Remember This? The Dust Storm of 1962

Sydney is subjected to Dust Storms from time to time, especially in periods of drought. Most readers would remember the major dust storm of 2009 and also more recently in late 2018. In the Black Summer Fires of 2019-2020, dust was even mixed with bushfire smoke. 

On May 22, 1962, north westerly winds blew dust from central Australia into Sydney. While the storm was minor compared to 2009, visibility dropped to less than a mile. I remember in 2009, visibility was down to 100 metres at its worst (akin to fog). 

The Daily Telegraph published a full page feature on May 23, 1962 including a large photograph taken from Bent Street, North Sydney showing the city obscured by the dust.  The Sydney Harbour Bridge was visible . The distance from the location of the photograph to the Harbour Bridge was about two kilometres suggesting that visibility had dropped to around two kilometres. 

The "Darkness at noon" was probably exaggerated. 

 

Remember This? View from the RBA Building (1964)

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Building in Martin Place was completed in 1964. Below is a photo that appeared in The Daily Telegraph on December 10 1964 showing the view from the top of the building facing south towards Hyde Park. The construction of the Law Courts Building in the 1970's would eliminate the view.

Source: Anon. 1964. "New Look at Sydney's Green Heart". The Daily Telegraph, December 10: 61. 

Remember This? William Street Car Dealers Advertisement (1964)

Below is a newspaper advertisement from The Daily Telegraph promoting William Street as a destination to buy a new car. This was published on June 18, 1964.

 

FROM THE EDITOR: Follow us on Twitter

For the past few years, those interested in being informed of new postings have been able to be notified of new postings via Facebook. 

I have now established a Twitter feed under @fabsydneyflash1 if you wish to be informed of new postings via Twitter. 

Remember This? CityRail Advertisement (1990)

During January, we take a break from the usual weekly posts and run our Remember This? series.

This week features a 1990 newspaper advertisement by CityRail. In the second half of 1990 petrol prices surged following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the threat of war in the Middle East.

Petrol rose as high as 80.9 cents per litre giving an excuse to ditch the car and take the train. According to the RBA Inflation Calculator, this would equate to $1.62 per litre in todays money.

For CityRail, rising petrol prices provided the perfect opportunity to encourage Sydneysiders to take the train to travel around the city. 

Source: CityRail. 1990. "80.9 Per Litre Or take the train" (Advertisement). The Daily Mirror, October 3: 6.