THE RAT PIT -
Pitt Street, Western Side, Near King Street
A Place Where Dog, Rat And Rooster Fighting Took Place In Sydney 1830's
I Can Imagine A Group Of Wild Men Meeting In Someone's Cellar Or Somewhere Secret Holding The Dog Fights, And Rat Fights. I Imagime The Cock Fights Didn't Start Till Later When The Colony Of Sydney's Food Shortage Was Over.
I Also Imagine There was Only Ever Going To Be One a Winner In These Fights To The Death. I Guess Rum Would've Been Wagered In The Beginning Until Governor Macquarie Started The Currency.
Dog, Cock & Rat Fighting Were Popular "Sports" In Sydney's Early Days.
In The Sydney Mail Of 31st July 1907, Mr Morris Asher, Describing His Arrival At Sydney Cove in 1838 Says
"I Saw A Dog Kill 60 Rats In One Minute. Horse Racing, Dog Fighting, Cock Fighting, Rat Fighting And Prize Fighting Were All The Rage. Scarcely Anything Else Was Thought Of, And It a Was Hard For A Young Fellow To Settle Down."
