Thursday 19 March 2009

Then & Now - Opera House Walk

Then: This has to be later than 1931 as the northern pylon of the Harbour Bridge can just be seen in the left of the photo. This thoroughfare is now known as The Opera House Walk and is devoid of traffic. All the wharves have been demolished and the OHW is beside Sydney Cove. The trams in view are chugging their way out to to the end of Bennelong Point to the Fort Macquarie Tramsheds. This is looking to the north with the east on our right.Now:At first sight, the curve and the northern pylon are the few remaining structures. The wharves on the very edge of Sydney Cove have been demolished to open up the view. The warehouses on the right have converted into these prestigious aluminium and glass apartments which the hoi-polloi delight in calling "the toaster". When Captain Arthur Philip set foot on Sydney Cove to raise a settlement on 26th January 1788, the shoreline ran roughly half way back through the OHW; there are plaques indicating the approximate shoreline. Although the water you can see is called Sydney Cove - part of Port Jackson - the structure that retains the earth is actually called Circular Quay.
Below: Once again, East Circular Quay looking out to Bennelong Point with the trees of the Botanic Gardens on the right and the curving Tarpeian Walk along the top of the cut sandstone cliff. This image is before the construction of the Harbour Bridge commenced.

10 comments:

Stefan Jansson said...

That is a lot of changes.

Unknown said...

Great to see the differences down the years. Gail & I got married in Sydney, so we know the OHW quite well, together with Darling Harbour.

Joan Elizabeth said...

What an interesting run of photos. I know I prefer the Opera House to the Fort Macquarie Tramsheds and that's saying something because I generally prefer history.

Julie said...

I have a few posts prepared over the entire area and the last 150 years! Wont necessarily be contiguous though ...

Virginia said...

I love seeing the old and the new. Lovely old photos Julie!
V

Anonymous said...

Yes, more please.

Julie said...

Thanks, folks. Your appreciation is most gratifying. A post like this is quite time consuming - mainly in trying to reproduce the angle of the old photograph and ensuring the history I spruik is correct. I think I now have a better angle for this by walking up and across the Cahill Expressway. Shall do another comparison over the weekend. I have some Historic Houses Trust walking tours coming up about Sydney's long-gone trams which started this whole thing off. Love that sort of history-of-my-city thing.

Sally said...

Snap, from other end of town. I see Ham in London has spawned quite a trend!

Julie said...

Oh dear, I don't follow Ham. I shall have a look at his postings over the weekend.

Tash said...

I love these type of posts - you did a marvellous job. (I try to get at least 2 in per month...I think I am behind.)
Do you think that in another 130 years these new buildings will look as dated as the old ones? Will it take 130 yrs?
Looks like they really encroached on the quay.