Penfold Place & Hosking Place - Laneways - Sydney - New South Wales

Penfold Place & Hosking Place - Laneways - Sydney - NSW 

W C Penfold & Co Is One Of Sydney's Oldest Firms. In 1866 Penfold Bought Out A Printing Business That Had Been On This Pitt Street Site Since 1830, & In 1912 The Firm Bought The Eight Storey Hosking House In Hosking Lane Behind, For An Extended Printworks. 


These Private Laneways Have Served The Firm, & Acted As A Short Cut For Locals For All This Time. 

John Hosking Was Sydney's First Elected Lord Mayor. He Had To Step Down From This Position When He Was Declared Bankrupt In The 1840's Depression. If Only He Could See His Piece Of Real Estate Now. 

Hosking’s Mansion Was Built On the Corner Of Pitt Street And Martin Place On The North Eastern

corner. 

It Was Destroyed By Fire In 1890

The Mansion Became The Site For The Metropolitan Hotel. 

Palings Lane & Ash Street - Laneways - Sydney - New South Wales

Palings Lane & Ash Street - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

The Elegant Complex Of Up Market Restaurants, Pools, Bars And Spas On George Street Is Entered Through Narrow Palings Lane, Which Despite Its Very Contemporary Feeling, Has Been on Or Close To Here For A Long Time. It Was Named Because It Led Through To The Large 1880's Palings Building In Ash Street. W H Paling Was A Musical Entreprenuer Who Imported & Eventually Manufactured Pianos And Sheet Music. Upper Floor Rooms Were Rented Out To Teachers Of Music And Dance, & As Artist's Studios. Ash Street Also Housed The Headquarters Of The Liberal Party Of Australia For Many Years

York Lane – Laneways – Sydney – New South Wales

York Lane - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

This Is Sydney's Longest Laneway. Just Before Barrack Street There Are Some Remnants Of Old Warehouses On The Right, And On The Left Some Residential Apartments. Residents Here Were Some Of The Early Adopters Of The Current Trend Towards Inner City Living That Began In The 1980's.

Wynyard Lane - Laneways - Sydney - New South Wales

Wynyard Lane - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

A Laneway Of Loading Docks & Car Parks, The Back End Of City Businesses. But Note The Hotel Entrance In The 1919 Photo Of This Lane. The Area Was Taken Up With Military Barracks Until the 1840's, & When The Barracks Were Closed In the 1840's, The Military Commander, Edward Buckley Wynyard, Ensured That His Name Was Applied Generously To The Places In This Precinct

Curtin Place - Laneways - Little George Street - Sydney - New South Wales

Curtin Place - Little George Street - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

This Lane, Formerly Little George Street, Forms The Southern Boundary Of The Australia Square Site. John Curtin Was The Australian Prime Minister, 1941 - 1945. Between This & Bond Street, Underneath the Skyscraper, Was Once The Romantically Named Robin Hood Place. 

Two Other Little Lanes, Hamilton Street And Little Hunter Street Run Off Curtin Place. 

Bond Street – Laneways – Sydney – New South Wales

Bond Street - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

Bond Street Remains On The Grid, But Most Of It's Buildings Were Swept Away For The Construction of Australia Square, Opened In 1967. In The Early Decades Of The 20th Century, Bond Street Was A Honeycomb Of Small Shops And Businesses, Inccluding Printers And Publishers. The Influential Magazine Art Australia Was Published From Here, & Bond Street Studios Attracted Tenants Such As Artist Ure Smith And Photographer Max Dupain

Tank Stream Way - Laneways - Sydney - New South Wales

Tank Stream Way - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

Tank Stream Way Was Once Part Of Hamilton Street Which ran From Bridge And Hunter Streets, Named After Hamilton's Biscuit Factory. Most Of It Disappeared Underneath The Australia Square Development, Leaving Two Remnant Laneways, And This Section Was Renamed In 1981. In Bridge Lane, Once The Site Of The Towns first Lumber Yards, Look For The Old Warehouse Doorway, Now The Entrance To The Establishment Hotel. As Late As The 1860's  There Was Still Vacant Land Sliced Between The Cottages In This Area, But By The End Of The 19th Century It Had Become A Favoured Location for Warehouses, Including Several Tea Merchants Stores. 

Abercrombie Lane - Laneways - Sydney - New South Wales

Abercrombie Lane - Laneways - Sydney - NSW

On The Corner Of Abercrombie Lane Is The George Patterson Building, Refurbished As An Upmarket Bar After A Fire That Gutted The Building In 1996. This Building Retains Many Original Features, Including Some Atmospheric Fire Damaged Walls. Walking Down Abercrombie Lane It Is Easy To Imagine That You Are Heading For The Tank Stream. 


"The Spot Chosen For The Settlement Was At The Head Of A Cove, Near The Run Of Fresh Water Which Stole Silently Along Through A Very Nice Thick Wood, The Stillness Of Which Had Then, For The First Time Since Creation, Been Interupted.."

- David Collins - Account Of An English Colony Of New South Wales 1802


When The Water Supply Became Inadequate, Convucts Were Set To Work Digging Holding Tanks Into The Watercourse, And So It Became Known As The Tank Stream. Today The Stream Runs Silently Through A City Drain Below The Pavements.