pivot g~olujp iijimh'fed i '. i - university of...
TRANSCRIPT
I
I
I '. I
F
I ,I
I I I I I I I I I
I
•
•
•
• •
• •
. WOOLtOMOOLOO BAY PTY L TO .' a subsidiary of PIVOT G~OlUJP IIJIMH'fED
•
-•
•
•
•
•
BERTHS 6,.7,8 & 9, WOOLLOOMOOLOO BAY History Arc4aeology and Documentation . . .' May 1989 : ..
•
•
•
. -
PREPARED BY DON GODDEN, PATRICIA HOlT AND PETER SPEARRITT • • •
-.
•
, \
" . •
• •
•
•
•
•
!
•
•
I I I I
·1 I
I I I
I I I I
•
•
.... - . ~-- -~,-, .- '''~'
• • . .
WOOLLOOMOOLOO FINGER WHARF: HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND DOCUMENTATION .
• • •
Don Godden, Patricia Holt & Peter Speanitt
•
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
• •
Don Godden & Associates
and
Heritage Consultants
•
Sydneyl989
•
•
•
• • • · •
•
•
• •
•
•
• • • • • •
•
•
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
• • •
• •
I , 1 • , I
,
•
I •
• •
•
: •
.
•
I I I I I
I I I
I I I
I I
•
TABLE OF CONfENTS
1 WOOILOOMOOLOO'S ORIGINS
1.1 Early Settlement
1.2 From Fishing Village to Suburb
1.3 Reclamation and Deep Sea Wharfage
1.4 Home of the Sydney Fishing Fleet
1.5 Dockland Life in the 'Loo
2 TIIE FINGER WHARF
•
•
•
2.1 The Sydney Harbour Trust: Rebuilding Sydney's Wharves
2.2 From Central Jetty to 'Cathedral of Commerce'
2.3 A Tour of the Wharf
2.4 The Wharf and the Bay
2.5 Passenger Ships and Troop Ships
,
3, TIlE WHARF AND TIlE PORT
3.1 Depression and War
3.2 Overseas Passenger Terminal
3.3 Gradual Decline •
4 WHARF RELICS
4.1 Wharf Technology •
4.2 Goods Conveyors •
Driving System
Drive System
4.3 Gantries and Cranes
4.4 Bon~ds and Dolphins
Bollards ,
Dolphins
4.5 The Northern End Shed
4.6 The Electric Lifts
4.7 Gates, Gateposts, Fences and Fenceposts · •
4.8 The Cart Docks • •
•
•
• I
, • ,
•
I
• •
• • •
• · i
, •
•
j • • ·
I ,
•
2
•
•
•
•
•
•
i • • • • • • • • • • ,
• I •
I • • I • • • • • •
I I I
! , , ,
• , , •
! • • · • •
!
• I I I .
. i
•
•
, .
•
=. __ ....wo-,... _s ___ .... '. _-.#¥r.__.__; , ...... ..-___ ._._. "" ___ .. . _. __ .... ____ ... __ t_, __ • ____ ~_· _. ____ ~ .t " .....
I I I I
I I
• •
, .
.' 5 TIffi WHARF AND THE COMMUNITY •
5.1 A Grand Development Scheme
5.2 Workers, Residents and Dwellings
•
6 EVALUATION: THEWHARFTODAY,ANEMPTYCATHEDRAL? 6.1 An Empty Cathedral .
6.2 Timber Pile Wharves: The Australian and World Context 6.3 Conclusion
7 ARCmv AL; PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED SOURCES, INCLUDING
MAPS, ARCIllTECTURAL DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS 7.1 Literatllfe: Novels and Autobiographies
7.2 Sources for Industrial Architecture
7.3 Maritime Services Board Library
7.4 Mitche11 Library •
•
I . 7.5 State Library o~ NSW 7.6 Newspapers
I •
I I I I I I
I I
7.7' NSW Archives
7 .8 Unpublished reports I
. 7.9 W oo11oomooloo Maps •
7.10 W oo11oomoollo Pictorial Material
7.11 Architectural Drawings Held by the Maritime Services Board
•
•
I
• •
• •
•
•
•
•
3
I
• •
•
•
•
•
• •
•
•
•
•
• •
•
•
~ _ ...... _.- ___ "'"-.i.. __ ~ __ .. _ ... _____ .. * _-.....-. __ . ___________ ._~_-.... ,; __ ' .. _ .... t._ .... _____ ~ .. __ .... '. ___ , .". _____ + __ ~ _. ~_.. # ..
_____ •• ' _.... ._ I .ell __ boW. ea'll1Itz;J_.-" -" •• _IJo<4l>i""
I I I I I
I I
•
1. WOOLLOOMOOLOO'S ORIGINS
In most of the early maps Woolloomooloo Bay appears as
Garden Cove or Garden Island Cove and was so named
because Garden Island at its entrance was set apart as a
vegetable garden by Governor PhiIlip in 1788. The origin
of the name Woolloomooloo has been much debated.
Early theories suggested it was a corruption of the
Aboriginal'Wulla Mulla', 'Walla Mulla', Woollamulla' or
even 'Wollabahmulla' - names variously said to mean •
'burying place', 'place of blood', 'place of plenty' and
'place where kangaroos abound'. It was also suggested
that Woolloomooloo was the Aboriginal pronunciation of the word 'windmj]]'.
•
Later authorities on the subject believed it to be a composite
I . word, contracted from the habit both blacks and whites had
of blending the English and Aboriginal language. Some
I . 'th early records of the wbe°rd< refesr t°th'WHalladMudllaB' and aPBPlY e name to an area tween, ou ea an otany ay
•
I I
•
I I I I
which Governor Phillip had proclaimed a reserve for the
Aborigines. Apparently the area was plentiful with
wallabies and kangaroos and the word 'Walla Mulla' has
the same derivation as 'wallaby'. Loose application of the
word in colonial days also applied the name 'Walla Mulla'
to Palmer's Farm, which became known as
Woolloomooloo Farm. It is thought that Palmer.adopted the latter spelling.
1.1 Early Settlement
In 1793, 100 acres at the head of Garden Cove was
granted to John Palmer by Lt-Governor FrancisGrose.
Palmer, who had arrived with the First Fleet as purser of ,
the flagship Sirius, was by then a powerful government
official, having been made Commissary General of ,the
settlement in 1791. As Commissary, he had responsibility
I
, .
•
• I
•
I
• ·
•
, • •
•
•
• <
. 4
•
•
•
,
•
•
•
r • I 1
•
, •
I
I • • • !
• • • , , •
I
I •
I • I • • • • j • • • • I I • • • 1 • <.
<
I
I
•
1
•
I I I I I I I I I
I I
I I I
•
•
•
for the stores and accounts and funds of the colony. The
farm, described as 'deliminated by ditches and stone walls,
overlooked by a hill crowned With windmills, and reaching •
from Old South Head Road, now Oxford Street, to the
bay' was extensively cultivated by 1803, primarily with
orchards, and a windmill and bakery operated on the five
acre model farm at the Domain. It is believed that the
bakehouse was situated on the current site of the
Conservatorium of Music and one windmill stood where
Governor Phillip's statue was erected in the Botanic Gardens.
The homestead was said to have been elaborately furnished
with coacIi houses and stables, a ditch around it, over
which grew sweet briar roses and golden gorse in the
English fashion. It was one of the colony's first
permanent residences and' the Palmers lived elegantly,
entertaining the first rank of colonial society. It is known
that, in 1836, there was a vineyard on the property, known •
as 'Tokay', covering nearly twelve acres. An
advertisement for its sale appeared in The Gazette in that
year. •
John Pa]mer sold the Woolloomooloo estate to Edward
Riley, a tea and sugar merchant and a director of the Bank
of New South Wales, in 1822. Palmer went to live at •
Parramatta. He died in 1833, the last of the officers of the
First Fleet. Riley, who lived at the Woolloomooloo
homestead until 1825, when he committed suicide, was
survived by a widow and seven children. The settlement
of the estate was a lengthy business and in the interim the
house and land were leased to various colonial identities
including Saxe Bannister, the first Attorney-General of
New South Wales, Thomas Hobbes Scott, the first
Anglican Archdeacon of the colony and later, Doctor John •
Bede Polding, the first Catholic Archbishop of Australia. • •
1.2 From Fishing Village to Suburb •
•
•
•
• 5 •
•
•
•
;
• ,
, • i •
•
I
• I
•
•
• •
· • : •
• •
I
-
•
I I
I I I I I I
•
I I I I I I
•
I • •
I
• --"'--~--'''--~-,----,-.""""."", __ :,-__ .. .:. __ ......... ___ ,_ ............ ",_ ........ _.........., I . tf"" ....... _W~..,.,._M= .. e=."' ... _ _.__,. .. ~
•
The Woolloomooloo estate was not sold and subdivided
until the late 1840s. The homestead was demolished in
1850 and development of suburban housing spread down
the hill from William Street. Two of the main streets in the
subdivided district were named Palmer and Riley. By
1854, most of the streets of lower Woolloomooloo were
established although development at the waterfront was
still limited. Land below Woolloomooloo Street (now
Cathedral Street) was described in 1858 as being alluvial
land only a few feet above the high waterllne. Mudbanks
had also helped to inhibit the usage of the Bay for deep
wharfage, so that only a few small jetties had been built
into the bay for the loading and landing of timber, lime and
other building materials. Many small craft used for fishing
were moored in the Bay. However, on a map dated 1854,
only two unnamed jetties and one wharf are marked on the
south-eastern shores. •
A newspaper article of 1904 on.'Old Sydney' provides the
most detailed available description of the Bay prior to the
building ~of Cowper's Wharf in c. 1861-3. The water line •
. reached thebackyards of the houses in Bay Street and little
jetties running out from these yards served as mooring
places for pleasure craft. On the eastern shore below Fred
McQuade's hou~c:?, 'Tarana', ('Bomera' b~longing to
Williain,McQuade was next door) was the Subscription
Boat Club that was also known as Holdsworth's. A little
south Yates and Son had a 'letting out and boat building
establishment' at which yachts were moored. Next was •
the boatshed of Punch and McGrath and adjoining this was
Fairfax apd Company's steam saw mill. The saw mill was •
built on a wharf of masonry so as to enable small shipping
to take in or deliver timber. Fairfax and Company's timber
yard was a 'big concern whose southern boundaries face •
the hoteJ known as Meacher's (or Meache's), which •
stood, ... at . the extreme end of Dowling Street the •
waterfront immediately facing the door; from the street a
jetty projected for some distance and was used by the
steamers going to Manly Beach, Woolloomooloo Bay
,
•
•
•
6
•
• ,. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
· · • I • • • • I •
• • • • • • · · • • i
, · ! • : • 1 •
I
• • ,
: • • :
; • • · . :
" Le ..... I....u.c.;~ ' ... r-"',.·j';,r ...... ~trrLJ""-.ft • ..". I r r:.:M ... r\#6~ltII"' ......... ~ .. ~~ ............ =_ = ........ _·=ri" .. L04.4,. .. ~·~..«.Jot~'t.~ .. ~ ... 'b11r.:'('f~ ••• =::w •• ,~_ ft' ~ ... ' •
•
I I I
being a port of call'. It appears that Meache's Hotel,
opposite the entrance to this jetty, was probably originally
the "Wharf Hotel". This is because an hotel next to
Fairfax's steam mill is referred to as 'Mr Shipman's
Dowling Street "Wharf Hotel"'.in another newspaper I (Illustrated Sydney News, 11 November 1854).
I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I
On an 1886 plan of wharves (State Archives X2032) there
is only one sizeable Jetty in the centre of the bay. It is
marked. "Jetty for passengers" so it would be likely to be
the central jetty that was replaced in the 1890s and later
replaced. by the existing central Finger Wharf. ,
The Manly steamers were then named 'Breadalbane' and
'Phantom' and 'the space between the jetty and Fairfax's
was pretty generally filled. up with logs of pine and ced.ar
for milling purposes. ... From the water's edge on the
western side, from the Domain entrance to the rear of
wharf is now The Bells was a mass of high rocks. These
rocks were all removed by blasting; for use in reclaiming
the bay, and allowed for a gradual slope as shown in the · , Domain today'. The article went on" to describe the beach
on the western shore, where Brown's Wharf stood for
many years. It was a pleasant beach where prawns could
be netted. and horses swum; on occasions it was used by
the Baptists for public immersions. I The metal wharf was
built where a large iron roofed enclosure used. as a ladies
baths was situated.
• A small jetty was built where The Bells Hotel now stands.
" On it was a semaphore used by members of the
Subscription Boat Club to signal for a boat to carry the
member across to the Club. Apparently the Club was
difficult to reach at high tide because of the rocks around
that side of the bay. · •
•
, • •
. In the 1850s a boat builder named. Dan Sheehy had a shed. • • • •
and wharf on the south eastern corner of the Bay at the foot
of Duke Street (now McElhone Street). Sheehy's Wharf •
landed coal from the Hunter River Colliers (P. S. Elliott •
I
. •
• 7 . • • •
•
•
•
I I
• ,
•
•
•
"
•
• >
,
I • ; • " • · i
• i I
•
• • · I
• • • , • ,
• ad
.... lJIJI~Ov< "' ...... ,"""""" • .....-.: ......... " .N~_ ........... _-'-"-'"""~'-.M- _ _ _ _____ .. ' '.1, --' ... 1L""'-'~~ ... tOC-'~~f'Cl<_v'ft'm'~ ..... ~.=.". _.., .. _ ... ....,""IlAW ...... ~iI"I.!>NI I " ... --~ . .--' ..... -............ " .... -.-...... · ..... _-..... -..... ~...w~~.;.,I .. ""~M.-...w .. ~.-· "..-w--.
•
•
I I I I I I I
I I •
I I
I I. I I , •
I •
I I I
,-
•
•
had a coal and fuel yard in Woolloomooloo). Another Bay
landmark was the 'Vernon', a training vessel for boys. It
was acquired by the government, largely at the prompting
of Sir Henry Parkes, was equipped as a floating school,
and was originally anchored in Woolloomooloo Bay.
It appears that Woolloomooloo in the early days of its
subdivision was always a 'good', suburb even if it was one
of mixed class:
Houses of every size are rising up rapidly. _
There are no filthy, unhealthy lanes, such as are
to be met with at the rear of even the principal
streets of the city of Sydney; and in
W oolloomooloo all classes of people, from the
wealthy merchant, or the man of a large family,
down to the humble artisan and mechanic, can
find clean, commodious residences to suit their
different circumstances', (Illustrated Sydney
News 11 Nov. 1~54) •
The later subdivisons: it seems, were less salubrious,
Small terrace houses continued to spread over the lower
end of the suburb and a problem - one of health - stemmed
from what the Surveyor-General, Sir Thomas Mitchell
referred to as the "undrained, unlevelled and unshaped
ways misnamed streets",
Woolloomooloo however, still had plenty of open spaces
and its seclusion, clear water and the parkland of the
Domain made it a pleasant 'recreational place. The City
Council built public baths in the 1850s on the shoreline
below the Domain and Robinson's Hot and Cold Baths
established two swimming baths (Ladies and Gents). A
man named Wilson was the proprietor of baths built around
the hulk of the old ship, 'Ben Bolt' and Robinson's were
built around a bigger ship, 'Cornwallis', such arrangement·
saving the owners considerable money on timber and
labour. The City Council incorporated them all in 1908
•
•
.
• 8
•
I
• •
•
•
•
· , · (
i •
, • , •
I I • • • • • • ,
I • • • • • • • I • I • •
• , ,
• •
•
.. 1 u u .......... .. ...._---., __ .. ___ ....-_ .... _ ... _ .. , ... ,1_ ...... -1'1._,'-t·._ ......... ·iIII .... _n._n .... __ .... ""_...nu.:.l.:...~...,.;~..;.;.~.;..~_ ........ J:.. ...... '"""'_ ... ~ .... ..;,.. ..... :'-:.... ... ;.."' ... ,; _._.,._ ... _ ••• ___ .... M .... _ .. e •• ... " ...... ....,_ .............. -"'., •• pt ...... _< ____ .... loo.
I •
I 1 I I I I
I
I 1 I
I
•
•
with the establishment of the Domain Baths. Today the
Andrew 'Boy' CharltonPool is on the same site. .
The recreational theme continued on the other side of the . Cove with the establishment in the 1850s of several boating
•
clubs on the waterfront. These included 'The Australian
Subscription Rowing Club', that set up business on the
eastern shore in 1859. It provided boats on daily hire or by .
SUbscription and was the first strictly amateur boat club set
up in Sydney. William Beach, 'the undefeated world
champion scuiler', whose prowess is commemorated by an
obelisk erected in Cabarita Park in 1938, won in the early
1880s, his first race - an all-comer's skiff race from
Woolloomooloo Bay, round Pinchgut and return, on a
course of two and a half miles. A famous annual event ,
was the 'Woolloomooloo Regatta', begun in 1854 and in
which all races began and fmished in the Bay. For many
years, this Boxing Day event was enjoyed by large
numbers of spectators, the bulk of whom watched the
proceedings from the Domain. I
'" tI < • , 1.3 Reclamation and Deep Sea Wharfage
The reclamation of the Bay commenced in 1864 and was
completed about 1866. The cliffs around the Bay were
quarried for large blocks of stone which, together with a i
timber pile wall provided a new foundation around the
shoreline. The Bay was dredged and the fill placed behind
the wall thereby extending the usable land from Cathedral
Street to the present Iwaterfrontage. The reclamation
provided a quay which enabled ,the erection of longshore .
wharves that serviced! local industries. A semicircular
wooden wharf, Cowper's, was constructed at the head of
the Bay in 1861-3. As the main public wharf, it was •
constructed by the Government for general,use, and named
after Si! Charles Co~er, member for East Sydney,
Premier!of- New Sou~ Wales and proponent of many'
major public works. It contributed to making
Woollo~mooloo Bay a busy resort of sailing vessels,
• I ,
•
• 9
•
•
•
,
•
•
•
•
• • . .
•
j : ,
, , • I
••
••
I - ~ , '''';~J.''IoeoI'~~.'''''''~'''~~~ -,_ .. _-_ ... = ...... --=._._ .. -' ,-.. -.-.. ----... - ... _"-----*. __ . --,...~-.,,- .... '-"" ~ ........ --=~,.,. ......, •
•
• 10 .
•
•
especially for the unloading of general merchandise and the
loading of wool. It was later extended along the eastern
side of the Bay. In the 1890s, the 'Coal Baron', John
Brown, mine owner, built Brown's Wharf on the western
side of the Bay.
•
An official proposal was submitted to the Public Works
Committee in 1888 to erect a jetty in the centre of the Bay
as the old jetty by this time was in an "unsound condition ".
As a result of the work of this Committee, Admiralty
Wharf (of which there are some excellent photos taken by
the NSW Government Printers Office) was also built, in
1889-90. Some sources state that it was built by the
Imperial Government and was used for ships of war. I I Certainly its name suggests the same, and it is probable that
it was paid for by the Imperial Government This wharf I . was reconstructed and expanded in 1910-16.
I I I I
I I I
I
•
•
'In 1891, Captain John Jackson 'Manager and Collector of I
Public' Wharves' successfully negotiated with a syndicate
to occupy Admiralty Wharf as a loading wharf.' A wool-
dumping concern known as the Fitzroy Stevedoring
Company was also installed, this time on the east side of •
the purpose of loading the Bucknall Line of steamers.
,
1.4 Home of the Sydney Fishing Fleet
When Cowper's Wharf was completed, the Bay was noted
for its function as a fishing port and for its traffic in timber •
and bluestone. Liners from San Francisco also used the
Bay. In fact, during the latter part of the nineteenth century
Woolloomooloo Bay was probably best known as the
home of the Sydney fishing fleet. (The fleet had been
previously stationed in Darling Harbour). Sydney's first •
government administered Municipal Fish Markets open in
1872 in a building at the corner of Forbes and Plunkett • • •
Streets. The building was extended in 1880, but
demolished in 1892 and the new building that opened in • •
1893 on the same site remained in use as the city's fish
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
= ••.• ' , =. ----.-
•
• •
•
.'
,
•
•
•
• •
•
• • !
• • • ,
I • • • • • • • • • • : • • i • • •
I • • • • • •
i •
I ,
•
l
I • • • • • • • • • • •
• •
• • • • •
•
•
I I I
•
•
markets until new markets were opened in the Haymarket in 1910. The building was later occupied by Sungravure
Printing Works.
At this time, the fishing fleet transferred its base away frOm
I " Woolloomooloo Bay. Two reasons are advanced for this waning of influence of the fishing industry: one being that
with the development of deepwater wharfage the fishing
vessels became less important in the area, and the other that
it eventually was found to be more convenient to send fish
to Sydney by rail from fishing ports along the coast than to
bring them in" boats to W oolloomooloo. For this reason the
fish market was relocated to the Municipal Markets near the
railway goodsyard at Darling Harbour.
I
I
I I
I
1.5 Dockland Life in the, 'Loo
, With the establishment of the wharves Woolloomooloo
developed more of a maritime character based on its
proximity to its docks and its growing population of wharf , I • workers and fishermen. Although many larger, elegant
• .. jl'
'boom style' terraces were built in the 1880s - particularly . '
those built along the crest of what was then known as
. Woolloomooloo Heights (now Victoria Street) - rack
renters introduced terraces of the more un salubrious
variety, and the area, by the turn of the century was largely
. a suburb for working class families. Many dockside hotels
opened, including 'The Little House Under the Hill', 'The
Ivy Leaf, 'The Blue Bell', 'The Firm Anchor' and 'The
Cottage of Content'. 'The Bells" rebuilt in the 1920's can
be seen in the background of the aforementioned photo of
Admiralty Wharf. Naturally these watering places became
the social centre for sailors and wharfies and this,
combined with the vision of sprawling streets of worker's
cottages may have given the appearance of disreputability.
The working class nature of the area was reinforced in the
1890swhen the name ofWoolloomooloo became gradually'
I synonymous with thedockside district in the vale at the head of the Bay.- The :flrst recorded use of the shortened
I •
• 11 "
•
I
•
•
!
• •
,
"
•
•
• , ,
! ,
• • , I " ,
1 • ,
i • I
i ,
• , , I i
I •
I I ,
I
• • • • • • • • • • • • • l
•
•
I I I I I
•
I
I I I
•
term 'Loo was in a poem, published in 1893 by Daniel lIea1ey: .
Tim Bunyip was of Austral birth Born at the classic 'Loo.
At about this time the 'Loo was becoming notorious for its
gangs of'larrikins'. (The uniform of the larrikins has been
described as a "black suit with bell-bottom trousers, short
coat, flat-crown hat and high-heeled fancy boots").
. Although the area had a reputation for being a 'tough'
quarter until about 1930, at least some of its reputation
seems undeserved. During a lengthy debate carried in the
'letters to the editor' pages of the Sydney Morning Herald
in the early months of 1905, genteel concerned residents
argued for a name change for their ~uburb believing this
measure to be all that was necessary for. it to be rid of its
stigma. This concern was partly engendered by a fear of . faJIing rental and land values. •
. One resident wrote:
•... .Its narrow little lanes, nestling beneath the cliffs, and hiding away behind the principal streets as the surveyors aligned them and the people built along them, became in process of
• time a sort of Alsatia for the criminal, the unfortunate, and the very poor. The "Rocks" district was in the old days for the western and northern ends of Sydney what Woolloomooloo became for the eastern, and the new and evil fame it acquired in the short and simpl~ annals of the policy eclipsed. the respectable associations which had begun to grow up there, and now cling to it after the evils have been exterminated or have departed. The old name, with its multitudinous vowels, has become synonymous with the evil repute, and the modem resident craves for the final effacement of both with one pass of the sponge across the slate. :
• •
One resident provided a poem:
•
•
• • 12 "
•
•
•
•
,
• •
• •
· • I
•
•
,
• i
I ,
•
•
I I I I
I I I I
I
I I I I
What's in a name? There is much too much for you Or I who have a business in the Loo. . Call out mad dog, and everyone will try To beat the creature as he passes by, Although the cur is sound in sense and limb, Yet each and all will try to injure him.
and continued:
Woolloomooloo is one· of the healthiest parts of the city to live in. Except for a few lanes the streets are all of the regulation width. Bounded on the one side by the Domain and on another by the harbour, the place is always filled with the ever bracing and health-giving sea breezes. During the outbreak of plague in '90 this part of the city enjoyed almost perfect immunity from the dreaded disease. No plague-infected rodent has been discovered in this portion of the City. . ... B ut something must be done in order to remove the odium that is at present associated with the name.
•
Popular suggestions for Woolloomooloo's new name
included Palmerton, Palmersham, East Sydney and St
Kilda (after an old house that was a landmark in the j
district). John Pa]mer's great grandson, R. H. Palmer, a
resident of AnnanOale, wrote in expressing his approval of
the name 'Palmersham' and suggesting that Palmer Street
be called 'Commissary-avenue'. Another suggestion was
that Woolloomooloo Street should have its name changed.
By the 1920s its name had been changed to Cathedral , •
Street, and Duke Street, which had been notorious as a
lively quarter had had its name changed to McElhone Street
I • •
The Italian fishing community residing in the 'Loo added
an extra dimension in the area's colour and life. Italians
had been living in Woolloomooloo since the 1860s and
Cardinal Moran had the church of St Columbkille's built
for their benefit. St Columbkille's is now one of the few
remaining nineteenth century churches in the area. One
other remaining chl!l'Ch is the Palmer Street Uniting Church
(formerly Presbyterian). Even ID the 1960s, Italian fishing
trawlers were moored in the Bay and fishing nets could be
seen laid out in the streets for purposes of mending. In
•
'-'-----=--------------- -
•
•
• •
• •
• I
•
13
i
'.
i
• •
•
•
I •
• · .
,
-
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
I I
I I
I
I
, - '.
•
1960 there were approximately eighty Italian families as
well as 15 Italian boarding houses in the area. . Their •
presence was remarked upon in the 1920s:
In some of the still unimproved slum streets there reside swarthy foreigners, who go out daily'in small craft to test the harvest of the sea.' (Sydney Morning Herald, 21 June 1924).
Sydneysiders still benefit from this particular maritime ,
legacy as some of Sydney's best Italian restaurants are in
the W oolloomooloo, Darlinghurst and Kings Cross areas.
Harry's Cafe de Wheels is another dockside institution. It
has been situated at various intervals around the Cowpers
Wharf Roadway over the last decades, and although Harry
died in 1979, a cafe of the same name still survives.
Harry's Cafe de Wheels, as it was when he died, has been
preserved by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences.
Snippets of life in thej'Loo can also. be gleaned from a
number of famous novels that have been set there, •• • · . including: Christina Stead's Seven Poor Men of Sydney
(1'934); Kylie Tennant's Tell Morning This (1967;
abrldgedversion, 1953); M. Barnard Eldershaw's
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (censored 1947;
uncensored, 1983); an,d Patricia Wrlghtson's Down to Earth (1965).
I
• 2. THE FINGER WHARF
•
2.1 The Sydney Harbour Trust: • Rebuilding
Sydney's Wharves : • , I
The establishment of the Sydney Harbour Trust in 1901
was one 'of the most significant events in the history of
• I , •
•
•
14 . . . •
•
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
I • • • • • • • • • • • • I , ,
, I ,
I • f · • ,
i !
! • • • !
i
· • • ·
•
I ----.. ____ ,.--..",= .. "'''_=,.r·(II'#o-.... .. -• ..,..., ... r1.b'~ ' •• 1 ...... "" ...... '\& 1, lln mm _ _____ ·_·_,.H_ .. __ ~" _ ......... _ .. ~ 'I' , .. ~. ~~ .... • __ .= .... ,__ _ _ ....
~ ..... __ "",_ ...... ..,. _= ., m
•
•
I I
I I I I I I I I I
I I I
• •
Sydney Harbour. Between 1901 and 1920, the Trust
developed Woolloomooloo Bay into one of the -most .
important sets of berths for commercial shipping in
Sydney. The formation of the Sydney Harbour Trust
resulted from pressure that was exerted on Sydney's
limited cargo handling facilities at the end of the nineteenth
century. During the final decade, of that century ship
movements in Sydney increased eightfold and aggregate
tonnage more than doubled. Yet most of the wharves were
privately owned and operated. As such they had been.
constructed to suit the requirements of individual owners ,
and without regard to any orderly scheme.
The Harbour Trust Commissioners' general task was that
'of making the ocean gateway to the City .•. wholesome,
attractive and efficient to meet the requirements of trade
arid, as far as practicable, provide for the future shipping
and commercial needs'. Reconstruction involved the
removal of 'old, unsightly galvanised iron structures' then
doing duty as sheds; at most of the wharves, and the
construction of rat-pr:oof walling as well as roadways to
give easy access to wharves (Port of Sydney Journal October 1947).
Some of the larger works initiated and completed by the
Sydney Harbour Tru.st, subsequent to its inception and
prior to its amalgamation with the State Department of
Navigation and becoming known as the Maritime Services
Board of NSW in 1936, took place in Woolloomooloo
Bay. These comprised the construction of the massive
central jetty, Nos 6 to 9 Berths, and Berths Nos 1 to 3, •
originally built as recently as 1897-8, that were lengthened
and remodelled.
A 1901 map of principal wharves shows the White Star
Line uSing Cowper's Wharf as well as all of the east side
of the ~ay, on which.there was a road as well as wool and
general cargo sheds. By 1902-3, the German-AUStralian S •
S Company was using the cargo facilities on the east side •
• . . I
•
,
•
• • 15 •
•
I
•
•
_ •• =-"5" __
•
•
•
, • • • • • • • • •
•
,
I • • • .' • i I
I • • I , , • •
I
I I
, ,
! • • • • • • • • • • • •
• , !
,
•
............... .rW .................... """"" ........ _ ... _ ........ _ ....... -'--.. .......... ___ ~_._~~_ ~. __ .• ............ ,. lA _~ 'mm _,' ...... _ ••• 44i.. ____ • ___ .... _ ... __ .. ..,_ ... ~ ,
I I I I I
I I I I
I
I I I I I
• ,
and in that same year, a wharf on the south side (leased by •
McArthur & Co.) was reconstructed and enlarged and
alterations were also made to the roadway. (Sydney
Harbour Trust Annual Reports 1901, 1903).
Early in 1911, work began on the remodelling of the 1890s
wharves 1 to 3. They were combined, widened and
raised. Rock and clay, excavated from the hill-behind, was
used for some reclamation and thus the east side was again
dramatically redeveloped. Of the Trust's works here, the
Daily Telegraph reported, in29 August 1912, that:
An .80ft roadway is to run round behind the wharves. Just above the cliff face stands Bomerah, that the Trust had to resume; and just below it two half-built wharf-structures, with earth and stones being pushed out and filled in between them. ••. the wharf. will stretch on piles for 40ft Along one side will be a "Black Gennan" berth, and across the end will be the Port Iackson Ferry Company's cargo-boats. That will remove the need for the little wharf at Fort Macquarie, from which the Manly cargo all comes now. The Fort Macquarie, picnic • steamers will have more room, too, and the
• small cargo-boats will find plenty off Potts Point .
'Bomerah' was the large residence nearest the wharves.
Actually spelt 'Bomera', it was once a grand Italianate
house with separate stables and servants qu'arters to the
rear and grounds that extended to W oolloomooloo Bay,
encompassing a tennis court, swimming baths. and terraces
fronting the Bay. These waterfront terraces must have
'gone' with the wharf construction of the 1890s and yet
more of Bomera's frontage was resumed in 1911 to allow
the wharves to be widened and extended to the north
eastern point where land was also resumed for the Manly
cargo steamer berth (Telegraph 11 November. 1912).
Fortunately the house was saved, although the servants
quarters had been demolished by the 1940s. Bomera was
still a boarding house during the 1930s and is featured as
such in Jessica Anderson's award-winning novel, Tirra
Lirra by the River (1978). The William McQuade family
-
•
•
•
•
16
I
-•
I
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
• ~ -
I I · • • I • • • t • • • ;
I , •
I · • ! j I • I
• i •
I • •
I • • I • I • I
I •
I I I I
I I
I I I I . 1 I
I
•
, ' ~ >O,.. ..... ~~ .. ~ • ...........,....lA~ .... ,-,,;,.~"~ ... ","C.4IO,.,;.".. ..... ,,"".w .. -___ ..... ,.,..,_. tu ..... • FM' n' • rt::aJIIIIok i ........ ' l .d't" t WW=M ............ , .. ___ • VI.-.><-
•
• •
occupied Bomera from 1856 to 1883, when it became the
home of Commodore E. Erskine. During 1940-1, a19ng
with all the properties on the east side of Wy1de Street,
Bomera was acquired by the Department of the Interior and
is now offices for Fleet Headquarters.
. Nos 1 to 3 Berths were in use by 1912, and were
completed in 1913. Installation of the cargo handling
equipment and the roadway and footpath at the rear were
not complete until the early months of 1916. The entire
east shore was to mainly provide for the Gennan-Australia
Steamship Company. The wharves, running out opposite
and close to Garden Island, and having large sheds built •
over their entire length, were deep-sea berths for three
vessels. Modern electric cranes and haulage were fitted
throughout. Also in 1913, Berth No. 4 was opened to
. shipping, and so five steamers were able to berth at once •
on that side of the Bay.
• I
• • •
•
•
••
•
•
I
17
•
•
• •
,
•
I
• •
•
•
•
•
•
, , · •
• I • ,
· 4
I • · • •
, , I , , • j • • I • •
I .. ~ ... _a"·_'" -'-';"~4 .'''--~. _T( ,',,",,l.;':';. 'q'#rl\t.f---'_61111: "'" '<l.;.W.·rWi.N'.· ... .;.~~ •. ..,...,;.... .":';':~.; ........... ~ ... ' ..... ~ __ ... __ -aM ., •• ~ .... .:.;_ .. ~ .... .;_ .......... _. __ ~~v~_ .. ,,=. ...'~ •.
I ,
I I I I I
I
I I I I I I I I
•
The Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners' plans and
descriptions had this to say about the structures:
. .
•
A new shed was constructed in 1903 at the rear of No. 2 Berth (this shed was later removed to No. 4 Berth, Woolloomooloo). In 1912-1916 the premises were completed reconstructed. The existing wharf was raised on blocks and widened and extended in a northerly direction, ·the piles and headstocks of the old wharf being incorporated in the remodelled structure. The old Nos. 1 and 2 sheds were demolished and No. 2A shed was removed to No. 4 Berth. The present Nos. 1, lA and 2/3 sheds and the brick office block were- erected and machinery installed in the sheds. No. 2/3 shed is doubledecked. The seawall behind the old wharf was raised and a trestle wall constructed behind the new wharf.
Machinery consisted of:
1 I-ton hydraulic lift; 1 2-ton hydraulic lift; 1 2-ton electric semi-portal jib crane; . 3 electric wool bale elevators; 5 wool shoots; 1 cargo gantry - . (State Archives, MSB Special Bundles 7 n527)
Nos 2 and 3 wharf structures were agam renovated in 1933-4 (MSB Sydney Habour Wharves 1954, State Archives 7n526.2).
At this time, other works in W oolloomooloo Bay included
those undertaken at Berths 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12. At Berth
No. 4, the original wharf and sheds were demolished in
1916. A new wharf was built and the demolished sheds
were moved and re-erected, one at No. 5 Berth and the
other: to form part of No. 4B shed. The new shed on No.
4 was moved from the rear of the old No. 2 wharf, and it
was single storey of timber construction. Also in 1916,
the original shed on No. 5 was moved to No. 4B and the .
new shed, that was brought from No. 4, was erected. In •
1903, Berth No. 10 was widened and improvements were made to the shed and seawall.
• I
, •
I
I
•
•
• •
• •
,
•
•
•
•
•
18 •
•
•
-. •
•
•
• ;
, •
I I
•
I •
I
I I I' I I I
• I I I I I I I I
•
•
•
•
Iri 1911-12, No. 11 was widened and the shed from No. 6
(i.e. the old shed built prior to 1901 that was on the central
jetty) was erected on it. No. 11 was renovated again in
1920-21 when the whatf was extended at its north end and
a new cargo shed was erected.
No. 12 wharf, known as the Blue Metal Wharf, was
constructed in 1902 and consisted of sheet piling with
fi)]jng behind. Consequent upon the extension of No. 11
wharf in 1920-1, No. 12 was extended approximately 90ft
at the north end. This involved the removal of the
explosives landing (State Archives MSB Special Bundles
7nS27 andMSB Sydney Harbour Wharves 7nS26.2).
2.2 From Central Jetty to 'Cathedral of Commerce'
Work began on the massive central jetty, referred to early
on by the Trust as No. 6 Wharf, on 14 August 1910. The
progress of its construction was followed with interest by I
the press, as it was the Trust's most ambitious undertaking
to date and was (and siill is) the largest whatf in Australia.
By mid 1912, when the jetty structure itself was essentially
completed press reports (including that of the Daily
Telegraph of 29 August 1912) summed. up rather
succinctly the increasing pressure for whatf space and the , . ,
Sydney Harbour Trust's achievements to that date:
The more whatfage improvements the Harbour . Trust makes, the less wharves we have. So that, after the ~xpenditure of hundreds of thousands of po rinds, there are now actually 34 fewer berths than when the trust first took office.
'That may sound like an attack on the Harbour Trust. It isn't. The new ones are much bigger berths for the increasingly bigger ocean-going vessels. ... since the vessels grow in size quite
. as fast as they' increase in number it becomes just as necessary to add to the length of the old wharVes as to make new ones. ... Just at present we are in the midst of change, with all its worries. Half-built or nearly-ready wharves and sheds are scattered everywhere, and great undeveloped bays near the city hold out their
•
•
, ,
19
i
• • >
:
, ,
I , ,
, • • >
>
I I
•
•
•
,
: · , >
• • , •
I •
j
• , •
i ,
, ,
I , I
•
>
•
• ,
• • • • •
I ' . lA" ',,' •· .. '-Io.'.><Io/·;;w~ '._- '"",,,, '.'- .'- -, .» ... ' - "" ' """""'.-- .. ----"'.Whololi_ .... ....,~..;-P"II' '?'Oz' * _ ,=.·,·"."'; .... ..,... ...... H·,~..,... ... AoIl.""'" ... "'«oII~AJ__"*"-~ .. __ ... _-.-,_ 4 ....., • ....... Aa" "'d 'V""--.r ... ~~~WW~.,.,· .... ~ '~'W~i<AWA<-..>A>.____ _ ,__ .
• ~ .
I •
I
I I I I
I I' I I I
1 I I I
• arms for wharves. They will all have to be filled in time.
•
•
The 'Cathedral9f Commerce - in the galvanised iron gothic
style', as it was referred to in 1914 (Daily Telegraph 25
June 1914, was to be 1040 feet long and 203 feet wide. It
was to consist of a 'concrete roadw~y 53 feet wide and
sunken 4 feet below the 75 feet wide timber wharves so as
to assist in the loading of the vehicles. Sheds of 40 feet
wide were to be constructed on each wharf and the most
modern of cargo handling equipment was to be •
incorporated. •
•
•
2.3 A Tour of the Wharf
By mid year of 1912, the central jetty's timber work was
almost complete and the centre reinforced concrete ,
roadway was compl~te save for 900 square metres of its
surface. A delay i!1 the supply of iron girder~ from •
•
'~ngland caused the erection of temporary sheds on the two
shore-end berths. Increasing shipping demand was such
that the new wharf was in use years before its finishing
touches were completed. In October 1912, it was reported that: I
Woolloomooloo Bay during the last few days has been the scene of much activity, so far as , shipping is concerned. The accommodation for overseas cargo. carriers has been fully taxed, and gives promise of continuing for some time.
The new jetty ~hich is to accommodate big ships, though not yet completed, was utilised and four steamers ... were taken alongside.
. This quartette fllled up, the space, and for the time being it was difficult to discriminate between the jetty and the bay. More pronounced than ever was this little problem, when' a look round at the other wharves disclosed the fact that (four other ships) were at separate berths.
•
: •
•
20
•
•
•
I
• •
•
•
•
I
------ ------------------
I ' . t .. ... .......... - ... , .... ,.. re,. • • = __ ... ..." .. ,.,w.'!l:i ' ....... ~ .. "". -. ~,.-,~ .. _~ ........................ k."' .d"'......,_iIIII ............... ....,..... ....... _"'"'...,~ ........ .:::..... ., t ....... - , " .. ,.,._ b • '". -- .. '*'- . '''''.'''' •• _,. • =-=
I •
I I I I I I I
I I I I I I
I I I I
This fleet represented over 50,000 tons, while several thousand men found employment
•
It is claimed by the Harbour Trust that when the jetty is open for regular berthing a good deal of congestion, so far as deepset shipping in the season is concerned, will be relieved.
•.• while the water space has been curtailed the berthing room has been increased, and W oolloomooloo Bay will probably be known in the future as "Woolloomooloo Wharves".(Evening News 23 October 1912).
The approaches to the jetty were completed in August 1912 .
and erection of the four double-decked cargo sheds was
commenced on 30 July 1912. By mid 1914, the sheds on
Nos 7 and 9 berths, at the northern end, were completed
and by the end of that year the two berths at the southern
end (Nos. 6 & 9) were also finished. An ambulance room
was provided in shed No. 8 for the benefit of wharf
labourers and others. By mid 1915, four 3-ton goods lifts,
eight 3-ton travelling bridge cranes and eight pairs of
freight conveyors (each capable of handling 2 tons
continuously) had all been installed and haq been used •
• I
,
,'satisfactorily' during the year. (Sydney Harbour Trust •
Annual Reports 1912, 1914, 1915) • . •
In 1916, work was completed with the widening of the
wood-blocked approach to the jetty and the erection of a
new iron fence.
The sunken road has proved a great success at the big jetty built by the Commissioners in the centre of Woolloomooloo Bay. This jetty has
. been in full swing for some time, and the convenience of the loading bays off the sunken . road has facilitated the dispatch of wagons from the wharf. The wharf is now one of the busiest in Port J ackson. The gear for disposing of goods is of the most up-to-date pattern." (Evening News 1 September 1915).
•
There is nothing to beat this new shed and the appliances in any part of Australia" said Mr H.D. Walsh, engineer-in-chief of the :fruste (Sydney Morning Herald 9 September 1915).
I
•
I
, •
, ·
•
I •
• •
!
• •
21 •
•
• •
•
• •
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
• •
... ." ._ ................ ""IIIo:'I>e.-.-,=_;O';...."...-. .................... "'--. * __ u.ov ........ o#---. .......... " _~ .... ___ ~ .... ~'" _ ~ ........ I -- -' --- ---~-.-- .. ~-, ~-- .. __ '"'_ .. a.. ... m •• _ ..... bq'" ..... _.~·"r .... .-..-__ -..._~ __ .. _ ... __ , __ .,.~ __ ~._ .... -,.-- ..
I •
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
•
I I
Even before the jetty's completion the Sydney Harbour Trust's works were receiving rave reviews, and a certain
amount of national pride was also engendered by the Bay and its Wharf:
... ships like the P&O "Benalla" constantly land a thousand passengers at a time, and enormous cargoes of all kinds come in and go out
Sydney sits enthroned with her heads to the sea, the great centre of a great country, and it is because her people, alive to their opportunities, are determined to spare neither foresight nor effort that she will remain the best as well as the most interesting port in the Southern Hemisphere. (Evening News 13 June 1913).
2.4 The Wharf and the Bay
The Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners had advised
the Sydney Council of the need for an extra approach to
Cowper's Wharf and by 1913 a smart new avenue was
anticipated to run from Woolloomooloo along Lincoln and j •
Sir JOM Young Crescents across Phillip, Cook and Hyde
.. ParkS into Park Street at the College Street intersecdon.
Who shall say that visitors entering Sydney by this magnificent park-bound avenue will not be more impressed than they are from the Cove itself. (Evening News 13 June 1913).
I
At the same time land on the western side of the Bay was
vested in the Commissioners for the formation of a road of access to wharves to be constructed there. •
• • •
The decrepit condition of housing and roads in the 'Loo
continued to be a matter of debate. In a letter of the editor
of the Sydney Morning Herald in June 1914 a
correspondent by the pen name of "Progress" quoted a
cartoonist who had written of housing in the Rocks area: • • • • Fourteen feet from door to door,
; Fourteen feet,. and nothing more. · . •
• •
• I ,
•
22
•
•
•
I
• •
•
•
•
•
:
•
'-----~~-~ -~~--~- - -------- -- ---- -- ----~~~~~~~-------------'
I - -~ .- -->- to ,~- ·_ .. __ ' ....... ___ ..... -=-'ill.~"'torii., ...... ~~....,."..,., ....... ·M ..... F".-... d;H= •• =rf • ...,.. .. _ ...... =~ ...... '.~-... -.- -.,, ____ • ___ M. __ .... ~ .... M .. =_. _____ .. _. _.~ "" ____ . ~ .
•
I I I I I I
I
• •
the correspondent continued: • •
But I do not know what the same writer would have said had he viewed the lower portion of .Woo - where some of the houses measure ten and twelve feet from door to door.
Mr or Ms Progress then went on to advocate the demolition
of houses for road-widening purposes (Sydney Morning
Herald 11 June 1914).
The new road from College Street was completed in early
1915, its opening, however, was delayed considerably by
the fact that the laying of tram lines had not been finished. (Sydney Morning Herald 8 June 1915).
The delay in having the tram lines installed, along with
their planned sudden termination at the west side of the
I . Bay caused a deal more controversy amongst residents and
civic-minded visitors to the area, and another campaign of
I letters and press articles was begun. A good example is
• the 'Tram to Nowhere' article: . •
Several highly-placed officers .of the Australian Army Medical Corps were discussing the 'tram to nowhere', which runs from 'the Domain to
I somewhere by the City Bowling Green', as one of them put it. ..•
0
;
I The officer continued:
In a short time we shall have thousands of
I wounded Australian soldiers returning here, and by a little extra expenditure, the line could ! be run round Woolloomooloo Bay. When the wounded begin to return we must have an
I ambulance station on one of the new wharfs, and a tram car could be fitted up as an ambulance car in a couple of days. With the •
I line run round the, bay we could take the wounded straight from the ship into the ambulance car, and run them via Darlinghurst
• • direct to the Randwick Institute, where our •
I •
biggest base 'will be. The sooner the I • Government finishes this line round the wharfs •
I the sooner can we 'Complete arrangements to handle the wounded. We want to save Australian lives, and if the suggestion herein
I • · I
I
•
. •
• I
, ·
I
, •
•
•
j
•
, ·
!
23
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
•
· • • I • ,
I I ! I • • I •
I
• • • ,
, ,
•
, !
-
I •
-...---------~ ... ______ ~._ •• ___ . .. ,· .... b •• · _____ .. _ ................. _ .. ,_
thrown out is acted up to, both the Government and City Council will be doing a good work of which they may be justly proud (Sydney Morning Herald, 8 June 1915).
•
The City Council pre-empted this suggestion at a meeting
where a motion was carried that representations be made to
the government to have the tram line continued, 'so that it
may be of some service to thosefor whose convenience the
construction of the road was designed (Sydney Morning Herald 3 June 1915).
A certain amount of satisfaction was derived when, some
months later, the Minister for Public Works announced that
.1. . the tramway, that had opened for traffic in August, would
1 I I I I
I
be extended to the steps leading down from Victoria Street
(Sydney Morning Herald 20 October 1915).
2.5 Passenger Ships and Troop Ships
With the completion to adequate deep-sea wharfage, the
Bay was transformed from a port that handled the overflow
from Sydney Cove into a major terminal catering for ever • •
,. increasing overseas goods and passengers • •
Woolloomooloo also became one of the major wool
. dispatch points and the terminal for some of the larger ships.
! To the western side of the Bay, Brown's Wharf was
dredged in 1913 to provide sufficient depth for P&O
steamers being regularly berthed there (Sunday Sun 5
January 1913). Even before Berth No. 7 became an
overseas passenger terminal, the central finger jetty took
much of the passenger trade; for instance, the P&O liners
used various Berths of 6 to 9 during the 1930's (MSB Annual Report 30 June 1938).
•
: During the Boer War and both the first and second World
Wars, Woolloomooloo was an embarkation and arrival • i
• . point for troops who had been posted to foreign countries
on converted passenger liners.· The 'Moravian' left the •
'Loo in 1902, while troops of the first AIF marched from
· · ,
............... ... - ... -.-...--........ ~--...... _,.... .. .,_ .. tt1 ...... ,,_...x._"'_ ..... __ ..
i
• •
I
!
• ,
• · , • •
• •
,
•
•
•
•
24 •
•
,
•
•
•
•
• • I
I •
I I I
I I I I I I
I I I
-_______ _ ____ = _. _ ..• , __ ....... _ • .., ......... .... _____ ... ""ortJa ......... "' ___ ... .., ~ .. __ ""' _-• _ .... ,.m .... __ • ____ ••.• _"" " __ _ <_ •• ____ .-•• ,,-~ ... ~. _._ >--iF~~ •• _ ..... __ ._~.".-- ..
•
Moore park and the Showground to their transports in the B~ .
While overseas, many of the Australians' songs
immortalised the name of W oolloomooloo. The following
parody was allegedly sung by a group of disabled soldiers as their transport carried them from England's shores at the
end of World War I (Sydney Morning Herald 21 June . 1924):
•
It's a long way to Woolloomooloo, It's a long way to go . It's a long way to Woolloomooloo, And lots of good, old girls we know Farewell, bully beef-o, Farewell, cobbers square, It's a long way to Woolloomooloo, But we're going back there.
An ironic aspect of life in the Bay during World War I was
that German steamers continued to dock there. On one
particular day in August 1914, there were five German •
ships in Port, three of which had not been given clearances
and were under detention and berthed in W oolloomooloo
Bay (Daily Telegraph 6 August 1914). In the same month
of that year, much was made of the fact that it was a
German steamer, Elsass that crashed into the Municipal
Baths when it was moving out from the jetty, headed for
Bremen. It was reported th'at a fair amount of damage was
done but that there was no one in the pool at the time of the
accident (Evening News 4 August 1914).
! In 1921, relatives, of troops who had departed Australia
from the Finger Wharf and ~ho had subsequently lo~t their • •
lives, erected a Memorial drinking fountain on a rock close
to the gates of the docks (probably the iron gates to the
central Jetty) 'The me~orial was dedicated by. the
Archbishop .of Sydney, in ;the presence of the Govemor-. .
General. ne fountain, the work of Messrs Budden and I • ,
Greenwell, ~hitects, is beautifully kept and the dazzling
brass plaque contains in its design a rosemary bush' •
• ,
I •
•
•
25 ..
•
•
•
•
,
•
•
•
• •
•
•
•
•
•
I ! • I • • : , ·
I I • • • I •
i • • ·
,
I
•
•
I I
I
I I I
I I I I I I
•
•
The novel, Say No to Death (1951) by Dymphna Cusack,
opens with a World War IT troopship returning to berth at
the central jetty in Woolloomooloo Bay. During World
War n, the 'Aquitania', the 'Queen Mary' and the 'Queen
Elizabeth' berthed at the jetty for the purposes of taking on •
troops.
The Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf was, for many 'new
Australians', their fIrst experience of Australia. Refugees,
and later, immigrants in the post-war period arrived in
ships that berthed there.
•
•
•
•
· • •
• • ; ,
•
•
• 1 '
•
• I
. , •
i
• •
•
• · j •
, •
,
•
•
•
I
•
•
26
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I ,
I I
I
I
I I
1 . 1
._~ <10.' _____ ~ ..,. __ .. ~_ _..- ... _ . . • W._--....-·._ __ ,_* __ • ____ ,A .......... _#_ ...... ___ ...,~ ___ ~""' . = __ ,
•
3. THE WHARF AND THE PORT •
3.1 Depression and War
The world f'mancial depression that commenced in 1929
severely curtailed the Sydney Harbour Trust's construction
program. The port trade declined and was just seeing a
return to nonnality at the outbreak of World War n in 1939
when, once again, almost all work stopped. •
•
The period 1921-30 saw at least some activity in all of the
shipping areas, whereas, in the period 1931-45 only one
wharf was constructed - No. 1 in White Bay. In the
1950's the Bay was virtually as it had been in 1916, with
the exceptions of the western longshore Berths 10-12 that
were rebuilt between 1921-30 and Berth No. 1 on the east
side that became, with the construction of the Captain
· Cook Graving Dock, the Na~al Fitting Out Wharf. I
~ In 1950, the Woolloom0610o wharves were usually •
occupied as follows: • •
1 Naval fitting out wharf.
2 - 3 Open B~rths (upper storey of shed 3 used as a I wool warehouse by 1968).
4 Will WIlheImsen.
5 Red Funnel Trawlers Ltd (this wharf was still j dealing with fish in 1968).· •
6 - 9 Finger Wharf - open berths (wool, general ~ cargo and overseas passengers).
10 Murrells • .
• 11 McArthur Shipping Agency
: (Maritime Yearbook 1950)
•
•
••
Although the Finger Wharf continued to be a port for
overseas passengers and a major export facility for general
cargo and wool, the post-war technical changes in
•
•
---'± ---, .......... -..... -....... __ .... -..... __ .... --, .. -..... _------.-» '""~-
•
27
•
•
•
• I
I
• •
•
,
•
•
•
. . __ - __ ._ .. __ ·_'0;:0lI0II .... • __ ... ,_ ............. '" __ "_._._":&._~-,= • ....... _......... "..i.-.... ' ....... __ .. ___ = .. t ••• ~"" .............. _ .. _ .. _ I -, ··e~~ ...... ""u ..... -(_·"".'_""""P."'''''''''''''''.'''' ......... 'Ii ........ , ... __ ~ .... ".
•
I I I I· I I I
I I
•
,
international shipping and cargo-handling made the
equipment at W oolloomooloo increasingly obsolete. At the
same time, air, rail and road transport was carrying an
increasing proportion of passengers and freight . •
Particularly significant was the decline in the wool trade
and its concentration in the Pyrmont/Ultimo area. At this
time practically all of Sydney's woolstores were in
Pyrmont. General cargo handling too was relocated to the
west of the Harbour Bridge as it was uneconomic to run
rail lines to Circular Quay and Woolloomooloo.
• •
3.2 Overseas Passenger Terminal
A sharp increase in immigrant and tourist traffic in the port
in the early 1950s m~de it necessary to provide additional
passenger facilities and a decision was made in 1955 to
convert the two storey shed at No. 7 Berth for use as a
passenger terminal. (Berth No. 13 Pynnont had been
successfully converted to a passenger terminal in 1949) . .
An additional pa$senger service between the ~est coast of I
the USA and Sydney was to be instituted in Sydney in ., . ,November 1956 and it was proposed to have the new
terminal operational in time for the vessels inaugurating the
service (MSB Annual Report 1955-56).' •
The new terminal was placed in commission according to I
schedule - November 1959. The upper floor of the former
cargo shed at No. 7 'was converted to a modem passenger
terminal with special facilities for Customs examination
and amenities for travellers and their friends, including •
offices for tourist and travel agencies, banks, post office
facilities and a buffet for light refreshments'. Remnants of
these establishments still survive on the upper floor of
Wharf 7. In conjunction with the provision of passenger
facilities, the timber decking of this berth and the adjoining
one at No. 6 was: replaced with concrete for the full length
~d the foundations of the two storey sheds at each berth · . . were reconstructed. All cargo and stores were designed to
I Ix: handled on the lower floor of the building leaving the
I I
• · I
• • •
• •
28
• •
•
I
• •
I •
•
•
•
1-----------"--*_ ........ -, .-,;,. -- ... -. ... ""ilL . .r' ....... ' -. _ . .,"" r. ., V.,otio ....... - ............. -., .... = __ " ....... 'CoII
•
I I
I 1
1 I 1 I
I
•
,
upper storey free for passengers and luggage. Windows
were installed to provide more light and to give passengers
a view of the eastern side of the Bay. Once again the .
Finger Wharf was equipped with the most up-to-date
equipment wh<?n lifts and baggage conveyors were
installed. The portable luggage conveyors handled
baggage from side ports of passenger vessels to the upper
floor of the Terminal (MSB Annual Report, 1956157)
The importance of the Finger Wharf as a passenger
terminal declined with the opening of the new overseas
tenninaI at Sydney Cove in 1961. It is significant that the
largest vessel visiting Sydney during that year was the liner
"Canberra" and it berthed at Sydney Cove Passenger
. Tenninal on its maiden voyage in June 1961. Although
overseas passenger traffic was still increasing Wharf 7 was.
relegated to handling the overflow from Sydney Cove •.
•
3.3 Gradual Decline
I
In the' early 1960s the Finger Wharf, like most other
Maritime Services Board wharves in Sydney: became
redundant, because of the rapidly increasing mechanisation
of shipping and cargo-handling. (Extensive reconstruction
and modernization of No. 2 Berth took place in 1962-3). ,
In 1959 the first 'roll-on, roll-off ship, the 'Princess of
Tasmania', came into service between Hobart and the
mainland.· The late 1950s also saw the growth of
'unitisation' with the use of pallets, pre-slinging and shore
based cranes. Despite protests by waterside workers and
the Waterside Workers' Federation, containerisation·
proceeded rapidly from the late 1960s. Woolloomooloo
succumbed in 1969 when Berth 11 was rebuilt as a
concrete bulk berth. Two 26-ton capacity travelling cranes
and two large hoppers were installed. When fully
commissioned at the end of 1971, the roll-onlroll-off car
I . vessel 'Jinyo'Maru'became the fl!St vessel to·use the new
berth and unloaded, in record time, 400 cars by use of a
I· I I
•
•
•• - n • rl,.· ...... ' ...... =_ .. =/I.e._w .. .. ___ 0\(-. ,' ____ 0
•
29
• •
• ,
•
I
, ,
I
•
•
•
•
· •
•
•
· ,
• ,
I I
·
I • • • • • ~ t
j • I · , I ! l •
I
I ,
• ! , I • I
I I I I • j
, • • • •
I
+ ·
•
I I I I I I I I
I I I I I·
I I I
•
•
_____ . _____ ._.'t_._._._.".. ___ ~_ ..... ,.;1; .. _._. ' ••• •• ,;;0,. _ .... 1"". __ ..... "'_._ ------- __ -__ ~ ... "' __ ~_ ..... _ .... ,..-~-. ___ ,...'"" __ • = _ .......... _an
..... -
•
quarter ramp angled onto the wharf (MSB Annual Report 1970-71). .
In the same year, the New South Wales Government
approved a Maritime Services Board proposal to develop
Port Botany as a container terminal. In 1977 the
government approved the establishment of two container
terminals and the establishment of a bulk liquid storage
facility that was opened in 1979 (Mahony 1979)., With this
new development the Port of Sydney was destined to be
overtaken by Port Botany.
• , I
I • ,
j
• •
•
• ,
•
•• •
•
•
,
• , •
•
•
30
•
•
•
•
•
,
: • • • • · « · • • • • I ·
•
I • • • • I • • • • • • • • I • I ,
• . I , i • • • • • • •
I !
•
, , • • • • • • • • •
• . "
• •
__ 1_'· . _U' .. ~s, __ d'--n n_~ -= .. -._,',-_. _ ... _I._ .. W_ .... ,_~ ... _ .. __ .W ___ ~y_ ... = ___ d'_~_-.._· _n,, ___ W_ ... _ ...... __ .......... _ ..... ri_"~' =.,.In ..... _ .. _._~......I.;.: ....................... ta' , F, .:AA!f."'i"t~"""'~"''''''
•
•
•
I I
I I I I I I I I
I I I I
I I I
•
•
4 WOOLLOOMOOLOO WHARF RELICS
4.1 Wharf Technology •
The wharfs structure has changed little over time except
for the total revamping of the first floor of No. 7 Cargo
shed. These changes were undertaken so that
W oolloomooloo could serve as the passenger terminal
while the Overseas Terminal at Circular Quay was being constructed.
Other modifications have been relatively minor and the
external appearance has remained intact (with the exception
of Wharf 7). The goods conveyors, the cargo lifts, the
gateposts and fences and the perimeter bollards have all •
remained as they were when the work was completed in
1916. The cranes have gone and only three of the original
I eight gantries grace the eastern wharf a,pron. The main
reminder of the Second World War role of the Wharf - the • • •
. dolphins and large bollards on the eastern apron and the
tension ties and compression members beneath the aprons -can still be seen.
The relics at Woolloomooloo allow interpretation of the
function of the Wharf and examples of most are to be seen in the existing fabric.
4.2 Goods Conveyors
There are sixteen goods conveyors mounted in the central
roadway which moved goods from road level to the upper •
floor. The conveyors are in four sets of four which are
evenly spaced along the roadway. One pair of conveyors
in each set run up the eastern wall and one up the western.
Each pair has a common operators platform from where the
elevators were controlled. Each conveyor has its own
•
•
•
•
•
31
I
•
• •
• •
•
•
• •
•
•
•
•
,
• • : • • • • • • • • ,
• > I
I • • : • • , • · •
• , ·
I ,
! • • • • I
i •
I • • , , • •
I •
I I I
I I, I
I I I I
I I I I I
' ___ ...... , ___ •• _,_ .. _. m ..... _= --_lE .... . I, r 'H- •••• = ___ ___ ~ .... _~_ .... Co£)' • ••• d. __ rH •• i ... b_ ••• __ loi .... _tI<: ......... ___ ! ,' .. ____.... .......... '-\" ..... __ _
•
unloading dock where goods were taken into the upper
level floor for storage prior to being loaded on ships . •
The conveyors are an apron wooden slat type as opposed
to the more modern fabric belt type. The travelling
,wooden slat is supported by a frame attached directly to the
wall of the wharf shed. The frame consists of two almost
identical simple Wooden trusses joined by cross members
between and below the slat belt. The frame is supported at
ground level by a simple post and at a further four places
by brackets attached to the posts of the wharf shed. The
brackets are simple triangular pieces made from 100 mm
by 150 mm hardwood. The use of the brackets rather than
post supports allows unrestricted movement on the
roadway beneath the conveyor.
There is a loading platform at the lower end of the
conveyor which consists of six lengths of double-headed
rail attached to the wooden frame. The platfonn fonned by
the rail is at a slightly lower angle than the conveyor belt. I ~ • ,
, The end of the platfonn is some 1.2 metres above the , ..
. roadway and was built to receive bales of wool from the
trays of horse-drawn wagons. The platfonn appears to be
too high to receive bales from conventional motor lorries
and some type of intennediate device may have been used
to supplement to conveyor.
The conveyor rises some ,seven metres at an angle of 26
degrees and then levels out to fonn a horizontal section
some five meters long. Double sliding doors open out
onto this section to allow goods to be removed from the ~
conveyor and stored in the upper level of the wharf shed.
The moveable bed, apron or belt, consists of a series of
hardwood slats 1220 mm long, 215 mm wide and 50 mm
deep which span the width of the conveyor. The slats are ,
bolted to the links of the driving chain with a gap of about
20 mm between ,each slat. The chain is a two and two •
. strap chain in which the twin steel straps or links are
connected to the adjacent strap and to the roller by a steel
•
•
32'
• •
•
I
,
:
•
, •
•
•
I I
!
,
:
• • • • • • ,
• • ,
I I , I I , ,
I
I I •
I !
• • • • • • • • • •
. I •
• , ,
•
•
• i i
I •
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I
• •
___ ..... _..,. __ .... _~.-~ •• ..... ____ • "".,. • __ .... ~ ~ ~_r .. _ ... _ .... ___ .. ..., .. •• ..... _ ~_.-._t .. --~--_ ...... _.= .. .... ~ ___ ..,.....,.,_~ - ... ___ ..-_ .... s_"
•
pin. Two slats are bolted to the inner of the twin straps.
The steel rollers are 140 mm in diameter, have a·12 mm
d~p flange and are 460 mm apart. The rollers run on a flat
steel rail which is supported on a beam by two hardwood
bearers which form the top and bottom chords of the
conveyors main frame.
The cargo which was always in boxes, bags or bales was
hauled up the conveyor by blocks or cleats which were
bolted to the conveyor slats at approximately 3 meter • •
intervals. The cleats are shaped hardwood quadrant pieces
about 400 mm high. The cleats pass between the rails of
the loading ramp, catch the bails and haul them up to the
unloading platform.
The chains with their attached wooden slats passed over .
twin terminal wheels at each end of the conveyor. The set
of wheels at the top platform was connected to the drive
system while that at the lower end was provided with an
adjusting device for varying the degree of tension in the I
chain. •
•
The wheels were made by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co.,
. of Columbus, Ohio, USA. It is probable that this film also
manufactured the conveyor or at least designed it although
this could not be conf'mned by documentary evidence. The
wheels have an external idiameter of 650 mm with five
sprockets which extend some 75 mm to engage the chain.
Upper level unloading was to the side of the conveyor and , •
through the double doors. The unloading platform which •
is about 5 meters long probably allowed bales to be
removed without the conveyor being brought to a complete
stop.
According. to Broughton (1973, vol. 4; 20) the largest • .
model conveyor produced by the Jeffrey Manufacturing •
Co. was identical to this one with a similar width of apron,
size of slat, chain type and pitch and terminal wheel type.
It could handle bales of 800 lb (360 kg) capacity which
•
•
33
•
• I
• ,
,
• •
• , •
•
• •
, • • • •
i , • •
•
• · • ,
, •
· • , • , • • • • • • • ;
l •
I , • ! · I
, , ! I
I I I
I • • •
•
, • ,
,
· • • •
•
__ .. __ ,_ .... _____ .... _4' .... _ .. ____ ..... ." ."' .. e- _ .. _. ____ ..... _ .. = I ----.... -.. _==-_.'._. --" _. ---=_. _OIl ._._ •• _ ........ -.. " Fo" ...... ..- ==_ ••• t ..........
,
•
I I was well in excess of the dumped bales which would have
been handled at W oolloomooloo in the 1920s. .
I Driving system
•
Each conveyor was a self-contained unit and was operated ' I' independently from the others having its own motor, motor
controller, gearbox, brake and circuit breaker. The motor,
I gearbox, brake and circuit breaker from each pair of
conveyors is housed in a small motor room located inside
I I I
the wharf shed.
The motor controller was located on the operators platform
which was mounted between and above' the unloading
platforms of each pair of conveyors .. The operator had an
unobstructed view of the loading and unloading of the
cargo. The motor control box was used to set the
conveyor in motion and to govern its speed.
• •
All motors were made by Mather and Platt, Parkworks, • •
. Manchester. Although DC motors of the series wound
. variety are better suited to the operation of cranes and.
conveyors because of the their characteristic high starting
. torque and ease of speed variation, induction motors are
more readily connected to the AC supply and for this I reason were more commonly used.
I I I
I The Mather and Platt motors used a three-phase, 415 volt,
50 Hz power supply and were rated at 7 BHP and 10.5
Amps. Speed control is achieved by the insertion of
I . resistances into the rotor circuits. These resistances are
located in a box at the base of the controller.
I I I I I
All controllers were manufactured by the British
Thompson Houston Company of Rugby, England and are
of the dru~ controller type. The operators handle is
connected to an insulate spindle which carries a number of
copper-faced contact discs. As forward and reverse .
operation is identical, the contact discs are arranged
•
I
•
I
I
• •
•
•
•
•
34
•
•
,
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
j j • • • • • • !
i : •
! I , · · I • • , • • i
I ,
! ·
I ! • • • • • I I I I
I
• • • • !
I - - .. ---.- ... -- ...... __ .... - .. ________ ... ,,-- ... ,.. __ . __ _ . ...,~ __ t_~_~ .. _ .. _. ___ _ -.--" __ ._. ___ ._. _.\ ___ oeu_. __ ' __ .
I •
I I I
I I
I I
I
symmetrically around the central or 'off position. The
lower discs pass the three-phase supply to the stator, by
making con~act with spring-loaded fingers which have
copper contact surfaces separated by insulating discs. The
disc segments of the upper portion are used to switch
resistors in and out of the rotor circuit, by contact with
similar spring-loaded fingers.
The controllers are equipped with four notches for forward
and four for reverse. The resistor circuitry is such that
four different amounts of resistance may be obtained.
There are' three banks of resistors, each bank
corresponding to one phase in the rotor circuit Each bank
contains a large resistance and a smaller resistance which
can be switched' individually. Thus notch four
corresponds to no applied resistance, notch three to small
resistors only, notch two to large resistors only, and notch
· one to both large and small resistors combined. ,
Maximum torque is obtained on the third notch. As motor i
· speed increases a suitable combination of torque and speed • ! · · can be found to suit the load that the conveyor is carrying.
I. Drive System
I
I I I I
I
The drive system consists of an electric motor with starter,
a power takeoff through a standard worm gear at 90
degrees to the motor shaft and electromagnetic brake on the
motor shaft The brake is similar to the type used on the !
lifts in that it is in the on mode until the conveyor starts . ' movmg. The worm gear, made by Henry Wallwork and
Co. of Manchester, reduces the revolutions via a
crown wheel of 30 teeth and a single thread worm gear
from 940 rpm to 31 rpm with 80% efficiency. . •
•
• ·
,
I ,
A shaft with a uni~ersal coupling transmits ;power to a :
small gear wheel on the outer edge of the conveyor. This
32 teeth gearwheel meshes with the large, 138 t;eeth driving
· • I •
•
35
• •
•
,
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• • , • • • , •
• •
•
, • , , , • I I
I I •
I •
I I
• • ·
• : • I
I • • • · • • • :
• • ' .
• • . i ,
·
- ______________ _ ____ ._~_-__ .... _____ .. _ .. -___ -+ic ........ .......,_" ... ,. • ....... ..,. ."iua .......... ..t ... _LI t'w·._ •• ..-___ t-_., ~ __ .. ••• __ =. ..... __ .
,
I I I I I I I I I I
I I I
I
I I
•
•
•
wheel under the operators platform. The large driving
wheel is attached to the shaft of the twin terminal wheels. ~
The speed of the conveyor can be calculated as 55 feet per
minute or .28 meters per second.
4.3 Gantries and Cranes •
Woolloomooloo Wharf was designed to carry eight
travelling cranes of the gantry type and eight platform
gantries. These were to run on two rail lines on each side
of the jetty. One rail line ran along the perimeter of the •
wharf apron and the other, elevated line, ran on a rail
girder attached to the steel posts of the wharf shed by .
brackets. Both were used in loading and unloading ships.
The cranes lifted cargo from their own platform and swung
it over the ship's hold. The travelling platforms could hold
cargo for either the ships own cranes or the gantry cranes
to handle.
The elevated line meant that the cranes and gantries could
traverse the length of the wharf without interfering with
cargo movement on the wharf deck.
No photographs of the cranes have been found. However
it is certain that the cranes existed and as there are no other
drawings it is fair to assume that they were built according
to the contract drawings (Contract No. 14/10) of 1914.
The cranes are discribed as semiportal, multimotor, 3-ton
electric, radial, traversing and topping trolley hoists. The
boom could be lifted to an almost vertical position before it
was slewed and so clear the ships rigging.
The gantry platforms and the gantries for the cranes were
inverted L shapes and ran on dual sets of wheels on both
the deck rail and the elevated rail. The crane: sat on a
multiple roller race mounted on the platform -and was •
operated from a drivers cabin attached to the siCie of the
crane's superstructure. Each crane was fitted with a
. '~
I
• I
• ·
I
• •
,
•
I •
•
I
,
36
• •
•
•
, •
• • ,
•
•
• •
• • I
j . .
•
I I t
I I
I 1 < •
I
,
,
•
• •
; , . ,
. .---___ • _. ____ • • __ 'w_, ._.&_ .... _ .. -.. ........... _ .... ___ ... .-......,., _-.'-. _.: _____ -_...."._ ........ _ ..•. _._-•....• ,._--tL......... . ____ ... _e... "" e= __ _ ... 10 ....... __ •• ... ____ ....... ,. eM 'P _~_ ••• , _ . __
I •
I
I I I I I
•
I
I I
•
I I I
longitudinal traversing motor which drove one set of
wheels on both the wharf rail and the elevated rail via •
uncovered 50 mm steel shafts and driving cogs. Other
motors were provided for slewing, . for traversing the
trplley on which the hoisting gear was located and for
hoisting and derricking. It is believed that these cranes
were scrapp.ed before the last war when all cargo ships
began carrying their own cranes.
There are two types of gantry platform on the eastern
wharf. Three are of the early design which were . .
contemporaneous with the cranes and two are of the new
type which were introduced in 1963 when the alterations
were made to the first floor of Wharf 7 to accommodate the
passenger terminal.
The early gantries are constructed from rivetted angle and
channel steel: They were moved by means of a driving
wheel driven by a continuous rope. The driving wheel •
was connected to all four wheel sets by a chain ~nd
sprockets. The decking was of 100 mm by 150 mm '" :!J - ,
. brushbox although this was replaced in 1956 by reinforced concrete .
• . . Several other modifications were made over the years but
these were minor and usually consisted of fixing or
adapting a hinged flap ~hich would serve as an extension
of the deck.
. The condition of the derrick platforms is now only fair to , good. There are signs of heavy rust at all the lower joints
and .some spalling on the reinforced concrete decking is . evident.
There . are a further two derrick platforms at •
Woolloomooloo .. These appear to have been built in the · , · , early 1960s to allow embarkation and disembarkation from
· "
the newly commissioned passenger terminal. These are of • •
predominately welded steel construction and are stepped
down rather than having a flat deck as do the cargo
· · I
•
•
•
37 •
•
• •
• . I
•
,
•
•
•
• •
•
,
l
I I , ;
•
• -1 -- _.~. 0' __ • =_.- ... _-_-" _ .. '", -~'# _____ __.-_. _·IP __ ........ __ ... __ • __ ._"'* .. ________ ""'=_. _._ ... _. __ ~= ...... _ .. _ .. """""_ .. _" -----. = I~-~-- _~ ~ .. _ ....... _. - __ - __ ..
I • gantnes • They are in similar condition to the earlier • gantnes. •
No evidence of the gantries exists on the eastern side of the
wharf. The gantry girder and the perimeter rail have both
I been removed and the deck has been relaid in concrete. It
is not known where the cranes from either side were taken
. when they became redundant nor is the fate of the gantry
I I
I
I
platforms known. It is most probable that they were .
scrapped before the last war when almost all cargo vessels
began carrying their own cranes.
4.4 Bollards and Dolphins
Bollards •
There are 96, evenly spaced, heart bollards made from cast
steel attached to the apron beam which runs around the
. perimeter of ~e jetty. These aresome 400 mm high and
500 mm across the square base. They were used for •
, general berthing purposes and were sufficient to secure all
vessels which docked there up until the Second World . War. Woolloomooloo jetty was in fact four wharves
where four ships could tie up simultaneously and no
isolated dolphins were necessary.
I
•
I
In 1942 the massive ocean liners, which had been
converted to troop' carriers, were to berth at
Woolloomooloo as it was the only wharf capable of I
handling ships of that size. The small bollards were clearly
•
inadequate and a program of works was instituted to
provide mooring dolphins, larger bollards, fender
pontoons and fender dolphins as well as strengthening the
wharf structure itself with tension ties and compression reinforcing. • :
•• • • •
It is believed that four sets offender pontoons and fender
dolphins were installed on the eastern perimeter of the jetty •
but were moved sometime after the war as they were no
•
· · ! ·
•
•
j
• , • • ·
,
• •
38
• •
•
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
· · I • j
•
I , •
• ,
I •
I • • • '. • •
I • • 1
, • !
I I I
• , -• • I • • · •
• • • , ,
•
I -- ------------ --.------ ~, __ ~ __ .1 ___ "" .... __ .... - ....... cri" • __ ------. ___ .. _____ "_. ___ "_·_-_.·_M _. ___ 5 __ ... _' ... =.-"'" .. _ •• _ .... _~.,......-_ . __ ..... , ___ ..... _
I •
I
I
I I
, -
I I
-I I I
•
longer necessary. No photographs of these relics has been _
found and it is unlikely that many ever existed because of the war-time security.
Four large and four small concrete pads were set into the
deck of the wharf, again on the eastern side, to each of
which two new large steel bollards were bolted. These •
concrete pads were secured to the other side of the wharf
structure by massive tension bars which were cast into the
pads and fastened to the second row of piles on the
opposite side of the jetty. The tension bars were in fact
lengths of double-headed, or bull, 56-5 lb rail. To
counteract.the·compressive forces when the ship moved
against the wharf, as opposed to the tensile forces
generated as it pulled away from the berth, two sets of
compression reinforcing beams were added to each side of . . the central roadway. These beams are 300 mm X 220 mm
hardwood butted against the third row of pil,es from the
roadway and the reinforced deck of the roadway itself • . I
•
Dolphins
The dolphins are turpentine mooring piles independent of
the wharf structure itself, which possess their own system
of stays. One dolphin was set at the centre of the north end
of the jetty. It was probably set in this position to allow it •
to be .used for berthing ships on both sides of the wharf.
However the spur piles, which act as stays, took the forces
generated by mooring ships only from the eastern side.
. The other dolphin was set through the wharf deck at the
•
# •
southern end of the east side of the jetty close to the deck • penmeter.
The dolphins are significant artefacts in their own right and they are valuable intexpretive relics .
• •
•
• •
39
•
•
•
•
. .-
•
•
-•
•
•
•
•
•
I I i • i
I I
I i
• •
•
I I
I I I
I
I I I I
•
•
4.5 The Northern End Shed
The shed at the northern end of the jetty was designed in
1926 to serve basically as a store and a carpenters shop.
The shed was initially rectangular and was placed closer to
the Orient Company's wharves on the eastern side than the
P&O wharf. The shed's design complemented the wharf
sheds in both materials and style. ,
Originally it was planned to erect two sheds. The second
was to be somewhat smaller and was to be built backing •
onto the first. It is believed that this shed was never
commenced.·
In 1942 as part of the plan to allow the docking of tr90P ships at W oolloomooloo three and a half of the original
seven bay length of the shed was demolished and a further
small rectangular section was removed from the north east • I
. corner. This was done to allow a line from the largest
. troopship: the 'Queen Mary', to be fastened to the north
dolphin. The shed remained in this condition until 1989.
4.6 The Electric Lifts • .
There is one lift in each of the four wharf sheds. Three are
the original goods lifts while the fourth, in wharf Shed 7,
i~ a passenger lift which was installed in 1967 when the
wharf was converted to passenger-handling only. This lift
is typical of the many short rise lifts which still abound in
Sydney.
The three goods lifts were designed to take cargo, which
had been stored on the fIrst level, to the second level rather • •
than take the longer route via the conveyors. They could . . .
•
also take cargo, unsuitable for the conveyors, from the
central roadway to the second level. The lifts are almost
. , •
="'--... ,,,- -. . • • • •
• 40
•
•
• •
•
• I
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
------... ~-- ...... --- ........ - .. -. ------ .---... -.. - , .... -...,~'" .... -... -----... - .... ___ ._._ ... _M .. _ •• _ .... __ ·._ ........ _ ....... __ J • ., ..... _- .... " =_ ...... ...
I I
•
•
identical and appear to be in original condition with some slight modifIcations. .
The lift wells were all constructed of a frame consisting of
six 330 mm by 300 mm posts builts into the wharf shed
members. The well is sheathed internally with a series of
100 mm X 75 mm horizontal wooden guard battens spaced
at 450 mm centres, behind which the counterweights run.
Externally they are sheathed with 75 mm X 35 mm battens at 100 mm centres.
, .
The well is fItted with three gates, one of which is behind a
roller shutter opening onto the central roadway and one
opening into the wharf shed on the fIrst and second levels. •
. The gates, which are the single unit vertically opening
I
•
I I I I •
I
type, are framed in 25 mm diameter galvanised pipe and
sheathed in 10 gauge (3mm) 1.25 in (30 mm) wire mesh
panels. The gate counterweight runs inside steel channels
fixed inside the end frame post. The electrical circuitry is
quite simple as there are no doors on the lift car itself. , There are cutout switches on both floors whIch prevent the
• • • , lift operating if the gates are not properly closed. The lift
car is guided by six tallow wood guides 150 mm X 100
mm which are fIxed to special 200 mm square posts which run the height of the well . . ,
The lift car is a steel and timber framed open-topped box
clad internally with tongue and grooved kauri pine. The
car is 6.5 m long, 3 m wide and 2.7 m high and capable of
taking a load of 3000 kg. The car is very heavy by modern
standards and the six guides are necessary to steady it.
The car is equipped with four counterweights. Two of the
counterweights are sheaved and two are unsheaved.
The car is raised and lowered ~y a twin cable. The cable
passes through a diverter sheave which is mounted on the
top .of the c.ar on a crossmember of the steel frame. The
cable is linked to the safety mechanism which clamps on to
the central wooden guides automatically if the cable breaks or the descent is too fast.
•
•
•
•
,
•
i
I •
• •
•
•
41
•
•
•
•
•
•
_. __ . ___ "-' __ ----------;f;o . .,._--i<_ -s ~ - _ ... 'T-'" _ ".~ - __ __ -._--....... - ~<- _. --*-" --......... _. __ .......... ~- ...... -___ ~_ .. __ ... __ ~"'400"'_"._. IV. ...- -- - - --
I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
-. - ~- <- - - --#
•
•
The lifts have the now unusual feature of twin drums. The
drums are identical and are mounted on the same shaft.
The twin lift cable passes around the first drum and down
to the diverter sheave. The single cables pass from the
second drum, one to the right and one to the left, over
sheaves mounted at floor level and through the sheaves of
the sheaVed counte~eights. Thus the car and one set of
counterweights are operated by the drums. :me second set
of counterweights, which are unsheaved, are attached by
cable directly to the car. These cables pass over a double
set of sheaves mounted in the motor room.
The motor of each lift was made by the Electric
Construction Co. of Wolverhampton, England in 1914.
They are standard three-phase 415 volt, 50 cycle motor
with 3 slip rings, operating at 725 rpm. The motor is '
mounted at right angles to the gearbox. The brake is of the •
electromagnetic central plunger type held in the off position
when the lift is moving. When the lift is stationary or . when the power is cut the brake is applied to the shaft
• • • . The shaft passes into a reduction gearbox which has a cast
•
•
•
iron cover bearing the inscription Warburton Franki,
Sydney, but there are no further specifications. The worm
type gearbox is mounted between the two identical cable
drums.
Each car is fitted with a call bell which is activated by
buttons beside the lift well on both floors. The cars are . operated by controller handles within the car. The handle
is connected to the switchboard in the lift motor room by
traiI1ing flexes which run down the side of the well and
into the car from beneath.
•
In the lift motor room the switchboard is grey slate and
bears no maker's name. There are basically three banks of .
contacts. ne top is the up bank which consists of four
contacts for the brake circuit and five large contacts for the
motor. The motor contacts are activated by a single DC
master coil mounted to the right of the contacts.
1=----_-
•
42
•
•
•
I
•
I
I
•
• , •
•
• •
•
. . • •
• •
I
•
•
I I •
I I I I I I I
I I
I I
I I I
• _
__ • ___ ... ____ ' .. ~ ... ---.-.. OJ' ,....._ •• , ......... ~ •• _ .-_ ... '_ ... _ .... _ ... J' _f .. -_. __ ~_ ... _~ _______ .. ___ .~ __ • ___ ~ _____ '- __ • f ... ____ ._-----___ ... _
Immediately below the master coil is the 'down' bank' •
which has an identical configuration. There are four
accelerator coils which knock out the resistors and allow
the lift to accelerate. The resistors are of the heavy iron
type and are mounted behind the switchboard. As the lift
activation handle is turned the current is fed through both
the motors and the resistors and it is allowed to build up in
the motor as the lift accelerates to about 1 m per second.
A timer is mounted adjacent to the accelerator coils. The
timer has a capacitor behind it which prevents the lift from
having its direction changed without first being brought to
a stop.
Each lift is fitted with three safety systems. The travel of
the car is determined by the operation of the handle. If the
car overtravels the lift is stopped automatically by the travel
limiting system. This mechanical cut out system is chain
driven by a sprocket mounted on the drum shaft. The
chain drives a steel shaft to which a cam is fixed. When a I
set amount of overtravel is reached the cam trips a breaker •
. and the up and down circuit is isolated and the brake is
automatically applied. If this circuit, for some reason is . not broken, the overtravel tappet system is activated.
• .. This system has a continuous cable which passes around . two small sheaves; one at the oottom of the well and one in
the motor room. Attached· to the cable are two large
collars. A bracket on the lift car fits around the cable.
when the overlimit tolerance is exceeded the bracket bears :
. on the cable collar which in turn moves the sheave in the
•
• motgr room. This trips a lever which isolates the whole
415 volt power circuit and the brake and safety are
activated. •
. .
The DC electricity supply whi~h activates the coils on the
switchboard and the electromagnetic brake is supplied by a •
bank of plate rectifiers mounted on the top of the •
switchboard ...
•
43
• •
•
•
•
•
•
• •
• ·
•
I
i
,
I
• •
• •
•
•
• •
,
I
•
•
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I
I I I. I
- _____ ... __ ,;,-4i<._.;,_. -~~ --~.~-.--.-.--,,--.
The lifts are among the oldest in Sydney and were
. operational until 1984. They have subsequently been
. decommi ssioned and have had their cables disconnected,.
all three existing lifts could be conserved and brought back
into service. However, it is best that the one in the wharf
Shed 8 be restored using elements wherever necessary
from the other two lifts.
•
4.7 Gates, Gateposts, Fences and Fenceposts
During 1913 and 1914.elevations of the new jetty were
produced showing the elaborate half-timbered front of the •
wharf sheds and the proposed new gates and fences. The
posts for these gates and fences were of two pieces of mild
steel channel measuring 75 mm X 225 mm and 3.4 m long
joined for their length by lattice bars and surmounted by a
cast iron bill. The gates themselves were to be made from
heavy mild steel lattice. • I
A drawing of May 1915 shows the very elegant spear
fence which was subsequently installed. It appears clear •
from this drawing that the fence to, be used was in fact
secondhand as no construction details are given, nor do
construction details appear on related drawings. Also the
drawings indicate that the present fence is identical to the .
one shown in the 1915 drawing.
There are five gateposts and two fenceposts. Three
gateposts form the entry to the central roadway while the
other two are at the entry to the eastern wharf apron. All •
posts are of cast iron. All the gateposts and one fencepost
were manufactured by J. Connolly and one fencepost by
Hudson Brothers Ltd, Clyde. It is probable that the posts
were moved from their original positions and are alrpost •
certainly relics of the former wharves at W oolloomooloo. • •
All the posts are simiJar in overall form, although there are
variations in detail. Three have the inscription 'VR" cast
• 44
•
•
•
•
•
• . ,
•
•
•
•
•
I • I • • • • · > • • • • , , • , •
I I I
I • !
I • · ,
! I , : l
:
! , • • • • • • • • !
"
•
• •
i j ,
! !
• , , • , ,
,
i
•
I I I I 1 I I I I·
I I I I I I I. I I I
•
•
into the column face; two posts with the letters 'CW'
(Cowper Wharf); one with the date '1889; and the other
with '1897'. Five of the columns appear to be complete
with apexed pyramid capitals, decorated with scalloped
shell patterns, while two have only a flat capital.
All the posts are painted Brunswick green and are about 2
m high. All appear to be in excellent condition except for
two which are missing their capitals.
The actual fence and gates are supported by the posts or the
adjacent wharf structure. It is made of cast iron brackets
and wrought iron or mild steel t:ails and spears. The main
spears extend 1.8 m high and are spaced about 200 mm
apart with alternately spaced half-height spears or pickets
between. The main spears are topped with 150 mm high
ridged and decorated spikes while the half height spears
have simpler and smaller spikes.
•
It is certain that t4e fence and posts are not in their original
positions. However they are historic elements i which
. belong to the precinct and should be 'conserved as relics of •
cultural significance.
4.8 The Cart Docks I
The cart docks are important elements in the interpretation
of the wharf and its function. The cargo or wharf sheds
were entered on the ground floor through doors: which
opened directly onto the central roadway or through three
cart docks in each of the four cargo sheds. The cart docks, , ,
which were about 3 m long and 2.5 m wide were let into
the floor of the cargo sheds and were placed behind roller •
shutters rather than the rolling wooden doors. They were
not initially fitted with hinged dobrs and security was . .
achieved through two identical hat~h covers whi~h were
lowered into place. These covers were wooden and were
• • ,
- - .-- ..,.--- .--- -..,----
45
•
•
•
«
• • •
•
•
• •
•
•
~
• I • i ~
, , · , • • ~
I • I • • • • • • t
i • 1
1 •
I
I
!
I I I : '. • • I • •
•
; , I
• •
I • i
, ·
• • • . '1' ------------..... --... --'-----.. .... -="" ..... - .. ,-_ .. ,-"("."";,,,; ............. crt ,,...,,.- ........ ... ,_ ...... - -4n' ...................... " e I ___ .. ~_~_..-w.wa 'p •• . ~-----.. -.. ...~ ~ ______ .u_ .. ~-..- _ _ _ •
I •
I I I I I I I I I •
I I I I I I I I I I
•
•
-very heavy. It is not known what mechanism was used to
assist in lifting them. .
The cart docks, which still exist in modified form were
sheathed internally with vertical 175 mm X 75 mm slabs
and had 175 mm X 175 mm hardwood kerbing. The
capping or sill was of chamfered hardwood 300 mm X 150
mm.
Above each cart dock there was a hatch in the floor of the
second level. A 13 cwt winch is also indicated on the
second level which would allow cargo unsuitable for the
conveyors to lift directly to the upper floor. However no
trace of any hoist portal or frame has been found
The cart docks still exist but they have been closed by new
flooring in the cargo shed and by hinged doors at the
central roadway level. They remain as small interpretive
pieces of fabric .which indicate the method in which the
wharf was worked. •
•
•
• •
•
I
•
I
• •
•
•
• 46
•
• •
• •
•
•
•
• •
•
•
•
•
· •
• ,
• • • • I
, , • , ·
, , •
t I • , • • · , •
-... .. ...... -"' ......... _ .. =_ .... _.= =_ ... _= ______ ....... _ ..,..---..:._ .. ..----...... -....... ~ ..... _ ........ b· .= __ , ___ ..... _____ "" ..... 4 .............. . . I -..... -.... ----.-.... ---.. --.-. _. _ . .r __ ~ .... , .... - ....... ;"""b- ... '· .... • ..... '.· ..... __
I •
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
•
•
• •
5. THE WHARF AND THE COMMUNITY
The residents and workers of W oolloomooloo have been
subjected to an extraordinary amount of urban change in •
the last twenty-five years. Sandwiched between the
Central Business District and the eastern suburbs
W oolloomooloo' has been forced to take more and more of
the traffic moving between those two districts. For many
years the boundaries of the suburb have been the major •
traffic arteries to the west (Sir John Young Crescent) and
the south (William Street) and the landscape barriers to the
north (the Bay, although a much altered landscape) and the
east (the escarpment between Brougham Street and Victoria
Street). While landscape barriers remain, the traffic pattern
and the traffic volume have both changed and increased
since 1960 The completion of the Cahill Expressway in
1962 meant that Woolloomooloo became a distribution
point for traffic heading for the eastern and southern .
. suburbs. Riley Street, CroWn Street, PaImer Street and
Bourke Street soon became major traffic arteries.
•
5.1 A Grand Redevelopment Scheme •
In May 1972 the Sydney City Council was presented with
the Woolloomooloo Redevelopment Project, at $400
million the largest redevelopment project in Australian
history. The developers of the 11 acre site proposed to
build 18 high-rise buildings of an average height of 20
storeys, drawing an estimated workforce of 80,000 of
whom 68,000 would be office workers. The Council •
approved the development despite the fact that it went
against the recommendations of its own Strategic Plan that
Woolloomooloo remain an area of low rise residential
development. The BLF placed a green ban on the ••
Woolloomooloo project which was also actively opposed
by the Federal Labor Government which offered to help
finance a public housing scheme for the area. Finance for
•
•
, .
•
•
I
•
• ·
I
• •
,
47
•
•
•
-
•
•
•
•
I • •
: • • • • • • • ~.
~ • i , ,
I •
I : I • '. •
i : • •
• I • • • • I • I • •
i • • • • · , · ,
· •
• .: • • · • l • ,
1 • •
I •
I I
I I I I I I I
•
I ·1 I I I
I I I I
.'
.. . - , ",",",""_~" ... ..wn.""I'Ioof'jj(lI'~··"""""~"'~"":lo.-n...""''',",,...r •• ·-· •• e_ ... re _ _ 'fin •• _____ -c..:r-_..cw-e-_ ..... ; .. _ ....... _ .. _ ....... " .......... ___ ... _ ................ "'ioO'W' .................... W __ m _
the commercial redevelopment eventually fell through and
the election of a State Labor Government in 1976, a •
government committed to greater spending on public rental
housing, ensured that a substantial part of W oolloomooloo
would continue to be reserved for its traditional residents,
low income tenants. The NSW Housing Commission was
charged with rehabilitating existing dwellings and building
new structures to a similar. scale. This rehabilitation and
rebuilding, that is predominantly located between Palmer,
Cathedral, Dowling and Plunkett Streets, is widely
regarded as one of the best examples of inner city low-rise
housing in Australia. III the 1980 City of Sydney Strategic
Plan the Council commented:
The· environment of Woolloomooloo . has already been enhanced immeasurably .... however •.. the Woolloomooloo Bay Foreshore Project ... should be implemented in 1982 to coincide with the completion of the Woolloomooloo Housing Project. By realigning Cowper Wharf Road so as to reduce its width, a substantial amount of additional foreshore open space can be provided as foreshore recreation space and as. a pedestrian promenade. (1980, 215). .
While the Sydney City Council and the NSW Housing
Commission were busily rehabilitating much of the
Woolloomooloo's housing stock the wharf area was also
changing, chiefly at the instigation of'the Navy, which
took over wharves 2, 3, 4 and 5. Between 1981 and 1983
the Navy removed the 'old sheds' to 'allow new views of
the harbour to open up', realigned. Cowper Wharf •
Roadway and built a car park to accommodate 1150
vehicles against the cliff face. The roof of the car park was
to be 'landscaped as a recreation area for the local
community (Department of Defence-Navy, Modernisation
of Garden Island, no date, c. 1981). ~t the time of the
construction of this car park the Navy assumed that •
Sydney would remain its fleet headqu~ers and Garden
Island its premier dockyard. In 1985 it was announced
that the Navy's headquarters would be transferred to Jervis
Bay but the higher echelons of the service have shown little
•
•
•
•
•
48
•
•
•
•
•
• •
•
, • !
•
•
•
•
•
.'
I
• I
•
I 49
•
I inclination to abandon their numerous and spectacular holdings on Sydney Harbour. • •
I ,
5.2 Workers, Residents and Dwellings
I It is difficult to get accurate historical data on workers,
residents and dwellings in Woolloomooloo because the , area is subsumed within the ambit of the City Council. •
I I Nonetheless from a variety of sources we know that I Woolloomooloo was predominantly composed of rental • ;
I housing tenanted by blue collar workers and their families. , • I • • • I From the 1860s to the 1960s a considerable proportion of I •
I W oolloomooloo's adult population found employment on
the wharves or with government employers such as the •
I Maritime Services Board (and before that the Sydney
Harbour Trust) and the Navy. The state and status of the •
• suburb in 1945 is delightfully summed up by Commander I
I I H. C. Brewster, R.D., R.N.R. ,
From Victoria Street is a sheer drop of rock •
I wall t9 the Loo, which is reached by steps from I I
the higher strata. Lately there has been an •
• attempt to blot out any stigma which is attached .
I to this district by changing the name to East Sydney. This. I think is a pity, not only because of the historical associations of the
I place, but also because the name is one of the I • I best known in Australia. The stigma lies not • I • with this soft-sounding name with all its double f O's, but with landlords who place humans in • ,
I habitations not fit for pigs. Changing the name will not improve the housing (Kings Cross
, Calling 1945, p.122). I I I Brewster painted a bleak picture of the 'Loo as a 'mining I
town whose mines are closed', replete with hotels. Some •
I like The Bell (it still stands) rebuilt in 1922 on the tide of , • • • post-war OptiIDlsm.
• • • • I I
• .
Between 1920 and 1960 many oithe 'Loo's so-called • ,
• 'slums' were demolished to make way for factories, •
• warehouses and garages, the latter catering more to city •
• . businessmen than to locals, few of whom could afford a I I car. Under the threat of demolition, both by the state
government and private entrepreneurs, Woolloomooloo
I
= = , - = .'.......--- .... , .... , ....... _ ....... - ..... ..u.......,d" ', .......... ,.."~ ........ ' ......... e<= ..... ·;d=f"Id'-. =_ 101'_=_, ,-. __ , ____ .. _. __ .... __ -Y_ ........... = __ .. --.,.= ......... "'_ • ______ "'-____. M.- _ 1_ _~ __ ~ ...... ,- ,.,,....5 . • -..... .
•
50 , I I • ,
I remained stagnant throughout the 1960s. Only the resident •
action battles of the 1970s and a sympathetic Federal and
I then State Labor Government provided the opportunity for
some of the poorest housing to be rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, from the mid 1960s, perspicacious private
I owners had been buying up those terraces that were structurally sound and quietly gentrifying them
I • •
I 6 EVALUATION: THE WHARF TODAY, AN I • , EMPTY CATHEDRAL? •
I ! • I ,
• ; 6.1 An Empty Cathedral I • ,
I With the opening of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at
I • Sydney Cove in 1961 the Finger Wharf lost most of its I cruise liner, and passenger trade. It continued to handle • , •
I • , some passengers and general cargo but this was very much I • , I a residual trade. Wharf 11, in the south-western corner of I ,
the bay, was rebuilt in 1969 as a concrete longshore berth I designed for bulk steel, containers, and heavy cargo such
as cars. By the mid 1970s wharf 11 with its heavy-duty I
I • .craneage was the only wharf in the bay regularly used for
•
I commercial purposes. The finger wharf is still used. from , time to time as a berth for ships awaiting facilities
I elsewhere in the port or for naval vessels. In June 1987
I three ships of the US fleet, in Sydney for 'Battle of the ! , • •
I Midway' celebrations, took over the entire wharf. The
wharf and the streets around it were milling with sailors •
and the local pubs were filled to the overflowing (see j
• accompanying photographs). With sailors and visitors I
, coming.and going and shore police manning the gate the t • • • , • I • · wharf resumed something of the atmosphere it must have · •
had during World War One and World War Two. While •
• · the wharf is no longer the 'Cathedral of Commerce' that it • • • •
was in its heyday, it remains a mighty cathedral • • •
I nonetheless, best viewed when in use. ••
•
Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf is one of Australia's most
I historic wharves. The origins of Woolloomooloo and the I
historical importance of the wharves and the suburb rest
I •
I
I -~~.--~------~-- -~'------'-' '-~--'--------~-'-.-'~&_~~---.-'=-~~~"~_w __ w.t ____ _ ..... .. .... ..n ...... _~ .. "=O:a.:n:-..;;...td .. -r.-. • ..",.",.. ....... , ,..,_, .. d m_ ............... _.r .. _ ... __ ... ~_. 0.' ' •• ,,,"""" .c_
•
1 •
1 I' I
I . 1 I I
I I
•
almost entirely on the use of the Bay for fishing vessels
and later as a major port for cargo and passengers. The
Finger Wharf, the largest timber pile wharf in the world, is
the only survivor of the wharves built and rebuilt at
W oolloomooloo between the 1890s and the 1920s. Within •
the context of the Bay and the extensive naval
redevelopment it is the one remaining link with the most
important period in the 'Loo's history, its heyday as a port
from the 1890s to the early 1960s. This is not a short-
. lived, transient historical phenomenon, but an important
part of late 19th and 20th century ~ustralian history. In
literature, in oral memory, in professional photography and
in reputation the sole surviving wharf in W oolloomooloo
Bay ranks highly on a scale of social/historical
significance.
. ,
The Finger Wharf has dominated the bay since 1913. It
has been the central feature of the landscape of this deep,
narrow. bay for over seven decades, whether viewed from
the Botanic Gardens, the Domain, the 'Lob itself, Potts
Point or Kings Cross. It is overlooked by more permanent
residents, more tourists and more recreational users than
any other wharf in Sydney. It was included on the
National Trust Register in 1977, on historical architectural
and engineering grounds.
I 6.2 Timber Pile Wharves: The Australian and
I
I I
World Context
The twenty-year period following the turn of the century
was one in which governments throughout the world were
taking more interest in and control of ports and wharves,
and were building larger wharves and upgrading others in
order to bring their ports to such a standard as w01.!ld
accommodate the growth in the shipping industry. Other
ports experienced the same difficulties existing in the port
of ,Sydney; In that wharves were still mainly privately
owned and were built prior to the era of very large cargo
and passenger vessels.'
-
,
•
•
51
•
,
•
I
•
I
• •
I
•
•
•
,
•
• •
•
•
•
•
,
I • • , •
I I !
•
•
•
-.--------______ .~ .... __ • __ """_ ..... _o...._ _____ ......... __ • ____ .... 11 ..... _'. 'mi I'; , -,,,.,, = ....... .. ...,. ~
I
I
Most of the larger of the world's cargo and passenger piers
were constructed in an entirely different manner from the
Woolloomooloo Wharf. For example, piers built 1300 to
1800 feet in length built in Brooklyn, New York, prior to
1916 were of the solid fill rather than pile type and had
one-storey sheds. Pile platform piers used in New York
around this time only had concrete decks, timber decks
having been 'abandoned'. Hoboken, New Jersey, could
boast a pier of 600 feet in length and 180 feet wide, and.
were built in 1915 (Green, 1917). Twelve Staten Island
piers, built prior to 1928, ranged from 1000 to 1160 feet,
widest being only 130 feet. Most of the New York
Harbour piers were too narrow and insubstantially built for
heavy equipment and they lacked apron width
(Cunningham, 1928).
Boston's showpiece, the 1914 'Commonwealth Pier No.
5' was 1200 feet long and 300 feet wide. Wider than the
W oolloomooloo Wharf but not as long, it had three parallel
double-storey sheds and tWo single rail tracks run in pits
between the sheds and was a solid-fill pier rather than ~ • I timber pile pier (Cunningbam, 1928). .
Other notable piers were Manila's 1906 600 feet long and
70 feet wide jetty on iron and steel columns and Haiti's
Port au Prince 1912 composite pile pier 825 feet long and
50-60 feet wide. San Francisco had a pier built in 1914
that was 975 feet long on its longest side and 200 feet
wide, but the piles were of concrete (Green, 1917). , • •
Philadelphia's biggest, Pier No. 98, built during World
I War I, was 1500 feet long by 290 feet wide; its two three-
' storey reinforced concrete warehouses took up all the deck
I leaving no apron space. The concrete sheds indicate metal
or concrete (or composite) piers and the structure had no •
aprons (Cunningham, 1928). I • • •
The Guinness Book 'of Structures only gives examples of
I breakwaters and amusement piers in its section on longest
jetties and piers in the world. Not comparable with cargo
I I ,
,l
•
52
•
•
•
;
I • •
•
• · I
• • •
• I
, •
I
• •
• •
•
•
• • •
• •
,
.'
•
• • · i
I • ,
i
I , •
· • • • • • • • I • • • • • • • I • • • •
! I
. I ,
. I I
I I • • • • • •
• • I • I • •
f I · ,
..• ",J'" ..J'.-" <. "', I ----.::--- ___ I' .... ,i ...... ....." ..... III ... '~""" "" .. .#CC 4"~'''''''''~_''_~-rowIkf''''.'.'''''' 0· ...... __ ... - -------- -_ ... __ •• , ...... ~. lit ·ft. __ ... ____ ."' _______ • •• .,.£ __ m ___ •.••
•
I I
I I •
and passenger jetties, but notable nonetheless, were the
large pleasure piers at Southend, England and -Santa
Monica, USA. The world's longest, Southend, was built
on cast iron screw piles in 1889 and was 2.6 kms (1.34
miles) (Stephens, 1976). The Santa Monica recreation
pier, that also carried a sewer outfall pipe, was' built in
1908 to a length of 1600 feet and 35 feet 8 inches in width
(Green, 1917). The latter pier no longer exists, and
Southend pier was destroyed by fIre in the late 1970s.
Large piers. were also built in Melbourne and Hobart,
however these differed in their dimensions, in method of
construction and the purpose for which they were . designed. The Marine Board in Hobart built five large
piers after seeking advice from H.D. Walsh, then Chief
Engineer of the Sydney Harbour Trust. The largest of
these was 1210 feet long and 122 feet wide and was served
by five lines of rail. It was built principally for the export of fruit.
I . Melbourne's Ne~ ~aih.vay Pier, completed in ;915 (later
. called Princes Pier) was 1460 feet long and 186 feet 2 I I
I I
I
inches in width. Although on turpentine piles with timber
decking, it had only two small steel shelter sheds and four
lines of rail ran on each side of the pier: its central roadway
. was uncovered. The building of Station Pier (almost
parallel to Princes) was commenced in 1922 and completed
in 1930. It had a raised concourse in the middle and four
rail lines on each side but no sheds were built. Mter
several alterations, its current length IS 2329 feet. Unlike
the Woolloomooloo Wharf, these wharves were not
notable architecturally, but in any case, they have been
drastically altered in the last two decades (Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners, 1927 and Sydney Morning . Herald 28 February 1914),
Trends in wHarf-building in latter decades have resulted in •
longshore wharves supported partially on solid fIll so as to
enable the decks to withstand the heavy equipment
•
•
•
•
I
• ·
1
• ,
•
•
•
•
•
• 53
• •
•
• •
•
•
•
• • • • i ! , !
j , •
I I
• •
!
• • • •
I
•
I I I
I
I I
I
I I
•
necessary for unloading containers and other bulk items.
The Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf appeared
during an era of large finger wharf building. It is larger than any remaining timber pile wharf
built in Australia and is the largest extant timber
pile wharf in the world. The wharf is actually
1310 feet long, and 210 feet wide.
The wharf is unique in Sydney: it is the only wharf
having a central roadway on timber piles; it is the largest all
pile finger wharf ever built in Sydney. The
Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf is two and a half times as
long and 21/4 times wider than the Walsh Bay wharves.
None of these wharves is as unique as the Woolloomooloo
Wharf and none has a central roadway. •
The case' for Woolloomooloo wharf being the
largest extant timber pile wharf in the world is
supported by the fact that no examples of
comparable, large tin,tber pile jetties. can be
found, despite the fact that in tidal waters, 'most of the • •
. ship accomm$tion in the past has consisted of very large
jetties in preference to wharves along the shore (du-Plat
Taylor 1928). The argument is strengthened when one
considers the fact that there are only 16 ports in the world
that have deep channels capable of accommodating large
ships. As well, timber wharf and jetty construction was
largely abandoned in Europe by 1910 due to the high range
of tide (and consequent necessity for long lengths of piles)
and lack of suitable timoer materials (Walsh, 1910).
However, the port of Sydney took advantage of its small
tidal range of only 51/2 feet and its access to the best hard
timbers in the world to build enduring timber pile
structures with timber warehouses.
• 6.3 Conclusion •
• • •
The Woolloomooloo finger wharf is the most historically
important structure in Woolloomooloo Bay" the last
remaining evidence in this locality that Sydney Harbour
•
•
54
•
• •
•
•
•
• I
, •
I
• •
•
· I •
, • • •
•
,
· I • •
•
•
•
•
: • • • • • t 1 ·
i , • •
I
I i •
I I
,
I i
• • •
,
• ,
, , I , , ! i
· , • • !
-
•
I I I I I
I I I.
I I
I I
•
• •
•
•
was Australia's largest port from the 1890s to the early
1980s, pivotal years in the development of modern
Australia. Since its completion in 1916 this finger wharf
has been one of the major symbols of Australian maritime ,
history. With the demolition of other wharves in
the Bay and at Darling Harbour, the Finger
Wharf now stands as one of Australia's most •
striking and most historic maritime structures.
•
t
• ,
• ,
•
•
I
I
•
•
• •
• • •
, .
•
•
•
•
ss
\
•
• •
• • •
•
· • I .
• •
•
•
-
, • , • • •
t , • • • ! ! , ! • • • I • , , ,
I ! : ! •
I I
• I
, •
I ! • • • , '. '. I
I • I
•
J • • • • • •
• • I • • • •
I •
, • • , ,
• • • ; I • ,
• • • , •
•
•
•
I 7 AR~mv AL, PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLIS~D . SOURCES, INCLUDING MAPS, ARCIllTECfURAL
I DRAWINGS PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
I I I
·1 I
•
·1 I
I I
7.1 Ln'ERATURE; NOVELS & AUTOBIOGRAPIllES
Anderson, Jessica. Tirra Lirra by the River, MacmiIlan, Melbourne, 1978 .
Bamard Eldershaw, M. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Virago, London, 1983 (1st ed. Georgian House, Melbourne, 1947)
Campion, Edmund. Rockchoppers. Penguin, Ringwood, 1982
CUsack, Dymphna. Say No to Death, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1951
Tennant, Kylie. Tell Morning This, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1967
Wrightson, Patricia. Down to Earth, Hutchinson 8? Co. Ltd, I 1965 .
• · •
7.2 SOURCES FOR INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY (excluding information about the wharf itself which is listed by repository)
'Recent advances in conveyers', Scientific American, I November 1913
Atherton, W.H., Conveying Machinery, London, 1937
Broughtonb,H.H., The Electrical Handling of Materials, ! Benn Brothers, London, 1923
Hess,H.D., Machine Design: Hoists, Derricks, Cranes, London 1928
•
Hetzel,F.V., Belt Conveyors and Belt Elevators, New York, 1936 \
· Materials Handling Cyclopaedia, Simmons, New York, 1921 . • ,
Parrish, etat, eds., The British Encylopaedia, Odhams, : · London, 1933. .
Roshkin,S.G., Modern Materials Handling, London, 1932, •
• •
. • I
•
• ,
1
·
. I
• •
• •
• · I •
• •
f
. 56
•
•
•
•
• •
·
•
I
•
•
•
•
•
_ _______ _~l· ____ --.... __ .* __ n 7=__ ._ _ __ __ _ - __ .' _ •• __ .. - 4 iOI __ = •. .. ___ Je_ .ef .~ ... _= . ;zt1 .. --... ' ...... __ ... I -- -- -_'·'.-0-_.-. -______ -4_. _" ... _ ... _ ....... c-_____ • __ ~_ .... ~ ••..
I •
I I I I I I I
I I
I I
I I I I
Stuelpnagel,P., Hoisting and Conveying Machinery,London, no date
•
Zimmer,G.F., Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material. 2nd ed, Crosby, Lockwood and Son, London
Zimmer,G.F., Mechanical Handling of Material and its National Importance Before and After the War, London 1917
7.3 MARITIME SERVICES BOARD LmRARY
Aplin, Graeme & John Storey. Waterfront Sydney 1860-1920. George Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1984
Bach, John. A Maritime History of Australia. Nelson, , Melbourne, 1976
Emery, John. The Port of Sydney 1788 - 1945, MA (Hons) Thesis, 1965,
Maritime Services Board of NSW. Annual Reports. years ended 30 June 1936 to date
Maritime Services Board of NSW. Port of Sydney Journal. vols 1-3, July 1946 to Apri11952
. Sydney Harbour Trust Comp:lissioners, Reports for the years ended 30 June 1910 to 30 June 1917
• , •
•
. 7.~ WfCHELL LffiRARY
Atkins, A. S. et. al. Port of Melbourne Environmental Study. Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, Parkvill~1976-81 .
Barnard Eldershaw, M. Phillip of Australia, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1977 (1st ed. George Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1938
Bird, James. Seaport GateWays of Australia, Oxford University Press, London, 1968
Brodsky,Isadore Sydney's Little World ofWoolloomooloo, Old Sydney Free Press, Sydney, 1966
•
Brewster, H. C. & V. Luther. King's Cross Calling, the Author, Sydney, 1944 .
, • •
Butel, Elizabeth & Tom Thompson. Kings Cross Album, . Atrand, Syi:lney, 1984 .
Cusack, Dymphna. Say No to Death, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1951 .
•
•
• •
•
•
•
l
,
I •
•
• • I
57
• •
•
•
• I
• •
• •
• ·
• ,
I •
•
I
•
•
· ,
I • • • I • •
• · ,
,
i , , • • I
• , ,
• !
• • •
,
I ,
-1 ......... '..-..- 1Je" "',.".... -..;..~ .... Il00;. • • ', "'f""= .... ' lIE ••• -' ~~ ......... ~' .... ...,.;"'" __ .;..,ai., .. -....
•
I I
I I I I I I I I I I
Debenham,~. J. 'The late Henry Deane Walsh: First engineer . in chief of the Sydney Harbour Trust', Sydney Harbour Trust
Officer's Journal, vol. 1, no. 4, September 1925, pp.I4-16
. Debenham, ~. J. 'The Port of Sydney' transcript of the Institute of En~eers of ~ustralia, vol. 8, 1927, pp 283-327
Dymock's Book kcade. The Guide to Sydney and New South Wales, 1918
Farwell, George Michell. Requiemfor Woolloomooloo, Hodder & Stoughton, Hornsby, 1971
George, Heather. 'W oolloomooloo' in Walkabout 28: 23-5 November 1962
King, M. comp. Way About Sydney, the ~uthor, Sydney, 1931
Lawton, G. H. ed. Longmans' Australian Geographies, No. 12 Sydney, by K. W. Robinson, Longmans, 1959-
MacDonnell, Freda. Before Kings Cross, Nelson, . Melbourne, 1967
The Maritime Journal, vol. 10, no. 3, 5, 26 March and 12 May 19~9, Sydney
· Maritime Yearbook and Dir~ctory, Port of Sydney, 1950, I
Penrod Publishers Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1950 • • • • •
· Poulsen, M. and P. Spearritt. Sydney: a social and political atlas, ~llen and Unwin, Sydney, 1981
•
Proudfoot, Peter. 'Maritime Land Uses in Central Sydney 1890 - 1970', Great Circle, vol. 6, No. 2, October 1984, pp 110-121
i Proudfoot, Peter. 'Changing Patterns of Maritime ~ctivity in Central Sydney', Great Circle, vol. 6, No. 1, ~priI1986, pp 33-53
Ruhan,Olaf. Port of Melbourne 1935 -1976, Cassell, Stanmore,1976 :
•
I Selfe, Nonnan. 'The Quays,: Wharves and Shipping of Port · Jackson ... reprcxluced from the Proceedings of the
Engineering Association of New South Wales, vol. 23,1907-
I 8
Spearritt, Peter. Syaney Since the Twenties, Hale & Iremonger, Sydney, 1978 I
I Stephensen: '~. R. The Histo~ and Description of Sydney Harbour,Rigby,~dehrlde, 1966
I •
• • I
# . , •
•
• 58
• •
•
• •
• I
•
•
•
•
•
• • • •
I • • ! · I · I I , j
t I 1
:
•
I i • I • • • •
• I
I
. I I
• l •
I • , •
, •
- .Ok .......... == ..... _~~_-.-.._ .. _ ••• ".o .... _ .... ___ ""' .... F.= •• __ ... ___ ...... .J,. ... _ .. ~. ¥ ... " ......... ; mM _.1 .............. '~"'"". -...... ,.A'.I .... Ioo .. ··" ... ·~M ............ ,""'"""'_. CC_ •• 1_ ... ___ ........ ,. I ' '" ' '" . · ' 'J '.. , •
I •
I I I I I I
I
I
I I I I
•
Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners. The Port of Sydney, Official Handbook, The Commissioners. Sydney. 1913 and 1924 .
Tull. MalcoIm. 'The development of port administration at Sydney. 1901 - 1936'. Great Circle, vol. 4. October ~982. pp 92-104
•
Walsh. H. D. Notes on Harbour Engineering, paper read before the Sydney University Engineering Society, 8 November 1911
Walsh. H. D. Presidential address. 4 May 1910, Royal Society of NSW Journal, 1910
Wilkinson, Honora. Watch on the 'Loo 1920-1980. Inner Sydney Regional Council for Social Development Co-op. Ltd 1983
Ziegler. Oswald & John Thompson. Soul of a City, the City of Sydney. Oswald Ziegler Publications Pty Ltd. Sydney. c. '1959
7.5 STATE LffiRARY OF NEW SOUTIIW ALES •
Cunningham. Brysson. The Dock and Harbour Engineers Reference Book. London. Charles Griffen & Co., 1914
'~ ,
du-Plat-Taylor. Francis'Maurice. ];Jesign Construction and , maintenance of docks, wharves and piers. Emest Benn Ltd. London. 1928 .
Green. Carleton. Wharves and Piers, Their Design, Construction and Equipment, McGrawHill. New York. 1917
Stephens. John H. ed. The Guinness Book of Structures. Guinness Superlatives Ltd, EnfielCl. England, 1976
7 .6 NEWSPAPERS !
Daily Telegraph: 10/3/05; 28/8/12; 29/8/12; 11/11/12; . 11/6/13; 25/6/14; 6/8/14; 11/4/16
,
Evening News: 23/10/12; 13/6/13; 11/11/13; 4/8/14; 1/9/15
Illustrated Sydney News: 11 November 1854 •
•
The Sydney Mail: 20 June 1924 ; •
· '. The Sydney Morning Herald: 11/q/14; 1!l/15; 3/6/15; 8/6/15; 9/9/15; 20/10/15; 16/11/15; 11n/49; 14/11/56
• •
•
•
I ,
,
•
59
•
• •
•
•
•
•
I I
,
•
•
•
• • •
•
,
• •
•
•
I , i , •
•
-1---
I I I _I
I I I
•
7.7 NEW SOUTIIWALES STATE ARCffiVES
MSB Special Bundles 7 n527
. MSB Sydney Harbour Wharves 7 n526.2
MSBX2032
•
Public Works, Woolloomooloo Bay Reclamation 1864-6, 2/892
7.8 UNPUBLISHED REPORTS •
Chesterman,D.,Spearritt,P and Thorp,W., CBD Heritage Study, Stage I, report to Department of Planning and theSydney City Council, 1988 (includes thematic history of Central Sydney)
•
National Trust of Australia (NSW) National Estate Program 1985-6, Heritage Study of 19th and early 20th century trading wharves in Sydney Harbour, by A. Brassil -
7.9 WOOILOOMOOLOO BAY - MAPS I I I I I
01 ML ZM4811.18112/1865/1 NSW Dept of Lands 1 fuch = 40 feet. Phin of Woolloomooloo Bay as reclaimed, ~hewing the allotments to be,offered. (This shows the ..
. curve of Cowper's Wharf but not the' 'sides' of the bay).
I I . 1 I I
. 02 ML Parish Map 1871 County of Cumberland Parish Alexandria, (wharf only)
03 ML ZM2811.17/1876/1 Anonymous ca 1:10-000. Shows streets, public buildings, wharves. Map appears to De the same as that in Australian Handbook for 1876. (Wharf, 3 baths western side)
04 ML Parish Map 1880 County of Cumberland Parish Alexandria, 2nd edition (Wharf and baths) !
,
08 MLZM3811.17/1897?/1 DeptofLands 1:9504
I
60
•
• •
•
•
•
•
, I
• •
•
, . •
•
L-_________ . __ . __ _ ----------~~--'--~~~~~~~-----
• -1---------..... 00,
~ ... -. " ... ~ _ _ .... --'''''' ~._ ......... ' ~_....-w=C'-~,t.t_&fIwIIo~~ .. _.'" ... • .. _", ____ .... '1W ... ,. .. ...... __ .... _ .... ., •• wtA" ..... _ ____ ~ .. ". _ _ _"
•
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
•
•
09 ML ZM381l.16gph/1910/2 Compiled by 1:1,440 City of Sydney (Central) D. S. Cameron for Roberts & Moffat Ltd, Sydney .
10 ML ZM3811.15/1911/1 Sydney Har~urTrust.
ca 1:6 000. Map of part of the water frontage of the Port of Sydney showing parts of the land and wharfage vested in the SHT Commissioners. H. D Walsh, Engineer-in-Chief; S. E. Perdriau, Chief Surveyor. Shows vested area buildings and wharfs proposed erected altered and demolished and names of wharves and streets opened and widened, rat proof wall.
11 Parish Map 1913 County of Cumberland Parish Alexandria 1: 15,840, 3rd edition
12 ML ZM3811.15/1913/2 Sydney Harbour Trust 1:6 000. Description as for Map 10. Shows schedule of improvements effected by the SHT Commissioners between 1.7.12 and 10.6.13.
13ML ZM3811.1729/1914/1 ~nonymous 1:467. Plan for embarkation of troops, Woolloomooloo Bay 1914. (Stamped SHT - Drawing office No. 1039/1). Shows base outline of buildings of wharves positions of ships
· positions, positions of troops,· horses, police and with names of embarking officers and dates of embarkation:.
•
Arrows indicate route of each unit . • •
14 ML ZM3811.15gmfs/1919/1 : Sydney Harbour . Trust 1 inch = 495 feet Description as for Map 10
15 ML ZM3811.15gmfs/1921/1 Sydney Harbour Trust 1 inch = 530 feet Description as for Map 10.
16 ML Parish Map 1928 County of Cumberland Parish of Alexandria. 1:3,168, 4th edition. I
,
17 ML Parish Map 1930 County of Cumberland Parish St James 1:3,168
18 MLM2811.17/1874/1 NatWestAustBank. Sydney, A Bird's Eye View. Coloured l reproduction of the engraving issued with The Illustrated News and The Town and Country Journal, 1 Janu¥y, 1876.
ML 339.7/N Sydney Harbour Trust Official Handbook 1913. Map, wharf accommodation, Port of Sydney. 8 chains to an inch. Including wharves and jetties proposed to be constructed. Mc Carron, Stewart & Co. Printers and Lithographers.. :
. ML 339.7/N SydneY Harbour Trust Official Handbook 1919. Bird's Eye View of the Port of Sydney.' Map, wharf accommodation, Port of Sydney. 8 chains to an inch. Including wharves and· jetties proposed to be constructed. Revised 1919.
• •
I ,
•
•
> 61
•
•
• . ..
•
•
•
•
•
I •
• • •
• •
•
•
> ,
• • • I , I I • • I ,
0
• •
•
'-1"
I •
I I I I I I I I I
•
__ ...... _ •• __ ... ,,.. . .... = .... ' 'Oz en. m • me- = mo .............. ,. ... -. __ ...-_IIi":oD' .... _ ..
•
• •
ML Q627.3/N Sydney Harbour Trust Annual Reports 1901-1935 (excluding years 1911 and 1912 which were unavailable or not held by ML). .
The reports for years 1908, 1909, 1913-23, 1929 and 1930 contain maps described as 'Map of part of the water frontage of the Port of Sydney showing parts of the land and wharfage vested in the Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners' and the year.
7.10 WOOLLOOMOOLOO BAY -, PICTORIAL MA1ERIAL
The Mitchell Library small pictures file contains paintings and sketches of the Bay from 1835-53. These show only the natural bay. The first to show an indicatiion of structure or 'industry' is Elyard in 1862.
. MLSPF
1862 S. Elyard. Darlinghurst Wharf from the low land. 1862 watercolour
1865 John Vine Hall, watercolour
1868 S. Elyard, watercolour • • j
1868 Photograph or photograph of sketch • ,
•
• I .' 1868 J. B. Henderson sketch
1869 Photograph
I I I I I I I I •
1870-80 Photograph
18721 Panorama
1877 Photograph
1878 J. Flynn, pen and ink •
1879 Newspaper illustration possibly The Illustrated News .
1890 Four photographs
1894 Photograph
1911 Panorama. Photograph from H. Phillip's Sydney and Surroundings, 1911
c.1925 Photograph of damage caused by storm to retaining wall opposite No.1 wharf which collapsed as result of rain.
•
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I
• •
I
I •
• •
•
62
•
•
•
•
•
•
I l
, • • • • •
I , i I . , • • '. • : • • •
• ,
. I I j
I , • ,
I !
f 1
-. "'i' ___ ."". ___ ..... _ ~~ ,r;\". , ._ _. __ __ '-'l_. __ ~.,~ _._. __ ..- __ .,;1 .... _, __ ~ ... ~_ ....... _._ ....... _._ I -_._= ....... -- .. I .. .. _ .. _ .. ....J _____ .. ,_wJ .. __ .-_~_ .. , .... ____ , .. __ "_, -.'---~
I •
. 1 I I I I I I I I
•
I I I I I I
•
I •
I I I
,
•
• There are also a number of undated photographs including a reasonably early one that shows houses and wharf but no protruding wharf. .
ML Q627.3/N Sydney Harbour Trust Annual Reports 1901-1935, excluding 1911 and 1912. (photographs at back of reports) .
1902 East side ofWoolloomooloo Bay
1914 Sea end of central jetty, berths 6, 7, 8 and 9. . Looking south down central roadway jetty, berths 6, 7, 8
and 9
1915 1 and 2 berths showing cargo shed 580 ft by 60 ft
1915 No. 3 berth showing large double-decked cargo shed 580 ft by 120 ft
1916. Lower floor of shed Nos 2 and 3,' 580 ft by 120 ft. Upper floor of shed Nos 2 and 3, 580 ft by 120 ft
1922 Aeroplane photograph of private wharfage.
1925 No. 1 berth showing 2-ton electric semi-portal luffmg jib crane. Interior of cargo shed showing type of 30 cwt eJectric trayelling bridge crane, used for stacking cargo.
, • ,1926 Central Jetty showing recent extension of lOO' and additional shed accommodation
1929 View taken above Double Bay looking west.
ML 339.7/N Sydney Harbour Trust Official Handbook 1913., Nywjetty 1,200' long. Double decked sheds to be erected
ML 339.7/N Sydney Harbour Trust Official Handbook 1919. Woolloomooloo Bay from Potts Point, 1887 (p.28)
ML Q627.3/N The Shipping and Commerce of Australia, 1 November 1911. Some of the deep-sea wharves, Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney. The new wharf now under construction is shown.
7.11 ARCID'IECTURAL DRAWINGS HELD BY THE MARITIME SERVICES BOARD
• •
NORTH END SHED •
•
Plan of n~w 'shed at northern end of no.7 jetty •
Detail of roof truss new shed no.7 jetty
Alterations to shed at north end of no.7 berth •
"
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Date MSB Ref.
5.3.1926 H4/87
, 19.3.1926
22.7.1942 H4/118
,
63
• •
•
•
•
• •
•
•
I •
•
•
I ,
, , ,
•
I •
.1 I I I I I I I I I
•
I I I I ·1 I I I
•
Plan of change and mess room for obnoxious cargo workers. North end no.7 berth shed.
•
INTERNAL CRANES
. Stancheons for carrying floor girders and cranes
Runways for 3 ton electric travelling cranes no.6 jetty warf . buildings
Method of fixing live wire guards and supports
CONVEYORS
Outline,plan,showing,arrangement of· doorways, cartdocks, hatches, lifts and conveyors np,6 jetty
Details of attachments to delivery ends of cargo conveyors, centraIjetty, berths 6,7,8 and9
4 gangways connecting conveyor platfonns no.6 jetty
Proposed small platforms (8) fIlling space between top sections of conveyors
. , •
• ·CRANES
Typical cross section looking north no.6 jetty
No.6 jetty warf buildings
Electric semiportal travelling warf crane east side of central jetty
Electric semiportal travelling warf crane west side of central jetty
Layout of wiring to plug boxes for trailer cables to electric warf cranes.
No.6 jetty warf buildings
GANfRIES
. Travelling gantry no.6 warf • •
Travelliitg gantry no.1,2,3 and 6 warves
Travelling gantry no. 1,2,3 and 6 warves
. ,
1.7.1949 H 4/130
•
22.4.1912 H 419
•
26.4.1913 > H 4/24
27.8.1914 H4/52 •
30.10.1913 H 4/31 •
. 5.10.1915 H 4/62
5.11.1915 H4/63
10.7.1957 H 4/54 I
•
3.10.1911 H 4/5
--.--.1912 H 4/12
, •
30.4.1914 H 4/39
30.4.1914 H 4/40 !
8.5.1914 H4/46
6.1.1944 H 4/13
,
• , 15.12 1913 H 4/34
• ,
30.12.1913 H 4/36
30.12.1913 H 4/36
•
•
•
64
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
! I • , • ,
i I •
I !
I •
I I
I , • ;
•
• ,
•
•
I •
•
I I I
• . •
I
I
• •
Runner carriage for 5 ton block on movable gantry •
Trussing for gantry runway girders.central jetty •
Travelling gantries (lengths and joints of decking)
Hinged flaps for gantries
Details of travelling gantiies
Mechanical operation of swinging'brackets no.6 warf
Cargo spilling preventive flad. central jetty
Travelling gantry no.6 berth
No.6 jetty warf buildings ,
CARTDOCKS
Steel hatch covers for cart docks no.6 jetty
Cart docks no.6 jetty
•
GATES AND FENCES • •
Steel gates no.6 jetty •
Details of office block shore end jetties no.6 & 9
Entrance gates and fencing. central jetty ,
Steel gates no.6 jetty
Steel gates no.6 jetty
Steel gates no.6 jetty
BOILARDS
•
I . Typical slabs showing reinforcement
I
Mooring of large ships nos.6 & 7 warves
Mooring of large ships nos 6 & 7 warves
Location plan and details of compression reinforcing and the anchorage
Sewer support on berths 6,7,8 and9
•
•
•
•
30.12.1913 H 4/37
29.4.1914 H4/47
27.11.1914 H 4/54 •
5.5.1915 H4/55
16.12 1915 H 4/35
14.6.1922 H4/68
6.11.1922 H4n1
25.6.1936 H4/96
6.1.1944 H4/13
•
13.3.1914 H4/43
27.12.1916 H 4/6
,
.. 26.21913 H4/59
25.6. 1914 H 4/49
26.5.1915 'H4/56
N.D H4/58
N.D H4/57
N.D H4/60
14.7.1942 H4/116
25.7.1942 H4/114
25.7.1942 H4/115
23.8.1942 H 4[117
25.9.1942 H 4/99 •
65
• •
•
•
• >
•
•
•
•
• • 1
i • • • • • I •
, ; ,
I
I
I i • • • • I I ,
f
· , I
I I I I • I I I I
• • I , , , I • • ~ • • • • • ,
, • •
-
•
•
•
I
I I I
I I
___ "--___ ._~~ _____ ..... '" __ tot~ __ •
hI" oH. n'",' •
•
•
•
DOLPIllNS ~
Mooring arrangements for large ships
'Details of dolphins for mooring large ships
Dolphiri at north end
Fender dontoon
Floating fender
Sketch showing queen mary berthed at no.6 & 7
•
I •
• • •
•
•
• • •
• •
•
4&0 __ -__.,. __
. , . • ri __ • -... od ,-... ..t,. ..... ·".F .. ·Cr''4 .... ' ~ ,.., , .. « .. ;-'ie ..... ..-J'" ' .... "-7·d~t' '-'~.t~~ ..... = ._m =-.~":"------""'"" l
•
,
,
l
!
• •
•
•
1.6.1942
12.6.1942
13.7.1942
5.8.1942
19.8.1942
N.D
H4/108 •
H4/109
H--
H4/119
H4/113
H4/102
•
•
66
, · • • • • , , •
• • • • ·
• • •
I
, • , ,
I I
I • ,
I ,
•
•
•
•
•
•