Sandstone Sydney - Industrial Court of NSW

This building, on Phillip Street at the Quay end, houses some courts of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales which has jurisdiction within the state over industrial relations issues, such as safety, and unfair dismissals.

The bust above the entrance appears to be that of Edward VII, the successor to Queen Victoria. This is unusual because the building was erected 1890-1893, prior to the death of Victoria, making Edward still the Prince of Wales, with a reputation as somewhat of a playboy.

This building is south of the Chief Secretary's Building which occupies Macquarie, Bridge, and Phillip Streets under different guises. The Industrial Relations building was constructed in the 1890s by Walter Liberty Vernon, who was the Colonial Architect at the time. The NSW Office of Environment & Heritage regards the southern Phillip St additions by Vernon as part of the Chief/Colonial Secretary's Building, which had been designed by the previous Colonial Architect, James Barnet.

Central Railway Station (2)

Significant buildings in Sydney can be recognised by their use of sandstone. In the construction of the third incarnation of Sydney Station, the sandstone was sourced from the Saunders Family quarry in Pyrmont, known sarcastically by the quarrymen as "Paradise", which produced the most mellow yellow block sandstone.

The tram interchange on the first floor was in the original design, to replace the tram that used to run from the 1874 station, through Belmore Park, and along Pitt Street to the centre of the city. In 1906, the trams ran the reverse to that in which the lite-rail now runs. The government is extending the lite-rail infra-structure throughout the city.

I built my house of bricks, 'cause straw and twigs don't last

I thought, perhaps, that the tale of "The Three Little Pigs" was devised by a brick-making family of yore, out to plead the case for their favoured building material. Whichever, I cannot see these towers of steel, and concrete, and glass lasting anywhere near as long as the buildings erected from sandstone.

The first image shows the third St Phillip's church down on York Street (Church Hill) which was erected in 1856. It replaced the second St Phillips, just a little further down the hill, which was regarded as "the ugliest church in all christendom", which had been erected in 1804. The middle image, shows St James Church on Macquarie Street, which was constructed between 1820 and 1824, initially under the stewardship of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Both these churches are of the Anglican (Church of England/Episcopalian) persuasion. The third image shows the C. W. Foley building down on Erskine Street which was constructed in 1899, just before the 1901 demolitions in that very area, which attempted to rid Sydney Town of poor people who it was easy to blame for the plague.

The Foley Building nestles into the glass ediface of the corporate head office of Westpac Bank (formerly the Bank of New South Wales). This entire city block was "rejigged" by Westpac during the 2000s, some old stuff being retained, and other "stuff" getting the heave-ho. With the current construction of the Barangaroo complex and its adjoining Wynyard Walk, another facelift is occurring. Over the next little while, I will try to unpack this down-at-heel part of my city.

Semi-circular Quay

The curve of the quay wall between Wharf 1 and Wharf 2 on the eastern side of the quay.

In the beginning ... the head of Sydney Cove was a tidal mudflat where the Tank Stream dribbled into the harbour. The cove, as Governor Philip noted in January 1788, was a deep harbour where ships of the realm could anchor in safety. Between 1837 and 1844 a military officer of the Royal Engineers, Captain George Barney, created a semi-circular quay, building a seawall and utilising thousands of convicts to reclaim about four and a half hectares of mudflats behind the wall; most of this fill came from the sandstone precipice dividing the two ends of Argyle Street, resulting in the Argyle Cut. The rest was cut from what is now the Tarpeian Walk adjacent to the Opera House forecourt.

Left: A sketch by Jacob William Jones in 1845 (SL-NSW); Right: The balaustrade that sits atop the sandstone sea wall constructed by Barney and his iron-gangs.

It was not until 1854, however, that the quay was completed with the closure of the space where the Tank Stream entered the cove. It was after this closure, that the populace started to warm to the name "Circular Quay", even though the space is more a semi-oval. The Tank Stream now enters Sydney Cove in a storm-water drain just as you round Wharf 6 for the stroll along the front of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

Left: A bustling Circular Quay in 1870 (National Archives of Australia number A1200, L85037 TLF resource R2583) Right: Barney's wall beside Wharf 2

Glorious sandstone

ABOVE: Walking down the other side of Loftus Street. making this facade part of the Lands Building. Keeping in mind that these images were taken on 2nd January, and the teeming hordes were not in the city yet after their night of festivities. This is the block around the Department of Education building. Remember, this building is flanked by Bridge Street, Loftus Street, Bent Street, and Young Street.

What has gotten into me? Glorious sandstone, and I show the images in B&W. Grilled windows in Loftus Street. Grilled windows in Youmg Street. Wrought iron door grill in Bent Street. BELOW:This young chap was picking his way down Loftus Street to Circular Quay.

Lifting the spirit

Art Gallery of NSW, old wing 1896 - 1909

These would have to be two of my favourite buildings in the city. Not just the facades mind you with their towering columns, and glorious, honey-coloured sandstone. If you are a traditionalist like yours truly, the facade stirs the blood. But walk inside and the main area takes one's breath away. The main reading room of the library may have the edge visually. However, the feeling of freedom and creativity that the main court of the AG-NSW engenders can have me on a high for days.

State Library of NSW, Mitchell Wing 1906 - 1910

Self-confessed 'luddite'

"Paspaley Pearls' on the corner of Martin Place and George Street

It is not that I am against progress, I just prefer to live in the past. Brushed aluminium, Scandinavian ashe, and etched glass are all well and good, but give me granite and sandstone any old day.

According to Wiki, the Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, that replaced them with less skilled, low wage labour, and which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life.

Frequently, mechanised looms were destroyed in a quaint process referred to as "collective bargaining by riot".

In modern usage, a 'Luddite' is one overwhelmed by the new, by the modern, by the ever-changing, who seeks refuge in the tried and true, who reveres the test of time, who dwells in that fascinating land known as the past, or even, the 'passed'.

The short facade of the QVB facing Market Street

Texture - Sydney sandstone

The QVB (Queen Victoria Building) was built during the 1880s. It has endured a number of incarnations over the following 120 years (vegetable market, government offices, upmarket retail) and quite a few make-overs, bordering on face-lifts. It is currently undergoing another scrubbing. It is all the rage apparently. The State Library has been cleaned. Central Station clock-tower is being cleaned. A sandstone-led recovery from recession, perhaps.

But, get a look at this workmanship! Run a virtual finger over those sandstone-swirls.

Harbour Islands (5) - Spectacle Island

There are 9 islands in Sydney Harbour: Shark, Clark, Garden, Fort Dennison. Goat, Cockatoo, Spectacle, Snapper and Rodd. Thus far, I have blogged on Shark Island, Goat Island, Garden Island and Cockatoo Island. Recently, I accompanied 60 intrepid salts from the Maritime Museum out to Spectacle Island.

Spectacle Island lies between Cockatoo Island and the Birkenhead Point peninsular on the western side of the Harbour Bridge. Controlled by the Navy, it is not open to the general public and tours are rare occurrences. It is used for training courses for naval tactical response groups and to house the Naval Heritage Collection, which collects and stores naval items for display at Garden Island and travelling exhibitions around the nation.


Originally two small islands connected by a tidal isthmus -hence its name - the first building on Spectacle Island was a convict-built powder magazine completed in 1865, designed to take some of the pressure off Goat Island. The chief engineer was George Barney who also constructed Victoria Barracks, Circular Quay and Fort Denison as well as the moat on Goat Island. The magazine, seen here, was constructed of rock from the island as well as from nearby Cockatoo Island during the construction of its Fitzroy Dock.


Commander Shane Moore, who live on the island, was our guide through the heritage collection. His knowledge is deep and it is personal. He knows the origin of every item in his massive collection, that ranges from Spanish canons, through ships bells, naval uniforms (including buttons), ships insignia and regulation eating utensils.


The two hour tour is not long enough to do this remarkable island justice. The group from the Maritime Museum was gobsmacked at every turn. We saw the ship's compass from the German cruiser, Emden, destroyed off the Cocos Islands in 1914. There is Mawson's sled from his Antarctic expeditions.

A truly remarkable collection stored on this island in the harbour that most Sydney-siders do not know exists.

Queen Victoria Building

Yesterday's stained glass windows from the outside

To this building I owe a debt of gratitude. Imagine my delight in the late 60s discovering the oeuvre of Charmaine Clift, brown-stained and dog-eared, only knowing her 'til then from reading provocative columns in the Sydney Morning Herald. Squatting on the cold linoleum floor, my brain pulsed with every image of bohemian life on sparkling Greek islands, so far from the white-picket-fence of a life laid out for me.

Left: Prior to the 1890s, the site was occupied by the Old Police Courts according to this image from the State Archives Right: A framed photograph presented to McCrae in July 1898

George McCrae was the City architect who designed the Corn Exchange in Sussex Street erected in 1887 and then this Queen Victoria Building erected in 1898. After many derelict years - to the brink of demolition - the QVB was restored in 1987 and refurbished in 2009. Starting as the Sydney Central Markets (SCM), it was used as offices for the city council and the main branch of the City of Sydney Library, until post restoration it became an upmarket arcade containing over 200 "brand names".


The George Street (nominally Sydney's main street) frontage showing the entrance into the area under the main dome. This photograph was taken from outside the Hilton Hotel where the CHOGM bomb exploded in February 1978, killing three people.

Left: Queen Victoria Markets in 1920 showing the intersection of George, Park & Druitt Streets. Right: The QVB in 1970 from the Electricity Commission building on the corner of George & Bathurst Streets.

Top: The "front" of the QVB facing Sydney Town Hall showing the brooding statue of Queen Victoria.
Bottom: The QVB city block along George Street showing the central dome the entry to which is down at the street lights in the distance.

Historic images are the property of the City of Sydney and the State Archives of NSW