Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, used to dead-end at a cemetery. Well, it did from about 1820 to about 1895 or so. Then at the turn of that century, all the bodies had to be moved because the powers-that-was decided that great expanse of land would be just dandy for the terminal of the state railways, which commenced in 1855 and until then, terminated at Redfern Station which is off the lower left of the map.
See all that area on the map down there that is now occupied by a maze of rail tracks? All used to be bodies and grave markers. The hassle became, though, how to get from one side of the city to the other once Sydney Central Station was plonked down in the middle of that end of the city. The solution was to dig a tunnel. Well, this is just the largest (and straightest) of a maze of tunnels beneath the train tracks. Now, as to whether they found any bodies still there when digging the tunnels, no one is telling.
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You can just see the dotted line on the map which represents the Devonshire Street Tunnel. This is a very busy pedestrian throughway from one side of the city to the other, and into Central Station itself. The tunnel invariably has a busker or three trying to coerce the unwilling commuter. But the tunnel also has its walls adorned with murals on the history of rail in and around Central Station. They seem to be that sort of painting that is air-brushed on to thin metal and then tacked into position. The other parts of the tunnel are tiled. The effect is quite pleasing, I reckon.
19 comments:
very interesting to see those photos too; well done Sydney Eye! :)
It looks a lot nicer than when I used to use it.
It is an interesting and eye catching way to illustrate the history of a place. I like the 'Ultimo' toponym, which is the Italian for 'Last',
I feel ashamed to say that I have walked this tunnel often and have never noticed the murals...but I was possibly racing to get a train! Thanks for reminding me I need to stop and look sometimes!
They look great. Haven't been down there in years.
Have they redone the murals? There are some there I don't think I've seen and they look in very good condition.
I used to walk through here everyday when I worked at UTS but that ended in 2007. I am not sure that i have seen ANY of these before. The tunnel looks wonderful. There is a bit of tagging, but really very little. I wonder if it is really easy to clean from these panels? Next week i will show the murals along Chalmers St. they are more heavily tagged.
It looks so clean, love the tunnel's murals, nice history leading up to tomorrow!
I do like the way the images have been placed in the arches. A window to another time.
These murals are far more interesting to see while walking (racing?!) through the tunnel than a series of repetitive adverts.
I eat, sleep, and dream cemeteries, seemingly.
He he to your last comment. I find myself looking for cemeteries in ever town now ... and as you know there are 100 of them.
This looks like a really nice job in the tunnel and you've done a great documentary job of it. Your love of history always shines through. Don't think I've ever been in that tunnel.
Great piece of history. The tunnel would be a tough place to walk for superstitious people who were also familiar with the former cemetery.
You know, Andy, I would suspect that 99.9% of the folks using the tunnel have no idea of its former use.
I so enjoy reading about your world! Thank you for the photographic journey and the history to go along with it. I have found blogging to be entertaining as well as educational! Lovely photos!
The murals make what could be a boring walk a little more friendly and a lot more interesting! Super!
Sometimes murals function like church stained glass windows of yore: They mean to teach you something as well as please the eye. I'm glad you added the shot of people walking through this tunnel. It took me by surprise at how long it is and how well used. Also how clean it is. Did you feel a twinge of conflicting loyalties when you learned a cemetery had been moved (boo! hiss!) but that ultimately the construction yielded varied and intriguing murals (hooray! huzzah!)? Thank you for participating in this week's Monday Mural.
i like that kind of tunnels. you see that more often, showing the history...
im surprised by how neat, new and clean it looks!
and i like the phrase "just dandy". perhaps i can once incorporate that in my vocabulary (i now also learned how to spell that word, i always did it the french way i see now), one day or the other, although im always afraid i wont sound like a natural... :( (accent, accent)
Interesting how many people have remarked upon the cleanliness. I guess it is. But I would hope for nothing less.
I love your cemetery comments, Carolyn. Yes, I would love the cemetery to still be there. They started using it in 1819. Such a history trove of our city. But it isn't and now I rejoice when I stumble upon an old image or engraving of what once was. I think its official name was 'Sandhills Cemetery'. It is in an area known as Brickfield Hills which is where they made the first bricks for the colony. Not sure how clay and sand coexist.
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