The Rocks at Night – August 2017

This night-time view of The Rocks captures one of Sydney’s oldest precincts after dark. The district grew around the western shore of Sydney Cove and retains historic buildings and lanes from its colonial and maritime past.

Fort Macquarie – Eastern Point of Sydney Cove / Western Point of Farm Cove – Bennelong Point

Fort Macquarie - Bennelong Point - Eastern Side Sydney Cove - Western Side Of Farm Cove

             

It would be hard to even believe that there was once a full operating Fort, like you’d see in medieval England. Very Soon After Lachlan Macquarie Was Appointed And Constituted As The New Governor In Chief Of The Colony Of New South Wales He Became Quite Aware Of The Threat Of Invasion.
 Early to his time and to greet you South Wales can quite clear that Sydney was a penguin colony is giving no naval forces within about 5000 Miles.
 It was on the night of August 7 around is either 1813 or 1814 and American fleet sailed into Sydney unnoticed by anyone in the colony until the next morning.
If you clean quite clear that Sydney was available target for the French or the Dutch to attack on all the Americans at one stage I was at fleet arrived in Sydney harbour and are there everybody in the colony realise the time they could’ve been burnt down and destroyed overnight the reasons for having a fort and the battle placements around the harbour became more important.
 Therefore Governor Macquarie made one of the most important things in his time is governor to make sure that replacements were placed in strategic parts around Sydney in the first point of call was Bennelong point.
By that stage Bennelong had died over alcohol abuse and the lonely washed up man got accepted by the aboriginals not accepted by the colony.
Barangaroo had also died giving birth previously and so there was no link then I’ve been on point being anyone’s property apart from the colonies.
Going to McQuarrie decided to build a sandstone for it on the little bay outcrop of rock that test it out in low tide from Bendalong point are the sandstone quarry it from the top he on way.

 
Governor Macquarie decided to build a sandstone foot on the little bay outcrop of rocks it’s a straight out in Lowtide from Bendalong point are the sandstone quarry at from the top in way.

 On the other side of the semi circular key is as it was cold in those days are Caedmon‘s cottage girls proximately 1815 for John Cadman who was about Stuart at that stage.
You have to imagine that the actual semi circular key was 150 m further back before 1845 when Governor darling are filled filled in through convert work and all the fence XS sandstone and rubble used from the government buildings.
 Next point of call for governor McQuarrie was to set a site on the other side on another point new doors point call Port Phillip which had been set aside back in the 1790s by Governor Philip for that purpose
 The land was set for Fort Philip on the northern side of the key which happened to be the most perfect semi circular key for shipping anywhere in the modern world.

 Between 26 January 1788 on 6 February 1788 to 12 the ships were unloaded at Bendalong point which was called cattle point to that stage where they unloaded the forecast and six sheep as well as blacksmith animals and other equipment the governor of the Philip had made sure that they had on the ships when I first got here to be able to set up our small colony and I keep going without any supplies for 3 to 5 years







 It was in the third you I’m going to the 50th at the convicts and the Marines as Wellers the party started to give up hope that Sydney was going to be a place that they could inhabit.
Ground around Sydney was very rocky and very sandy and not suitable for cropping the first farm was built for created in what is now the government botanical Gardens are and that took nearly a year to get up and running in the first crop was destroyed by marsupial mice.
Also in that they could’ve been rats from the ship ships that when they first start in to Sydney harbour. The rap population grew rapidly as there were no way







It was on the Site Of Where The Sydney opera House Is Located At Bennelong Point. 


To think they pulled down such a grand building built By Governor Macquarie in 1816 to Build a Tram Shed, and then later The Opera House. 

Although governor Macquarie was a military man, there is little evidence to suggest that he made any contribution towards the defence of Sydney other than upgrading the fort on Dawes Point and building Fort Macquarie on Bennelong Point which replaced a small fort established by First Fleeter William Dawes in 1788
Francis Greenwaydesigned The Fort which came into use in January 1821, just before Macquarie departed. Fort Macquarie was a large, impressive structure built of stone hewn frmo an outcrop of rock near the construction site known as the Tarpien Precinct. In 1902, it was replaced by the Fort Macqaurie Tram Depot. 

The Original Building Was Designed By Francis Greenway, But As For Being A Fort....... Apparently it was terrible 

The Site Was Used As A Tram Depot For Many Years Before The Thpught ofThe Opera  House Came To Mind 

Fort Macquarie, Bennelong Point, Sydney (1820-21): Though Governor Macquarie was a military man, there is little evidence to suggest he made any major contribution towards the defence of Sydney other than upgrading the fort on Dawes Point and building Fort Macquarie on Bennelong Point which replaced a small fort established by First Fleeter William Dawes in 1788. Francis Greenway, Macquarie's buddy in arms when it came to the erection of public buildings in Sydney, designed the fort which came into use in January 1821, just a short while before Macquarie's departure from NSW. Fort Macquarie was a large, impressive structure built of stone hewn from an outcrop of rock near the construction site now known as the Tarpeian Precinct. By the turn of the 20th century, Fort Macquarie had outlived its usefulness. In 1902, it was replaced by the Fort Macquarie Tram Depot, a terminus and workshops for the Belmore to Circular Quay electric tram service. The site is today occupied by the Sydney Opera House





Man O'War Steps, Farm Cove Crescent5, Sydney (1810-20): The steps are the only known remains of harbour works from the Macquarie era still in existence in Sydney Harbour. They are in what appears to be their original configuration, and still in daily use. The Man O'War Steps recall a bygone era when Navy ships anchored in Farm Cove, and the soldiers came ashore to Fort Macquarie, Sydney's main military base which once stood where the Opera House is today. The Man O'War Steps were the embarking and disembarking point for this function for over a century. The original construction dating from 1810-20 became part of Fort Macquarie (Governor Macquarie laid the foundation stone of the fort on 17 December, 1817) and has been improved and/or replaced over subsequent years. The majority of the existing structure appears to have been put in place as part of Farm Cove seawall constructed in the 1860s. 










The TARPEAN WAY 

The site of one of Sydney's oldest sandstone quarries, it provided the building materials for some of Sydney's early stone buildings, particuly those built by the Government for its own use, that were constructed around the turn of the 19th century. Unfortunately, of these, only the Man O'War Steps survive today. The biggest of these buildings was Fort Macquarie, which was the first building to occupy the site of the Sydney Opera House. The seawalls of Farm Cove (built between 1848 - 1878) and the eastern shore of Circular Quay (completed in 1847) were also built in part out of the rock excavated from this quarry. The hole left by quarrying became known as the Tarpeian Way, after the resemblance of the escarpment to the Tarpeian Rock, a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome. In the time of the Caesars, criminals were hurled to their deaths from it. 
Cut off from the rest of the Domain by the Cahill Expressway, the Tarpeian Precinct is a narrow strip of open parkland in the vicinity of the quarry site running along the eastern side of Macquarie Street above the old quarry face. This relatively small elevated green space dotted with large trees has views to parts of Circular Quay, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Government House is immediately to the south-east of this area.

George Street 1890 Sydney heritage walk

Wagon laden with wool heads for Circular Quay 

passengers sit sideways on top of a horse drawn bus.

The roadway would've been ringing to the sound of hooves on the wood blocks used to make the surface.

The  elevated step was an experimental attempt to disguise overhead wires, believed far too expensive to use.

Outside what is dispensary, a sparrow Stieber goes about his job of sweeping and collecting manual from the roadway.

The Kirk – Cleveland Street – Surry Hills – NSW

At the Crown–Baptist–Cleveland corner of Surry Hills sits a Victorian Gothic former church everyone still calls The Kirk. Scots for “church,” sure — but do not let the nickname fool you. This one was Wesleyan Methodist, built about 1879 at 422–424 Cleveland Street, and it stayed a place of worship until it was deconsecrated around 1970.

After worship ended, the building became one of those Surry Hills cultural magnets — concerts, exhibitions, community use, then nightlife. AC/DC filmed the “Let There Be Rock” video inside in 1977. In 1986 artist and socialite Gretel Pinniger (Madame Lash) acquired it. Regular use faded after about 2010. It contributes to the High Holborn Street Heritage Conservation Area without being individually State-listed. Adaptive-reuse for restaurant and commercial space has been approved, keeping the Gothic church volume.

Correct any live text that leans Presbyterian: the nickname is Scots, the denomination was Methodist.

Alfred And Albert Streets - Semi Circular Quay

 Alfred & Albert Street's - Circular Quay East - 

Proclaimed January 7, 1845

 We must establish the perspective of today's Broadway roadway was in the beginning, the mud for tank stream Estuary. At the Western end with the overhead railway slips across Pete Street and George Street,  we are near enough to the location of the first, the Kings wharf, and afterwards, in the time of Queen Victoria, the Queens wharf.

Skinny pants artistic statement of 1842 holds a glimpse of and I'm getting the gateway to a future metropolis yet manages to convey some of the romance in a worthy way.

Around the south west corner of Sydney Cove Smugglers found that they could float contraband the tide before sunup or late in the climbing what's the builder of the little ships could launch his hopes up as far as Underwood Street and see them safely born to the bosom of Sydney Cove.

However, in 1845 Albert Street had crept hesitantly down to Phillip Street, and Alfred Street struggled to establish its personality in front of the-year-old Customs House. Those streets must've been very insignificant because the directory of 1851 speaks of Circular Quay, 

By 1855 in circular key could've been more accurate accurately describe the semi circular key, the two Street lights lined up to acceptable brokers in their stores it suitable neighbours for the customs, particularly as were was acting as vice Council for Denmark and Portugal and also looking after the concealer interests of Chile, Spain, Norway and Sweden. Might have him self in Australia more in mind.

About this time, when the stone wall is nearly completion to make the art of semi circular key self evident, the Halfpenny bridge - The Bon Accord, which has been made between what is now at the paragon in Pitt Street, became superseded by the filament. Pete Street flooded in the wake of the receding  tank stream below Hunter Street and made ready to gain access to the old Commiseriat stores and the western side of Sydney Cove.


However those only assisted Circular Quay to create a fame & fortune, and a great clippers instead of anchoring off Moore's Wharf as well for Millers Point now filled the canvas and lay at ease  in the Semi circular key. The figureheads peered into the dark and dank  of the Woolstore's and sought out the valuable cargo is which rolled from shore to  ship side along great spars of iron bark and turpentine

Buckingham’s Department Store – Oxford Street, Darlinghurst

Stand on the Oxford and Riley corner today — Oxford Square / Oxford Village — and you are standing on the ghost of Buckingham’s, one of Darlinghurst’s big department stores. Draper William Buckingham opened the business in 1878; after several moves the firm was established in Riley Street by the mid-1890s and occupied the Oxford–Riley corner by the early twentieth century (City of Sydney notes a store presence from 1894; the Dictionary of Sydney dates the department-store building’s “opened” milestone to 1908).

Buckingham’s made its name serving the “respectable working class” of nearby suburbs and was among the earliest Sydney retailers to push an easy-credit / hire-purchase style system — later a model for competitors. The family company (Buckingham’s Ltd from 1920) kept the Oxford Street flagship until the business was sold in 1967 and the building was emptied for redevelopment. On Anzac Day, 25 April 1968, the partly cleared structure went up in a spectacular fire visible across much of Sydney. The site was later redeveloped as a shopping complex. The store no longer stands — this post is site memory.

Photographs here record Buckingham’s as a lost Oxford Street retail landmark.

Buckingham’s was a major Darlinghurst department store on the corner of Oxford and Riley Streets (today’s Oxford Square / Oxford Village area). Draper William Buckingham opened his business in 1878; after several moves the firm was established in Riley Street by the mid-1890s and occupied the Oxford–Riley corner by the early twentieth century (City of Sydney notes a store presence from 1894; the Dictionary of Sydney dates the department-store building’s “opened” milestone to 1908).

Buckingham’s became known for serving the “respectable working class” of nearby suburbs and was among the earliest Sydney retailers to promote an easy-credit / hire-purchase style system, later a model for competitors. The family company (Buckingham’s Ltd from 1920) retained the Oxford Street flagship until the business was sold in 1967 and the building was prepared for redevelopment. On Anzac Day, 25 April 1968, the partly emptied structure was destroyed in a spectacular fire visible across much of Sydney. The cleared site was later redeveloped as a shopping complex.

Photographs here record Buckingham’s as a lost Oxford Street retail landmark.

Its presence reflected the rise of large-scale retailing along Oxford Street, a major commercial thoroughfare in inner Sydney. The store’s history illustrates how local department stores shaped everyday shopping in the city.

BUCKINGHAMS DEPARTMENT STORE 

Buckingham’s Department Store once stood as a prominent retail landmark on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, capturing the scale and ambition of Sydney’s department-store era.