Sydney Then and Now

While searching the web a little while ago I came across a great collection of old historic pictures of Sydney and other towns in New South Wales Australia. I have taken a few of their pictures of olden day Sydney and then either taken a picture myself or found a recent picture taken from the same spot in some cases over 100 years later.  

If you enjoy looking at old pictures and seeing what has changed in the last 100 years do yourself a favour and have a look through the great collection of photographs that State Records NSW has put together.

Circular Quay was originally known as "Semi-Circular Quay", this being the actual shape of the quay. If was initially mainly used for shipping and slowly developed into a transport, leisure and recreational centre.  Today Circular Quay is made up of walkways, pedestrian malls, parks and restaurants. It hosts a number of ferry quays and a train station.

Formally opened in October 1810 by Governor Macquarie. The park named after the original Hyde Park in London. It has been used as a sports ground for a vartly of sport including  including cricket, rugby, horse racing.

Today is is a popular spot for office workers who want to get some fresh air or take some time out from the hussel and bussel of city life. The central pathway through the park is an impressive, tiled, fig lined road linking two of the parks other main features, the Archibald Fountain and the War Memorial.

One of the first streets in Australia, It extends from north end of Sydney in The Rocks, near the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the southern end of the city, near Central Station. Until 1810 George Street was generally referred to as High Street, but was then officaly name George Street in honour of King George III of the United Kingdom by Governor Macquarie 

Darling Harbour was originally part of the commercial port of Sydney, including the Railway Goods Yard. During the Great Depression it was often referred to as "The Hungry Mile" due to the number workers searching for jobs along the wharves. Later on many manufacturing industries moved away from the city, the factories and warehouses closed leaving the buildings around Darling Harbour empty and derelict.

During the eighties civic leaders decided it was time to reinvigorate Darling Harbour. When Sydney started preparing to host the 2000 Olympic Games, a further $1.5 billion was spent renovating the area into what is today.

Connecting the Sydney CBD with the North Shore The Sydney Harbour Bridge and nearby Sydney opera house are iconic images of Sydney and Australia. Planning of the bridge started in 1912, but it was not until 1923 that contraction of the bridge actually started. After 9 year of construction the bridge was formally opened on 19 March 1932 at a total cost of $10 million.

The arch of the bridge has a span of 503 m and its summit is 134 m (440 ft) above sea level. The total weight of the steelwork of the bridge, including the arch and approach spans, is 52,800 tonnes, and is held together by six million hand-driven rivets. It takes 30,000 litres (6,600 imp gal) of paint to paint one coat of paint across the bridge. Painting is an ongoing process with painters beginning at one end of the bridge, and painting their way across to the other end, and then starting back at the original side again