Crown Street Women’s Hospital – Darlinghurst – Surry Hills – New South Wales

 

Crown Street Women’s Hospital - Surry Hills - New South Wales

Crown Street women’s hospital on the corner of Albion and Crown Street in Surrey Hills, was designed as a 75 bed maternity hospital with visiting nurses who provided prenatal and postnatal care in homes within a mile radius.

Crown Street women’s hospital on the corner of Albion and Crown Street in Surrey Hills, was designed as a 75 bed maternity hospital with visiting nurses who provided prenatal and postnatal care in homes within a miles radius.

The foundation stone, laid by the governor‘s wife Lady Chelmsford on 24 August 1912, can be found on the old building on Albion Street near the corner of Crown Street now converted into apartments

Crown Street Women's Hospital, also known as Crown Street Maternity Hospital, was a prominent maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Here's some information about Crown Street Women's Hospital:

1. Establishment: Crown Street Women's Hospital was established in 1893 as a specialized facility dedicated to women's healthcare, specifically maternity care. It was located on Crown Street in Surry Hills, a suburb of Sydney.

2. Maternity Services: The hospital provided a wide range of maternity services, including prenatal care, labor and delivery, postnatal care, and neonatal care. It played a vital role in supporting women throughout their pregnancy and childbirth, providing a safe and specialized environment for maternity care.

3. Size and Facilities: Crown Street Women's Hospital was a large institution with extensive facilities to accommodate the needs of expectant mothers. It had multiple wards, delivery rooms, operating theaters, and nurseries. The hospital also had specialized units for high-risk pregnancies and neonatal intensive care.

4. Training and Education: The hospital played an important role in training medical professionals, including obstetricians, midwives, and nurses. It provided a valuable learning environment for students, contributing to the advancement of maternity care practices and medical education in Australia.

5. Historical Significance: Crown Street Women's Hospital holds historical significance as one of the leading maternity hospitals in Sydney. It served the community for over a century, witnessing countless births and providing essential healthcare services to women and newborns.

6. Closure and Transition: Crown Street Women's Hospital closed its doors in 1983 when its services were relocated to the newly constructed Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick. The closure marked the end of an era for the iconic institution that had played a crucial role in the healthcare of women in Sydney.

Today, while Crown Street Women's Hospital no longer operates as a maternity hospital, the site has been repurposed. The original building has been renovated and transformed into residential apartments, preserving its heritage and architectural character. The hospital's legacy continues through the memories of those who were born there and the impact it had on the lives of countless families throughout its existence.

Wynyard – From Gadigal Country and the Military Barracks to Wynyard Square, Wynyard Park and Wynyard Station – Sydney – NSW

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this page contains historical images that may show people who have died.

If you've ever cut through Wynyard Park on the way to a train, or waited for a bus on Carrington Street, you've been standing on what was once the parade ground of Sydney's first proper military barracks. Very little of the old place survives above ground, but the shape of the park, the name of Barrack Street and the name Wynyard itself all go back to the soldiers. This page brings together my two earlier Wynyard posts into one story, from Gadigal country through the barracks years, the square, the 1932 station and the trams, up to the Wynyard of today.

Sydney Cove in 1792, the year the barracks were begun on the western ridge, painted by the unnamed artist known as the Port Jackson Painter. Port Jackson Painter, fl. 1788-1792., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gadigal Country

Long before there was a barracks or a railway, this ridge above the western side of Sydney Cove was Gadigal land. The Gadigal (also written Cadigal and Caddiegal) are the Aboriginal people whose traditional lands, Gadi, lie on Eora country where the city of Sydney now stands. Since colonisation most Gadigal people have been pushed off those lands (Wikipedia, Gadigal). The City of Sydney's archives also note that George Street, which runs along the eastern edge of the old barracks, was possibly the first street in Australia and may have followed Aboriginal tracks (City of Sydney Archives, George Street).

Sydney Cove in 1788, watercolour by William Bradley of the First Fleet. The western shore and ridge, where the barracks would go, is the side on the left of the cove as you look up the harbour. William Bradley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Military Barracks, 1792 to 1848

Building the barracks

When the First Fleet came in 1788 the marines camped in tents on the western side of the cove. They were relieved by the New South Wales Corps, a regiment raised in England in 1789 for the job (Wikipedia, New South Wales Corps). According to the Dictionary of Sydney, barracks were put up between 1792 and 1818 on the eastern, southern and western sides of what is now Wynyard Park, leaving a big open square in the middle (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). That square was known as Barracks Square or the Parade Ground.

It was a much bigger reserve than the park we know. Wikipedia's Wynyard Park article says the George Street barracks ran from Barrack Street in the south to almost Jamison Street in the north, and west to Clarence Street. A heritage study for the One Carrington Street development says the barracks took the prime ridge-top position above the settlement that had first been set aside for a permanent Government House, and that under Governor Macquarie a high stone wall was built along the western side of George Street, shutting the soldiers off from the town (GML Heritage, One Carrington Street Heritage Impact Statement, 2014). The same report says the main gate, with a guardhouse, was on George Street close to today's Wynyard station ramp. A wide gravel path ran from the gate up to the main buildings between green lawns, and Francis Greenway built a columned circular fountain in the middle of the parade ground. From then on the parade ground was called Barrack Square (GML Heritage, 2014).

The French plan of Sydney drawn from the 1802 Baudin expedition survey by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur. The military reserve west of the High Street (later George Street) shows up as a large block on the ridge. Péron, François, 1775-1810 Lesueur, Charles Alexandre, 1778-1846 Aubert, L. Milbert, Jacques Gérard,, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Rum Corps and the march on Bligh

The Corps became notorious for its trade in rum and for mutinous behaviour (Wikipedia, New South Wales Corps). On 26 January 1808, 400 soldiers marched on Government House and arrested Governor William Bligh, in what became known as the Rum Rebellion (Wikipedia, Rum Rebellion). Wikipedia's Wynyard Park article says it was from this parade ground that the Corps marched out to do it. I've written up the whole affair in my post on the arrest of Governor Bligh (link below).

The parade ground had a lighter side too. The same article records that in July 1829 soldiers from British regiments were noted playing football on the parade ground, though nobody knows under what rules (Wikipedia, Wynyard Park, Sydney).

Barracks Square and Barrack Street

The barracks shaped the streets around them. Barrack Street, the short street off George Street, marks the old southern edge of the reserve. The Macquarie-era wall ran from just north of Margaret Street down to Barrack Street. When the land was later subdivided, the plan laid out a framework of connecting streets, York, Carrington, Barrack, Wynyard and Margaret, with rear lanes behind them (GML Heritage, 2014). The Dictionary of Sydney gives York, Carrington, Margaret and Barrack streets as the bounds of Wynyard Park (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). By 1900 the corner of George and Barrack Streets was taken by one of the city's best-known shops, David Jones.

David Jones on the corner of George and Barrack Streets with a tram to Dulwich Hill, about 1900 to 1910 (State Library of NSW, PXE 711/369). author unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Barrack Street, Sydney, about 1900, from the Powerhouse Museum collection. Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Move to Victoria Barracks, 1848

By the 1840s a barracks in the middle of a growing commercial town made little sense. Victoria Barracks was built on Paddington Hill, on land inside the Sydney Common, to move the garrison out of Barracks Square. The Board of Ordnance took possession of the site in 1841, the Regency-style main building went up in Hawkesbury sandstone between 1841 and 1846, and the main barrack block, completed in 1846, was designed for 650 soldiers (Wikipedia, Victoria Barracks, Sydney). The Dictionary of Sydney says the old barracks and parade ground were used until the new Victoria Barracks were completed in 1848 (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney).

British troops stayed at Paddington until 1870, when they left the colony, and the NSW Artillery took over (Wikipedia, Victoria Barracks, Sydney). So the later army history of Victoria Barracks, Federation, the World Wars and so on, belongs to Paddington and not to Wynyard.

The gate of Victoria Barracks on Oxford Street, Paddington, where the garrison went after leaving the George Street barracks. J Bar, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The 50th Regiment at Victoria Barracks, Paddington, before 1880 (State Records NSW). State Records NSW, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

The Subdivision, Wynyard Square and General Wynyard

Once the soldiers were gone, the barracks land was cut up for private houses and shops, but a square was kept on the higher part of the old Barrack Square (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). It was named Wynyard Square after Major-General Edward Buckley Wynyard. Grand four- and five-storey terraces went up around it, giving Wynyard the feel of an English residential square from the 1850s to the 1880s. Carrington Street was named on the 1850s plan, but people generally called it Wynyard Square or Wynyard Square East until the mid-1920s (GML Heritage, 2014).

Wynyard (1788–1864) was a career British Army officer, born at Kensington Palace. He served in Sicily and the Ionian Islands, spent 1816–20 on St Helena as military secretary to Sir Hudson Lowe, and in September 1847 was put in command of the troops in New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand. He sat on the Legislative Council from 1848 to 1851 and the Executive Council from 1848 to 1853, went home in 1853, and died in London in 1864. Wynyard in northern Tasmania is probably named after him too (Wikipedia, Edward Buckley Wynyard).

The square was dedicated as a recreation ground in 1875, fenced and landscaped, and at first only residents with keys to the gates could use it, as in the London squares. It was dedicated as a public park on 1 July 1887 and proclaimed Wynyard Park on 7 October that year, in the care of the City Council (GML Heritage, 2014). A bandstand went up in the middle in 1888, and Canary Island palms were planted in 1893 (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). From 1887 it was known as Wynyard Park (Wikipedia, Wynyard Park, Sydney). By 1907 the fences had come down, following the American fashion for open parks (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney).

The Wallach Brothers store newly opened at Wynyard Square, from the Sydney Mail of 16 June 1888. Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dr Lang and his statue

The Presbyterian minister John Dunmore Lang lived at Wynyard Square and was behind the building of Scots Church nearby. His statue by Giovanni Fontana stands at the northern end of the park (Wikipedia, Wynyard Park, Sydney; Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). In 1912 the City built an ornate underground men's lavatory with a domed glass roof in the park, like the ones at Hyde Park, Taylor Square and Macquarie Place (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney).

The statue of John Dunmore Lang by Giovanni Fontana in Wynyard Park. Sardaka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Park about 1920, before the railway works dug it up (State Records NSW). Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Station and the Harbour Bridge Railway, 1932

Wynyard's link with transport started with buses. In the 1880s a bus terminus was set up there for passengers from the southern suburbs, and a railway station was first suggested in 1881, but nothing came of it for half a century (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney). Here's the photo from my original Wynyard post, showing the proposed railway station:

Proposed Railway Station For Wynyard 

The station was built as part of John Bradfield's city underground railway, planned together with the Harbour Bridge. The bridge carried four railway tracks, and both pairs ran down ramps and tunnels into the underground Wynyard station on the city side (Wikipedia, Sydney Harbour Bridge). To build it, the park was dug out and then put back over the top (Wikipedia, Wynyard Park, Sydney). Much later, in 1996, a new station entrance was built in the middle of the park, and a restoration programme began in 1998 (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney).

Placing fill for York and Carrington Streets over the new Wynyard station, 4 November 1930 (State Records NSW). Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Erecting the escalators at Wynyard, 4 November 1930. The wooden escalators at the York Street entrance stayed in service until the 2015–18 refurbishment (State Records NSW). Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard was built with six platforms. Platforms 3 and 4 took the North Shore trains across the bridge, and platforms 5 and 6 sat on a lower level. Platforms 1 and 2 were meant for a future railway to the Northern Beaches that never got built (Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney).

The North Shore platform at Wynyard looking north, dated 27 February 1932, the eve of the opening (State Records NSW). Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Harbour Bridge was formally opened on Saturday 19 March 1932. On that day 632 people became the first fare-paying passengers to cross it by train, paying a premium of ten shillings, although two clergymen had already crossed by accident on the previous day's test train (Wikipedia, Sydney Harbour Bridge).

The first passenger train to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge, 19 March 1932. Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The departures indicator board above the entry barriers at Wynyard, 27 August 1948 (State Records NSW). Photographic Collection from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Trams

While the Northern Beaches line waited for money, platforms 1 and 2 were handed over to the North Shore trams. Trams came in from Blue Street in North Sydney, over a steel arch bridge above the bridge roadway, across the eastern side of the Harbour Bridge and down into Wynyard. It was the only underground tram terminus in Australia (Wikipedia, Trams in Sydney). The trams ran from the bridge's opening in 1932 until the North Sydney system closed on 28 June 1958 (Wikipedia, Trams in Sydney; Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney).

After the trams went, the tracks were lifted and the tram platforms walled off. Part of the space became a car park for the Menzies Hotel, reached by a ramp from Wynyard Lane, and that car park closed in October 2016 for the Wynyard Place development. On the bridge, the old tram tracks became two extra road lanes, now part of the Cahill Expressway, and you can still see the old tunnel mouths from the eastern footpath (Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney; Wikipedia, Sydney Harbour Bridge). That's also why Wynyard's platforms are still numbered 3 to 6. Platforms 1 and 2 were the tram platforms, and nobody ever renumbered the rest (Wikipedia, Trams in Sydney).

A Wynyard-bound tram on the Harbour Bridge in the 1930s, on the tracks that are now the Cahill Expressway lanes. Photograph by Ted Hood (State Library of NSW). Ted Hood, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

A coupled set of trams at the Argyle Street stop on the bridge approach in January 1957, the year before the North Shore trams finished. lindsaybridge from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Park Through the Twentieth Century

With the station underneath it, the park became the place where city workers ate lunch and waited for buses to the northern suburbs, and also a spot for public meetings and protests. Wikipedia describes it as one of Australia's oldest parks to be continuously set aside as open space in a city (Wikipedia, Wynyard Park, Sydney). Since the station opened, bus parking has dominated the streets around the park (Whitaker, Dictionary of Sydney).

Carrington Street and Wynyard Park in the 1930s, photographed by Hall & Co. Hall & Co., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Square from the air, July 1937, Adastra Aerial Survey (Royal Australian Historical Society). Royal Australian Historical Society, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Frank Sinatra fans listen to his records in Wynyard Park, January 1945. Photograph by Ivan Ives. Ivan Ives, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Protesters for Indonesian independence at Wynyard Square in 1947 (State Library of NSW). Pix photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Today

Wynyard is now an urban locality in its own right, in the City of Sydney, postcode 2000, with Wynyard Park as its landmark (Wikipedia, Wynyard, New South Wales). The station got lifts in 1999, and between 2015 and 2018 it was thoroughly refurbished. Parts of the old wooden escalators were turned into a hanging artwork called Interloop at the York Street entrance (Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney).

Wynyard Walk is a 180-metre pedestrian link from Wynyard station to Barangaroo. It's a mix of a new entrance, a tunnel, a footbridge and a plaza, designed by Woods Bagot. It opened in September 2016, with the Clarence Street entrance following in December 2016 (Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney). Above the station, Brookfield Place now joins the old Menzies Hotel site, Thakral House, Shell House and Beneficial House into one block, with a street-level walk from George Street through to Carrington Street and the park. The George Street light rail stop outside is served by the L2 and L3 lines (Wikipedia, Wynyard railway station, Sydney).

Wynyard Park from above in 2007, the same rectangle as the old Barracks Square. Elekhh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Park in 2023. -wuppertaler, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Wynyard station entrance in the middle of Wynyard Park, built in the 1990s. J Bar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Interloop, the 2017 artwork at Wynyard made from the station's old wooden escalator treads. Wikiain, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wynyard Walk, opened in 2016, linking the station with Barangaroo. Invenio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

My Original Notes

These are the notes from my two earlier posts, tidied up and corrected against the sources above.

Wynyard is a locality in the central business district of Sydney. The area was part of the traditional lands of the Gadigal people, who lived here for thousands of years before European settlement. After the First Fleet arrived in 1788, Sydney grew quickly, and the early town centred on the area that now includes Wynyard.

The name Wynyard comes from Major-General Edward Buckley Wynyard, who commanded the British troops in New South Wales from 1847. Wynyard Square was named after him once the barracks moved to Paddington in 1848.

Wynyard has long been a transport hub. A bus terminus started here in the 1880s, and Wynyard Station opened in 1932 with the Harbour Bridge, with the North Shore trams running into the station until 1958. Through the 20th century the area was rebuilt with new office buildings, public spaces and transport links. Wynyard Park, next to the station, has the statue of Dr John Dunmore Lang and is a popular spot for city workers. Wynyard Walk, opened in 2016, is a pedestrian link of tunnel, bridge and plaza connecting Wynyard Station with Barangaroo.

Today Wynyard remains an important transport hub, with the station a key interchange in the CBD, surrounded by office buildings, shops and restaurants.

On the barracks: the land was Gadigal country before 1788. After the colony was founded, a military garrison was set up in Sydney, and from 1792 the barracks and their parade ground took up the ridge west of George Street. The site stayed military until 1848, when the garrison moved to the new Victoria Barracks at Paddington. The barracks land was then subdivided, with part of the parade ground kept as Wynyard Square, now Wynyard Park. While the soldiers are long gone, the site's history is remembered in the park, in the name of Barrack Street and in the plaques around the area.

Timeline

• Before 1788: Gadigal country, on Eora land
• 1788: First Fleet marines camp on the western side of Sydney Cove
• 1789: New South Wales Corps raised in England to relieve the marines
• 1792 to 1818: Barracks built around Barracks Square, the parade ground
• 26 January 1808: The Corps marches on Government House and arrests Governor Bligh
• July 1829: Soldiers recorded playing football on the parade ground
• 1841: Board of Ordnance takes the Paddington site for Victoria Barracks
• 1846: Main barrack block at Victoria Barracks completed
• September 1847: Major-General Edward Buckley Wynyard takes command of the troops in NSW
• 1848: Garrison leaves for Victoria Barracks, and the old barracks land is subdivided
• 1810 to 1821: Under Macquarie, a stone wall built along George Street, and Greenway's fountain on Barrack Square
• 1875: Wynyard Square dedicated as a recreation ground, fenced and locked
• 1880s: Bus terminus set up for the southern suburbs
• 1881: A railway station at Wynyard first suggested
• 1 July and 7 October 1887: Dedicated as a public park, then proclaimed Wynyard Park
• 1888: Bandstand built
• 1890 or 1891: Statue of Dr John Dunmore Lang (sources differ)
• 1893: Canary Island palms planted
• 1912: Underground men's lavatory built
• 1925 or 1927: Park dug up for the underground railway (sources differ)
• 28 February 1932: Wynyard station opens (Wikipedia)
• 19 March 1932: Harbour Bridge opens, and the first fare-paying trains cross
• 1932 to 1958: North Shore trams run into Wynyard
• 22 January 1956: Lower platforms extended to Circular Quay on the City Circle
• 28 June 1958: North Sydney trams close
• 1996: New station entrance built in the middle of the park
• 1999: Lifts added to the station
• 2016: Wynyard Walk opens, and the Wynyard Lane car park closes
• 2015 to 2018: Station refurbished, and Interloop installed

Where the Sources Disagree

• How long the barracks lasted. The Dictionary of Sydney says the barracks were built between 1792 and 1818 and used until Victoria Barracks was completed in 1848. Wikipedia's Wynyard locality article reads as if the barracks only stood from 1792 to 1818. I've gone with 1848 for the move, which Wikipedia's Wynyard Park article also gives.
• When Victoria Barracks was finished. Wikipedia's Victoria Barracks article has the main block completed in 1846. The Dictionary of Sydney gives 1848 as the year the new barracks were completed and the old ones given up.
• Wynyard's command. Wikipedia puts General Wynyard in command from September 1847. The Dictionary of Sydney says he commanded the British forces in Australia from 1848 to 1853.
• Lang's statue. Wikipedia dates Fontana's statue to 1890. The Dictionary of Sydney says it was erected in 1891 and has a picture of the unveiling on 26 January 1891.
• Digging up the park. The Dictionary of Sydney says the park was almost completely dug up in 1925, with reconstruction starting in 1933. Wikipedia says the underground railways were built in 1927, and the Dictionary's own station entry gives construction as 1927 to 1932.
• Opening day. Wikipedia says Wynyard station opened on 28 February 1932, to coincide with the bridge. The bridge itself opened on 19 March 1932, which was also the first day fare-paying passengers crossed by train.
• When the barracks were removed. GML Heritage's report says the barracks and parade ground stayed until 1848, but one of its figure captions says Carrington and Margaret streets were not surveyed until after the removal of the Barracks in 1842.
• Wynyard Walk. Wikipedia's station article says Wynyard Walk opened in September 2016, with the Clarence Street entrance in December 2016, but the same article also says it was officially opened on 20 November 2016.

My Earlier Posts

• Pfahlert's Hotel, Corner Wynyard Square and Margaret Street
• Wynyard Lane, Laneways, Sydney
• Arrest of Governor Bligh, The Rum Rebellion, 26 January 1808
• George Street, Sydney, 1848, Joseph Fowles
• Sydney Trams, From Horse Trams to Light Rail
• The Sydney Suburban and City Underground Railway
• Bradfield, The Harbour Bridge, The Trains
• Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie Street
• The Historical Sydney Green Plaques

Sources

• Whitaker, Anne-Maree, 'Wynyard Park', Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/wynyard_park
• Dictionary of Sydney, 'Wynyard Railway Station', https://dictionaryofsydney.org/building/wynyard_railway_station
• Wikipedia, 'Wynyard Park, Sydney', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynyard_Park,_Sydney
• Wikipedia, 'Wynyard, New South Wales', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynyard,_New_South_Wales
• Wikipedia, 'Wynyard railway station, Sydney', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynyard_railway_station,_Sydney
• Wikipedia, 'Edward Buckley Wynyard', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Buckley_Wynyard
• Wikipedia, 'Victoria Barracks, Sydney', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Barracks,_Sydney
• Wikipedia, 'Trams in Sydney', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Sydney
• Wikipedia, 'Sydney Harbour Bridge', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_Bridge
• Wikipedia, 'Gadigal', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadigal
• Wikipedia, 'New South Wales Corps', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_Corps
• Wikipedia, 'Rum Rebellion', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_Rebellion
• City of Sydney Archives, 'George Street', https://archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/1938846
• GML Heritage, One Carrington Street, Sydney: Heritage Impact Statement, May 2014, NSW Major Projects Planning Portal (SSD-5824), https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-5824%2120190227T045427.539+GMT
• Wikimedia Commons, for all historical and modern images credited above, https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Woolloomooloo Fish Markets

Before Blackwattle Bay and the tourist queues at today’s Sydney Fish Market, the city’s first purpose-built fish market sat hard against Woolloomooloo Bay. The City Council built it in the early 1870s (commonly dated 1871–72) to regulate a trade that had long mixed harbour-side hawking, boat sales and street cries of “Fish O!” with recurring complaints about quality and public health. The market stood in the Forbes / Plunkett / Bourke Streets precinct — a working harbour of fishers, coastal traders and timber yards.

The Eastern Fish Market (as Woolloomooloo became known) was extended in 1888 and 1893 until it covered the block bounded by Bourke, Plunkett, Forbes and Wilson Streets. A privately owned Southern Fish Market opened at Redfern in 1891; later the municipal City Fish Market at Haymarket drew trade away. The Woolloomooloo building was sold in 1911 and operations left the bay. The market structures were eventually demolished; the Astor apartments rose on the site in the 1960s. Fish marketing later centred on Haymarket and, from 1966, Blackwattle Bay — the lineage of today’s Sydney Fish Market — but Woolloomooloo remains where the city’s first formal fish market began.

 

Woolloomooloo Fish Markets - Woolloomooloo - NSW

Scientology House – Castlereagh Street – Sydney – New South Wales

If you walk Castlereagh Street near Hyde Park and clock the Federation warehouse with the brick pilasters and that bronze-glazed front, you are looking at the Vickery Building — not a purpose-built church. Boot manufacturer Joseph Vickery & Co put it up in 1908 (architect Alfred Newman, Federation Free Classical). The Sydney Morning Herald of the day reckoned it would “considerably improve this portion of the city,” which tells you how industrial-commercial this stretch still felt.

The Church of Scientology bought the property in 1979, after which municipal inventories often listed it as Scientology House. A major heritage refurbishment and vertical expansion, finished 2014 for the Sydney Ideal Organisation, restored façade elements and added upper storeys. Whatever the present use, the fabric story is a 1908 commercial warehouse adapted and enlarged under later heritage controls.

Photographs here show the Castlereagh Street elevations and commemorative signage associated with the site.

 

The building at 201 Castlereagh Street, long known in city records as Scientology House, began life in 1908 as the Vickery Building for boot manufacturer Joseph Vickery & Co. Contemporary press praised the Federation Free Classical warehouse as an improvement to this industrial-commercial stretch of the city. Brick pilasters and a distinctive glazed façade still mark it as an early twentieth-century Castlereagh Street landmark.

The Church of Scientology acquired the property in 1979, after which municipal heritage inventories commonly listed it as Scientology House. A major heritage refurbishment and vertical expansion (completed 2014) restored historic façade elements and added upper storeys when the premises were fitted out as the Sydney Ideal Organisation. Whatever the present religious use, the fabric story is that of a 1908 commercial warehouse adapted and enlarged under later heritage controls.

Photographs here show the Castlereagh Street elevations and commemorative signage associated with the site.

Scientology House - Castlereagh Street - Sydney - New South Wales 

John Challis – Challis House – Martin Place

Martin Place between the GPO columns and the Cenotaph, the sandstone-and-bronze wall with the university’s name still quietly on it — that’s Challis House. It was built as an income-earning investment, not a memorial. The building at 4–10 Martin Place was erected for the University of Sydney from the Challis Bequest. Merchant and philanthropist John Henry Challis (1806–1880) left a major endowment (the heritage listing cites £276,000; the Australian Dictionary of Biography says about £200,000 reached the university in 1889) that funded professorships and other university purposes; the Martin Place property was built to keep producing income for that legacy.

The first Challis House rose in 1906–1907 under architects Robertson and Marks with Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon. Early lower-floor tenants included railway ticketing and the Government Tourist Bureau. In 1936–37 the building was substantially reconstructed with a new Art Deco sandstone, granite and bronze façade by Hennessey and Hennessey, skilfully folding in much of the earlier fabric. In 1973 the building was gutted inside, except for the lifts and fire stairs, according to the heritage listing. Challis House is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.

Who Was John Henry Challis?

Walk past Challis House on Martin Place and most people wouldn't give the name a second thought. But behind it is a bloke who turned up in Sydney in 1829 with, as the Australian Dictionary of Biography puts it, no "fortune or expectations", made a packet in wool and property, and then handed the lot to the University of Sydney. That gift changed the place for good. Here's his story, and the things that still carry his name around town.

The marble statue of John Henry Challis in the Great Hall at the University of Sydney. The ADB credits it to the sculptor Simonetti. Doug butler, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

A soldier's son from England

John Henry Challis was born in England on 6 August 1806. His father, also John Henry Challis, was a sergeant in the 9th Regiment. His father married again in 1819 and retired as a lieutenant in the 1st Royal Veterans in November 1828. Young John went to several different schools and trained as a clerk, according to the ADB.

Steerage to Sydney, 1829

On 9 May 1829 he stepped off the Pyramis at Sydney. He'd come out as a steerage passenger, the cheap seats. He soon got a start in the office of the merchants Marsden & Flower. In 1842 the firm was reorganised as Flower, Salting & Co., and Challis became a partner, dealing in wool and other goods. The early university historian Henry Barff wrote that he got that junior partnership "on his merits and, it is believed, without capital".

It wasn't all smooth sailing. The ADB says the firm hit trouble in the slump of the early 1840s. Then gold was found, and the boom that followed set it up nicely.

Wool, whale oil and a stake in the whaling fleet

Wikipedia adds that the business also traded in whale oil. Citing the whaling voyage records at whalinghistory.com, it says Challis was a full or part owner of nine ships that made 26 whaling voyages between 1840 and 1852.

The whaling ship Pacific, painted by William Duke in 1848. Challis had a share in nine whaling ships in the 1840s. William Duke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

He was busy outside the office too. The ADB says he opposed Governor Gipps's squatting regulations in 1844, but wouldn't sign up to the "injurious expressions" of the Crown Lands Grievances Committee. He was among the employers who tried, and failed, to bring in labourers from India to replace convict labour. He also helped launch ventures such as the New South Wales Assurance Co. He loved sailing and helped run regattas on the harbour in the 1840s and 1850s.

Land at Potts Point and runs in the south

Challis bought up plenty of real estate, the ADB says, including "a large holding at Potts Point" and valuable wharf properties. By 1850 he held pastoral licences over more than 12,000 square miles in southern New South Wales, running more than 3,500 cattle and 11,000 sheep.

Two old newspaper articles I've put up on this blog fill in the Potts Point side. The Sydney Morning Herald's "Progress of the Suburbs" piece of 1 November 1913 says the property running from Macleay Street down to Woolloomooloo Bay "came later into the possession of Mr J.H. Challis (Manager for Messrs Flower, Salting & Co)". It says he gave it, with another property, as a bequest to the University "valued at 250,000 Pounds". The same article, and the Sydney Sun of 4 January 1941, both say Challis was a tenant of the cottage that Mr Sparke later enlarged and named "Maranamah".

Woolloomooloo Bay in 1875. Challis once held a big slice of Potts Point running down towards these waters. Unknown photographer (A.D. Edwardes Collection, State Library of South Australia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Looking east across Woolloomooloo Bay to Garden Island, with Potts Point behind. William Hetzer and J. R. Clarke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Challis Avenue, Potts Point

His name is still on the map up there. Challis Avenue runs off Macleay Street and Victoria Street at Potts Point. You can see it marked on the old Grantham subdivision plan on my Historic Sydney Mansions blog. Wikipedia's Potts Point article notes the terrace and townhouse group at 13 to 29 Challis Avenue is on the Register of the National Estate. I haven't found a fetched source that says outright the street was named for him, so take the link as likely rather than proven.

Potts Point and Kings Cross today. Challis Avenue runs through this part of town. Stefano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A friend of the university from early on

Challis backed the push for a grammar school. In 1856, the ADB says, he "generously subscribed" for the stained glass windows in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney. When he came back to visit in 1859, he gave £750 for the "Royal Window".

A stained glass window in the Great Hall. Challis gave money towards the hall's windows in 1856 and again in 1859. Doug butler, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Another of the Great Hall's stained glass windows. Doug butler, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

More of the Great Hall glass. Doug butler, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Back to England, and death at Menton

In 1855 he sold out of Flower, Salting & Co. and went back to England, where he invested part of his money. Apart from that 1859 visit to Sydney, he mostly travelled on the Continent. He married Henrietta in about 1878. He died at Mentone (Menton) on the French Riviera on 18 February 1880 and was buried in England.

The Challis Bequest

What the will said

Challis left an estate valued for probate at £60,000 in England and £101,000 in New South Wales. He left annuities to plenty of friends and relatives. The rest, the residue, went to the University of Sydney, but with strings attached. Henrietta was to get the income for the rest of her life. After she died, the money had to build up for another five years before the university could touch it. Wikipedia's Challis Professorship article quotes the will: the estate was "to be applied for the benefit of that Institution in such manner as the governing body thereof shall direct".

The taxman steps in

Henrietta died at Hove in England on 19 September 1884. Then the English Inland Revenue Commission claimed legacy duty on the New South Wales part of the estate, because Challis had been living in England. The university's chancellor, Sir William Montagu Manning, fought the claim with what the ADB calls "such pertinacity" that the commissioners gave up.

Sir William Montagu Manning, the chancellor who fought off the English tax claim on the Challis estate. John Watson Gordon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Manning in later life. Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1889: the money arrives

In 1889 the bequest, by then worth about £200,000 according to the ADB, was handed over to the university. The ADB says it brought "a transformation" to a university that had long trailed behind Melbourne.

The Main Quadrangle at the University of Sydney, the university Challis's fortune changed. Jason Tong, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Main Quadrangle in 2005. KittySaturn, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A panorama of the Main Quadrangle. Toby Hudson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Challis Chairs

In 1890 the fund paid for new chairs in anatomy, zoology, engineering, history, law, logic and mental philosophy, and modern literature. Wikipedia says £7,500 from the fund's income paid half the cost of a new chemical laboratory, and £1,900 paid for a marble statue of Challis in the Great Hall. The ADB names the sculptor as Simonetti.

The Challis professorships are still going. Wikipedia lists some well-known names among the holders:

• Philosophy: Francis Anderson (1890–1921), John Anderson (1927–1958) and David Armstrong (1964–1991).
• History: George Arnold Wood (1891–1928) and Stephen Roberts.
• Law: Pitt Cobbett (1890–1909).
• International law and jurisprudence: Julius Stone (1942–1973).
• English: John Le Gay Brereton (1921–1933).
• Anatomy: James Thomas Wilson (1890–1920).
• Biology and zoology: William Haswell (1890–1917) and Charles Birch (1960–1983).

John Le Gay Brereton, Challis Professor of English from 1921 to 1933, at his desk in 1935. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The cloisters of the Main Quadrangle. Jason Tong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A turret on the Main Quadrangle. Jason Tong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A sandstone crest carved on the Great Hall. Toby Hudson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Challis House, Martin Place

The land

According to the heritage listing (as reproduced on Wikipedia), the site was resumed by the Government in 1889 from W. H. Paling and the estates of Thomas Perkins and Thomas Holt. That was part of the plan to open up a grand public street north of the GPO, which became Martin Place. Holt's land, east of the Tank Stream, had first been granted to the free settler John Connell in 1837.

The first building, 1906–07

The university built the first Challis House in 1906–07 with money from the bequest. Robertson and Marks were the architects, working with the Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon. From day one it was a commercial building tied to travel, with the Railways ticket office and the Government Tourist Bureau on the lower floors. A caretaker's room was added in 1912.

Challis House as pictured in Building magazine in 1907. Building magazine (Federated Builders' Association of Australia), 1907, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Art Deco rebuild, 1936–37

In 1936 the building was "virtually reconstructed" to a design by Hennessey and Hennessey. It went higher, the old frame was pulled out and replaced, and it got the sandstone, polished red granite and bronze Art Deco front you see today. The heritage listing reckons the way much of the 1907 façade was folded into the new building is "probably unique in New South Wales". The height matched the 45-metre building limit of the time, lining up with the City Mutual building and the bank head offices nearby.

Sam Hood's photo of the new Challis House façade beside the columns of the GPO, Martin Place. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The entrance hall of Challis House, photographed by Sam Hood. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The foyer of Challis House, by Sam Hood. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A counter inside Challis House. The building was long tied to travel and ticket offices. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A wet Angel Place in the 1930s. Challis House has a façade on Angel Place as well as Martin Place. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A backdrop to the Cenotaph

Challis House sits right behind the Cenotaph, which went up in 1928. The heritage listing says the building has been the backdrop for national ceremonies held in front of it ever since, and has often been decorated for the big occasions.

The Governor arrives for Anzac Day 1937 in Martin Place. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The New Zealand contingent at the 1938 Anzac Day commemoration in Martin Place. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

An Anzac Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in the 1930s. The heritage listing notes Challis House has been the backdrop to ceremonies like this since 1928. State Library of New South Wales, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

A Fighting French Joan of Arc celebration at the Cenotaph. Sam Hood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Martin Place in the 1930s. Royal Australian Historical Society, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

A taxi stand at night in Martin Place, about 1938. State Library of New South Wales, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

1963, 1973 and today

The building was repaired in 1963. In 1973 it got a major refit under Edmund-Dykes, Coward and Chaplin. Everything inside was gutted except the lifts and fire stairs, air conditioning went in, and the old railway ticket offices became a shopping arcade with a restaurant underneath. The bronze-coloured mansard roof is the biggest change to the outside since 1937. Today the upper floors are offices, with shops on the ground floor. Wikipedia notes Giorgio Armani was a ground-floor tenant as of December 2018. Challis House went on the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 (number 666). It's still a university property, still earning money for the Challis legacy.

Challis House today, still owned by the University of Sydney. Jason Tong from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The ground floor shopfront at Challis House. Sardaka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Challis House on Martin Place. Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Cenotaph in Martin Place, right in front of Challis House. Sardaka, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The former GPO, Challis House's neighbour across Martin Place. Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Timeline

• 6 August 1806: John Henry Challis is born in England.
• 9 May 1829: He arrives in Sydney on the Pyramis as a steerage passenger.
• 1840–1852: Wikipedia says he part-owns nine ships that make 26 whaling voyages.
• 1842: He becomes a partner in Flower, Salting & Co.
• 1844: He opposes Gipps's squatting regulations.
• 1850: He holds pastoral licences over more than 12,000 square miles.
• 1855: He sells his business interests and returns to England.
• 1856: He subscribes for the Great Hall windows at the University of Sydney.
• 1859: He visits Sydney and gives money for the Royal Window.
• c.1878: He marries Henrietta.
• 18 February 1880: He dies at Menton, France (the ADB date).
• 19 September 1884: Henrietta dies at Hove, England.
• 1889: The bequest, worth about £200,000, passes to the university. The same year, the government resumes the Martin Place site.
• 1890: The Challis chairs are founded.
• 1906–07: The first Challis House is built.
• 1928: The Cenotaph is unveiled in front of the building.
• 1936–37: Challis House is rebuilt in Art Deco style.
• 1963: Repairs are carried out.
• 1973: The interior is gutted and refitted.
• 2 April 1999: Challis House is listed on the State Heritage Register.

Where the Sources Disagree

• Date of death: the ADB says Challis died on 18 February 1880. Wikipedia's Challis article says 28 February 1880.
• The Royal Window gift: the ADB says £750. Wikipedia says £700.
• The size of the bequest: the heritage listing (via Wikipedia) says £276,000. The ADB says it was worth about £200,000 when it reached the university in 1889, with probate values of £60,000 in England and £101,000 in New South Wales. The 1913 Sydney Morning Herald said £250,000. The gap is probably down to the five years of build-up and how each source counted it, but none of them explains it.
• The Potts Point property: the 1913 Herald says the land from Macleay Street to Woolloomooloo Bay came into Challis's possession. The 1913 and 1941 papers say he was a tenant of the Maranamah cottage. Both could be true, but the papers don't line up neatly.

My Earlier Posts

• Martin Place – Sir James Martin – Sydney – New South Wales
• Progress Of The Suburbs – XVI – Potts Pt & Darlinghurst II – SMH – Sat 1 Nov 1913
• Historic Harbourside Homes Doomed Mansions Of Potts Point – The Sydney Sun – 4 January 1941
• Original Villas Of Darlinghurst
• Maranamah – 64 Macleay Street – Potts Point (Historic Sydney Mansions)
• Grantham – Potts Point (Historic Sydney Mansions)
• Federation – 1 January 1901

Sources

• David S. Macmillan, "Challis, John Henry (1806–1880)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 3, 1969: adb.anu.edu.au/biography/challis-john-henry-3186
• "John Henry Challis", Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Challis
• "Challis House", Wikipedia, which reproduces the NSW State Heritage Register listing H00666 under CC BY 4.0: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challis_House
• "Challis Professorship", Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challis_Professor
• "Potts Point, New South Wales", Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potts_Point,_New_South_Wales
• "Progress of the Suburbs", Sydney Morning Herald, 1 November 1913, p. 8, as transcribed on this blog
• "Historic Harbourside Homes: Doomed Mansions of Potts Point", The Sun (Sydney), 4 January 1941, as transcribed on this blog
• Images: Wikimedia Commons, with the photographers and licences credited under each picture