Sydney · 1910 — 1919

Sydney in the 1910s

On 25 April 1917, the second anniversary of Anzac Day, the Drummoyne Soldiers', Sailors' and Dependents' Welfare Association unveiled an honour board on a suburban footpath, behind an iron fence, in recognition of "those who heard their country's call and responded". It is timber, it was meant to be temporary, and it is packed edge to edge with columns of surnames in gold. At the foot of it the committee has fixed a notice asking the public to send in the names still to be added.

It stayed up for eleven years. The permanent memorial that replaced it was not unveiled until Anzac Day 1928. Out at Marrickville the reckoning came sooner: Gilbert Doble cast a winged Victory at his foundry in Hillcrest Street, Tempe, and it was unveiled on Empire Day, 24 May 1919, in front of a crowd of some fifteen thousand.

Underneath that, the city went on feeding and clothing itself. The City Markets at Haymarket carried that on through the whole decade — W. Crowe's bird and animal dealer's stall, a potted-plant display at Stand 57, racks of second-hand clothing, market workers standing among melons and pumpkins, a man selling sarsaparilla at the kerb on Hay Street. None of that trade had anything to do with the war, which is the point of it.

The war reached the public works. Railway Square was photographed in 1910 with Central Station standing there and no tower on it; the second stage that would carry the clock was started in 1915 and then slowed to nothing, and the clock did not begin running until March 1921. So the station spent the whole decade unfinished. Elsewhere it is a Saturday-afternoon city: urns and statues along the Botanic Garden paths, dinghies pulled up on the beach at Double Bay, St Mark's spire above the Darling Point waterfront, a new fire station on Lyons Road at Drummoyne in 1910, and a council yard at McMahons Point in 1915.

Go back to the board and read down a column. The names are the decade.

39 works
Foreshore reserve at Double Bay, Sydney — photograph, from Double Bay, circa 1915
photograph·1915·Double Bay

Foreshore reserve at Double Bay, Sydney

Six charming views of Darling Point
Soldiers watering pack horses, First World War — photograph, circa 1917
photograph·1920

Soldiers watering pack horses, First World War

State Library NSWColart's Studio (Melbourne, Vic.)
Ferry crowds at the Athol Wharf entrance to Taronga Zoo — photograph, from Taronga Zoo, circa 1916
photograph·1920·Mosman

Ferry crowds at the Athol Wharf entrance to Taronga Zoo

Hood Collection part II : Miscellaneous photographsSam Hood
Australian Museum on College Street, Sydney — photograph, from Australian Museum, circa 1910
photograph·1910·Darlinghurst

Australian Museum on College Street, Sydney

Sydney, corner of college & William Streets from Hyde Park & Museum buildingStar Photo Co.
1st Leichhardt Scout Troop with trek cart — photograph, from Leichhardt, circa 1914
photograph·1920·Leichhardt

1st Leichhardt Scout Troop with trek cart

1st Leichhardt Scout Troop and 1st Camperdown Scout Troop, 1914-1920 / photographed by J.X. CouttsJ. X. Coutts
Sandstone Gothic Revival public building under construction, New South Wales — photograph, circa 1910
photograph·1909

Sandstone Gothic Revival public building under construction, New South Wales

New South Wales. Department of Public Works. Photographs illustrating report for 1909-1910New South Wales. Department of Public Works
99 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney — illustration, from Cumberland Street, circa 1910
illustration·1910·The Rocks

99 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney

Carahar Stairs leading from Lower Fort Street to Princes Street, Sydney, ca. 1910] / by Edith J. Bell BrownEdith Brown
1st Leichhardt Scout Troop with a hand-drawn cart — photograph, from Leichhardt, circa 1914
photograph·1920·Leichhardt

1st Leichhardt Scout Troop with a hand-drawn cart

1st Leichhardt Scout Troop and 1st Camperdown Scout Troop, 1914-1920 / photographed by J.X. CouttsJ. X. Coutts
Raymond Priestley with sleeping roll and field kit, British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–1913 — photograph, circa 1913
photograph·1913

Raymond Priestley with sleeping roll and field kit, British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–1913

Photograph album from the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913 / compiled by Frank DebenhamFrank Debenham
Children's banner procession on a suburban tram street, Sydney, ca. 1916-1947 — photograph, circa 1916
photograph·1916

Children's banner procession on a suburban tram street, Sydney, ca. 1916-1947

Sydney suburbs : Abbotsford, Albion Park, Alexandria, Ashfield, Auburn, ca. 1916-1947 / photographed by Arthur Ernest FosterArthur Ernest Foster
Terrace houses, Buckland Street, Chippendale, c. 1917 — photograph, from Buckland Street, circa 1917
photograph·1925·Chippendale

Terrace houses, Buckland Street, Chippendale, c. 1917

Royal Australian Historical Society : photonegativesRoyal Australian Historical Society
Opening day crowds at the new Commonwealth Bank head office, Sydney, 1916 — photograph, from Commonwealth Bank Building, circa 1916
photograph·1916·Sydney CBD

Opening day crowds at the new Commonwealth Bank head office, Sydney, 1916

State Library NSWSam Hood
Bandstand and lawns of Wynyard Square, Sydney — photograph, from Wynyard Park, circa 1910
photograph·1910·Wynyard

Bandstand and lawns of Wynyard Square, Sydney

State Library NSWSam Hood
Trams on George Street near Martin Place, Sydney, 1910 — photograph, from George Street, circa 1910
photograph·1910·Sydney CBD

Trams on George Street near Martin Place, Sydney, 1910

George Street from near Martin Place, then Moore StreetSam Hood
Horse-drawn traffic on York Street towards the Town Hall — photograph, from York Street, circa 1910
photograph·1910·Sydney CBD

Horse-drawn traffic on York Street towards the Town Hall

York Street, looking towards the Town HallSam Hood
Moore Street, later Martin Place, Sydney, 1913 — photograph, from Martin Place, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Sydney CBD

Moore Street, later Martin Place, Sydney, 1913

View from Castlereagh Street end of Moore Street (later Martin Place), showing the trams and horse-drawn vehicles and hansom cabs. (The Commonwealth Bank had not been built.)Sam Hood
Central Railway Station across Belmore Park, 1920s — photograph, from Randle Street, circa 1916
photograph·1916·Haymarket

Central Railway Station across Belmore Park, 1920s

State Library NSWSam Hood
Central Railway Station and clock tower, Sydney — photograph, from Randle Street, circa 1916
photograph·1916·Haymarket

Central Railway Station and clock tower, Sydney

State Library NSWSam Hood
Camels loaded for the march at the Australian Light Horse dump, Deiran — photograph, circa 1918
photograph·1920

Camels loaded for the march at the Australian Light Horse dump, Deiran

State Library NSWColart's Studio (Melbourne, Vic.)
Railway Square before the Central Railway clock tower, 1910 — photograph, from Railway Square, circa 1910
photograph·1910·Chippendale

Railway Square before the Central Railway clock tower, 1910

Railway Square, before the Central Railway clock tower was builtSam Hood
Drummoyne Honour Memorial, unveiled Anzac Day 1917 — photograph, from Drummoyne, circa 1915
photograph·1915·Drummoyne

Drummoyne Honour Memorial, unveiled Anzac Day 1917

James Brunton Gibb photographs and postcardsJames Brunton Gibb
Drummoyne Fire Station, Lyons Road, 1910 — photograph, from Drummoyne Fire Station, circa 1910
photograph·1909·Drummoyne

Drummoyne Fire Station, Lyons Road, 1910

New South Wales. Department of Public Works. Photographs illustrating report for 1909-1910New South Wales. Department of Public Works
Dinghies on the beach at Double Bay, Sydney — photograph, from Double Bay, circa 1915
photograph·1915·Double Bay

Dinghies on the beach at Double Bay, Sydney

Six charming views of Darling Point
Lands Office from the Botanical Gardens, Sydney — photograph, from Royal Botanic Garden, circa 1915
photograph·1915·Sydney CBD

Lands Office from the Botanical Gardens, Sydney

Six charming views of Darling Point
Darling Point waterfront with St Mark's spire — photograph, from Darling Point, circa 1915
photograph·1915·Darling Point

Darling Point waterfront with St Mark's spire

Six charming views of Darling Point
Grotto Berg with Griffith Taylor in the foreground, Cape Evans, January 1911 — photograph, circa 1911
photograph·1913

Grotto Berg with Griffith Taylor in the foreground, Cape Evans, January 1911

Photograph album of the Scott expedition to Antarctica, 1910-1913 / annotated by T. Griffith TaylorThomas Griffith Taylor
Council yard, McMahons Point, Sydney, 1915 — illustration, from McMahons Point, circa 1915
illustration·1915·McMahons Point

Council yard, McMahons Point, Sydney, 1915

Pyrmont Bridge Darling HarbourSydney Ure Smith
Marrickville War Memorial, "Winged Victory" by Gilbert Doble — photograph, from Marrickville, circa 1919
photograph·1900·Marrickville

Marrickville War Memorial, "Winged Victory" by Gilbert Doble

War memorial at MarrickvilleStar Photo Co.
Statue-lined garden path, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney — photograph, from Royal Botanic Garden, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Sydney CBD

Statue-lined garden path, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

Botanical Gardens, SydneyBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Visitors on a path in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney — photograph, from Royal Botanic Garden, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Sydney CBD

Visitors on a path in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

Botanical Gardens, SydneyBroadhurst Post Card Publishers
Market workers among melons and pumpkins, City Markets, Haymarket — photograph, from Paddy's Markets, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Haymarket

Market workers among melons and pumpkins, City Markets, Haymarket

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
W. Crowe bird and animal dealer's stall, City Markets, Haymarket — photograph, from Paddy's Markets, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Haymarket

W. Crowe bird and animal dealer's stall, City Markets, Haymarket

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
Second-hand clothing stalls at the City Markets, Haymarket — photograph, from Paddy's Markets, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Haymarket

Second-hand clothing stalls at the City Markets, Haymarket

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
Framed-picture stall, City Markets, Hay Street, Sydney — photograph, from Paddy's Markets, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Haymarket

Framed-picture stall, City Markets, Hay Street, Sydney

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
Urn-lined garden path, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney — photograph, from Royal Botanic Garden, circa 1911
photograph·1911·Sydney CBD

Urn-lined garden path, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

Sydney and environsRex Hazlewood
Produce vendor at the Sydney markets — photograph, from Sydney CBD, circa 1911
photograph·1911

Produce vendor at the Sydney markets

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
Sarsaparilla seller at the City Markets, Haymarket — photograph, from Hay Street, circa 1913
photograph·1913·Haymarket

Sarsaparilla seller at the City Markets, Haymarket

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood
T&G Mutual Life building, Elizabeth Street, Sydney — photograph, from Elizabeth Street, circa 1911
photograph·1911·Surry Hills

T&G Mutual Life building, Elizabeth Street, Sydney

Sydney and environsRex Hazlewood
Stand 57 potted-plant display beside W. Crowe bird and animal dealer, Sydney markets — photograph, from Sydney, circa 1911
photograph·1911

Stand 57 potted-plant display beside W. Crowe bird and animal dealer, Sydney markets

Sydney marketsRex Hazlewood