Sydney (Wikipedia)
June 1997 – Restored building reopens
1998–1999 – City model built and installed
1999 – State Heritage Register listing (2 April)
2003 – City of Sydney Library moves in
2004 – Commonwealth Heritage List (22 June)

Where The Sources Disagree

When building started: 1843 (Dictionary of Sydney, which I've followed above) or 1844 (Wikipedia).
The first customs house: Wikipedia says one was built in 1800 near the landing site; the Dictionary of Sydney says the first dedicated offices were in the Argyle Stores from 1830.
Style of Lewis's building: "Georgian" (Wikipedia/Heritage Register) versus "Greek Revival" (Dictionary of Sydney). Both agree it was a plain two-storey building; the portico came later with Barnet.
When customs left: Wikipedia's intro says head office use ran until 1988, with customs relocating in 1990; the body says 15 June 1990. Either way, the cultural-venue refit came later, in 1996–97.
The City's takeover: leased in 1990 (Dictionary of Sydney) or ownership transferred in 1994 (Wikipedia).
Library opening: 2003 (Wikipedia, and my post) versus 2005 (Dictionary of Sydney).
Barnet's dates: 1887 (my post, Wikipedia history), 1885–1887 (Heritage Register), wings 1883–1889 (Wikipedia).
The flag site: Loftus Street (plaque, 1964 SMH clipping) versus Bethel Steps on the west side of the cove (Flynn & Sturgess 2014, via SMH 2022).

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Monday, March 15, 2021