Sydney · 1900 — 1909

Sydney in the 1900s

Sydney's first plague case was reported on 20 January 1900 — a van driver living in Ferry Lane, on the waterfront at The Rocks. Within eight months there were 303 cases and 103 people were dead, and the government's answer was to take the waterfront away from the people who owned it. Under the Darling Harbour Wharves Resumption Act of that year the newly created Sydney Harbour Trust resumed almost the entire headland from Circular Quay round to Darling Harbour: something like nine hundred houses, along with the wharves, workshops, warehouses, hotels and factories among them. A drawn plan of "Section C" at The Rocks, dated 1900, is a working document of precisely that operation.

Fire did the demolition that policy did not. Anthony Hordern & Sons' Palace Emporium — a draper's that covered a whole Haymarket block — caught at a quarter past eight on the morning of 10 July 1901 and took the block, five lives and half a million pounds of stock with it. The firm opened a new Palace Emporium on Brickfield Hill in 1905, and the disaster is the reason Sydney got both a better fire brigade and rules requiring new buildings to be fireproofed. Eugene Viau's dye works on City Road at Darlington went up in 1905.

What replaced all this arrived on 4 August 1906, when Central Railway Station opened and the city acquired the terminus it still uses. Its sandstone clock tower stands in these years without a clock in it; that did not start until 1921.

Away from the wreckage the decade looks unhurried and rather pleasant. Trams and horse-drawn wagons share Circular Quay. A rock pool has been cut into the shelf at Oak Park, Cronulla. A suspension bridge crosses Long Gully between Cammeray and Northbridge. Schoolchildren stand in formation on the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1908, arranged into the shapes of flags. A refuse punt sits at the Blackwattle Bay wharves in 1900, which is the least romantic and probably the most honest picture of the decade.

Look at the road surfaces. The motor car has arrived, and the city it arrived in is still made of dirt.

51 works
Timber jetty and pavilion at Manly Wharf, with Pears advert — photograph, from Manly Wharf, circa 1900
photograph·1890·Manly

Timber jetty and pavilion at Manly Wharf, with Pears advert

Glass negatives of Sydney and Manly areasWilliam Joseph Macpherson
Gabled shopfront terrace and horse-drawn carts, Sydney — photograph, from Sydney, circa 1909
photograph·1909

Gabled shopfront terrace and horse-drawn carts, Sydney

New South Wales. Department of Public Works. Photographs illustrating report for 1909-1910New South Wales. Department of Public Works
Opening of Dulwich Hill Public School — photograph, from Dulwich Hill Public School, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Dulwich Hill

Opening of Dulwich Hill Public School

Scenes of Dulwich Hill, N.S.WBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
E. Timm's North Sydney Coffee Palace, George Street — photograph, from George Street, circa 1900
photograph·1890·Sydney CBD

E. Timm's North Sydney Coffee Palace, George Street

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesMurrell & Co.
University of Sydney main building reflected in Lake Northam — photograph, from Eastern Avenue, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Camperdown

University of Sydney main building reflected in Lake Northam

Hood Collection part II : [Postcards: Australian and overseasSam Hood
Surf bathers and changing sheds, Cronulla Beach — photograph, from Cronulla Beach, circa 1905
photograph·1900·Cronulla

Surf bathers and changing sheds, Cronulla Beach

Scenes of Cronulla Beach, N.S.WBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Bayard, Wolseley Road, Point Piper — watercolour by John Campbell — illustration, from Wolseley Road, circa 1900
illustration·1900·Point Piper

Bayard, Wolseley Road, Point Piper — watercolour by John Campbell

Bayard, Wolseley Road, Point Piper, ca 1900] / watercolour by John CampbellJohn Campbell
Opening of Dulwich Hill Public School — photograph, from Dulwich Hill Public School, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Dulwich Hill

Opening of Dulwich Hill Public School

Scenes of Dulwich Hill, N.S.WBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Dismantling a roof during Sydney's 1900 plague cleansing — photograph, from Sydney CBD, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Dismantling a roof during Sydney's 1900 plague cleansing

Views taken during Cleansing Operations, Quarantine Area, Sydney, 1900, Vol. IVJohn Degotardi Jr.; supervised by George McCredie, F.I.A., N.S.W.
Horse drays on the tram tracks outside Central Station, Sydney — photograph, from Eddy Avenue, circa 1906
photograph·1900·Haymarket

Horse drays on the tram tracks outside Central Station, Sydney

Glass negatives of the Sydney and Blue Mountains regionsDavid William Macpherson
Pacific cable sphere lettered '& TELEGRA' on a ship's deck — photograph, circa 1905
photograph·1905

Pacific cable sphere lettered '& TELEGRA' on a ship's deck

State Library NSWSam Hood
Union Steam Ship Company building over a Sydney timber wharf, 1900 — photograph, from Blackwattle Bay, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Glebe

Union Steam Ship Company building over a Sydney timber wharf, 1900

Views taken during Cleansing Operations, Quarantine Area, Sydney, 1900, Vol. IVJohn Degotardi Jr.; supervised by George McCredie, F.I.A., N.S.W.
Street running down to Sydney Harbour, The Rocks — photograph, from The Rocks, circa 1900
photograph·1900·The Rocks

Street running down to Sydney Harbour, The Rocks

Glass negatives of The Rocks, SydneyWilliam Joseph Macpherson
Bathers in neck-to-knee costumes at Bondi Beach — photograph, from Bondi Beach, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Bondi Beach

Bathers in neck-to-knee costumes at Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach, surfing. Neck to knee costumesStar Photo Co.
Horse-drawn cart in Little Essex Street, The Rocks — photograph, from The Rocks, circa 1901
photograph·1900·The Rocks

Horse-drawn cart in Little Essex Street, The Rocks

Glass negatives of The Rocks, SydneyWilliam Joseph Macpherson
Auction rooms and a street hoarding, Sydney — photograph, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Auction rooms and a street hoarding, Sydney

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Muller and Freeman shopfronts in a Sydney terrace row — photograph, from Sydney CBD, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Muller and Freeman shopfronts in a Sydney terrace row

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Rooftop view of crowds lining a Sydney street — photograph, from Sydney, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Rooftop view of crowds lining a Sydney street

Glass negatives of the Sydney and Blue Mountains regionsDavid William Macpherson
Sydney street with tram, horse-drawn cart and public statue — photograph, from Surry Hills, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Sydney street with tram, horse-drawn cart and public statue

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Bridge Street looking west from Loftus Street, Sydney — photograph, from Macquarie Place, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

Bridge Street looking west from Loftus Street, Sydney

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Edward Hordern's corner store, 666 George Street, Sydney — photograph, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Edward Hordern's corner store, 666 George Street, Sydney

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Man standing on a cleared block above a harbour inlet, Sydney — photograph, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Man standing on a cleared block above a harbour inlet, Sydney

Glass negatives of the Sydney and Blue Mountains regionsDavid William Macpherson
George Street decorated for the Federation celebrations, Sydney, 1901 — photograph, from Dymocks Building, circa 1901
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

George Street decorated for the Federation celebrations, Sydney, 1901

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Pitt Street looking north from the Royal Exchange, Sydney — photograph, from Pitt Street, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

Pitt Street looking north from the Royal Exchange, Sydney

Glass negatives of the Sydney and Blue Mountains regionsDavid William Macpherson
George Street looking south from Margaret Street, Sydney — photograph, from Margaret Street, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Wynyard

George Street looking south from Margaret Street, Sydney

Sydney. George Street looking South from Margaret Street, " Toast rack " tramsStar Photo Co.
Trams and horse-drawn traffic on Castlereagh Street near Martin Place, Sydney — photograph, from Martin Place, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

Trams and horse-drawn traffic on Castlereagh Street near Martin Place, Sydney

Sydney. Castlereagh Street, near Martin Place. Trams, horses & carts etceteraStar Photo Co.
Hotel Australia, Castlereagh Street, Sydney — photograph, from Castlereagh Street, circa 1903
photograph·1903·Sydney CBD

Hotel Australia, Castlereagh Street, Sydney

Illuminated address presented to George Judah Cohen Esq. on the occasion of his departure from Sydney on a visit to Europe. Royal Exchange Sydney. Feb. 19th 1903Royal Exchange of Sydney
Bathers in neck-to-knee costumes on Bondi Beach — photograph, from Bondi Beach, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Bondi Beach

Bathers in neck-to-knee costumes on Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach, surfing. Ladies in Neck to knee costumesStar Photo Co.
Trams at the Sydney Ferries terminal, Milsons Point — photograph, from Milsons Point, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Milsons Point

Trams at the Sydney Ferries terminal, Milsons Point

Trams and people at Milsons Point, view of harbour and cityStar Photo Co.
Trams at the Sydney Ferries terminus, Milsons Point — photograph, from Milsons Point, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Milsons Point

Trams at the Sydney Ferries terminus, Milsons Point

Trams and people at Milsons Point, view of harbour and cityStar Photo Co.
Turner and Henderson Printing Works, 254 George Street, Sydney — photograph, from George Street, circa 1909
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

Turner and Henderson Printing Works, 254 George Street, Sydney

Glass negatives of Sydney and suburbs ca. 1900-1914 / Mrs. Arthur George FosterMrs. Arthur George Foster
Central Railway Station and clock tower from Eddy Avenue, Sydney — photograph, from Randle Street, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Haymarket

Central Railway Station and clock tower from Eddy Avenue, Sydney

Sydney. Central Railway Station, Eddy Avenue Horses & carts, buses, trams etceteraStar Photo Co.
Northern approach of the Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction, Milsons Point — photograph, from Sydney Harbour Bridge, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Milsons Point

Northern approach of the Sydney Harbour Bridge under construction, Milsons Point

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Early workings to Northern approachStar Photo Co.
Electric tram bound for Watsons Bay at Rose Bay — photograph, from Rose Bay, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Rose Bay

Electric tram bound for Watsons Bay at Rose Bay

Electric tram at Rose Bay, the sign on tram reads Watsons BayStar Photo Co.
Central Railway Station clock tower and Eddy Avenue, Sydney — photograph, from George Street, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Haymarket

Central Railway Station clock tower and Eddy Avenue, Sydney

Sydney. Central Railway Station, Eddy Avenue Horses & carts, buses, trams etceteraStar Photo Co.
Watsons Bay tram at Rose Bay, Sydney — photograph, from Rose Bay, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Rose Bay

Watsons Bay tram at Rose Bay, Sydney

Electric tram at Rose Bay, the sign on tram reads Watsons BayStar Photo Co.
Government House garden front, Sydney, 1900 — photograph, from Government House, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Sydney CBD

Government House garden front, Sydney, 1900

Government House, Sydney, N.S.W. with respectful compliments, from the "Australian Field", October 1900Australian Field
Motoring party with a 1900 Clement-Panhard on a bush track, Sydney region — photograph, from Sydney CBD, circa 1900
photograph·1900

Motoring party with a 1900 Clement-Panhard on a bush track, Sydney region

Glass negatives including images of boating, beaches, motoring and houses in the Sydney regionWilliam Joseph Macpherson
Anthony Hordern & Sons Palace Emporium fire, George Street, 1901 — illustration, from George Street, circa 1901
illustration·1901·Haymarket

Anthony Hordern & Sons Palace Emporium fire, George Street, 1901

Anthony Hordern & Sons Palace Emporium fire by Fred LeistFred Leist
Refuse-laden punt at the Blackwattle Bay wharves, Sydney, 1900 — photograph, from Blackwattle Bay, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Glebe

Refuse-laden punt at the Blackwattle Bay wharves, Sydney, 1900

Views taken during Cleansing Operations, Quarantine Area, Sydney, 1900, Vol. IVJohn Degotardi Jr.; supervised by George McCredie, F.I.A., N.S.W.
Fire at Eugene Viau's dye works, City Road, Darlington, 1905 — photograph, from City Road, circa 1905
photograph·1900·Darlington

Fire at Eugene Viau's dye works, City Road, Darlington, 1905

Glass negatives of the Sydney and Blue Mountains regionsDavid William Macpherson
Garden path at "Shellbank", Middle Harbour, Mosman — photograph, from Wyong Road, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Mosman

Garden path at "Shellbank", Middle Harbour, Mosman

"Shellbank", Middle Harbour [residence of John Noble, Wyong Road, Mosman] / Wm. T. Gillies, photo artistW. T. Gillies
Trams and horse-drawn wagons at Circular Quay, Sydney — photograph, from Sydney CBD, circa 1905
photograph·1905·Sydney CBD

Trams and horse-drawn wagons at Circular Quay, Sydney

Sydney Harbour. Circular Quay, street scene, trams, H & carts, 1920s model carsStar Photo Co.
Oak Park Pool, Cronulla — photograph, from Oak Park Rock Pool, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Cronulla

Oak Park Pool, Cronulla

Scenes of Cronulla Beach, N.S.WBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Cadastral map of the town of Parramatta, 1904 — map, from Parramatta, circa 1904
map·1904·Parramatta

Cadastral map of the town of Parramatta, 1904

Map of the town of Parramatta : parishes of St. John and Field of Mars, county of Cumberland, land district of Parramatta / compiled by P. Coppola & P.J. Cahill and drawn by P. Coppola ; compiled, drawn and printed at the Department of LandsNew South Wales. Department of Lands.
Crown lands auction poster, Section 44, Town of Parramatta, 1909 — map, from Parramatta, circa 1909
map·1836·Parramatta

Crown lands auction poster, Section 44, Town of Parramatta, 1909

Parramatta subdivision plans
Suspension Bridge over Long Gully, between Cammeray and Northbridge — photograph, from Strathallen Avenue, circa 1900
photograph·1900·Cammeray

Suspension Bridge over Long Gully, between Cammeray and Northbridge

Suspension Bridge, North Sydney ; Women's Club, North SydneyBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Map of the City of Sydney, H. E. C. Robinson — map, from Surry Hills, circa 1907
map·1907

Map of the City of Sydney, H. E. C. Robinson

Map of the city of SydneyH. E. C. Robinson