Below is a photograph that was published in The Sydney Morning Herald on September 7 1965 (Page 17 for reference) showing the Australia Square Tower under construction in George Street. Construction was now above ground level.
It was anticipated that the 46 level tower would be completed in 1968, but was completed in 1967. Upon completion it was the tallest skyscraper in Australia at 170 metres tall. It was also the tallest lightweight concrete building built.
Source: Sydney Ferries. 1989. "Announcing the Launch of a Great new Ferry Service. Automatic Ticketing" (Advertisement). The Daily Mirror, July 4: 37.
In 1989, Sydney's Ferry Network became the first mode of public transport in Sydney to offer automatic ticketing across its entire network. Prior to 1989, automatic ticketing was only available for rail commuters on the Eastern Suburbs Railway Line, which had been available since its opening in 1979.
All tickets for services operated by Sydney Ferries featured a magnetic stripe which contained ticketing data. This would reduce fare evasion and assist government authorities in collecting data relating to public transport usage and inform planning for future provision of services.
Automatic Ticketing led to the introduction of a new ticket option - Ferry Ten Tickets for regular commuters. This would be offered for more than twenty five years. They were withdrawn from sale at end of 2015 as part of the implementation of the Opal Card across Sydney's public transport network.
Self-service ticket machines were introduced which meant that commuters no longer had to queue at the ticket office to buy a ticket.
In recent times, hoardings on city streets at construction sites feature historical images of central Sydney which have been provided by Sydney City Council. It has given pedestrians something of interest to look at as they walk past, learning about the city's past and how it looked at different points in history.
Fifty years ago, it was not photos that were on hoardings, but rather artworks as this article below shows.
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| Above: Sylvania Waters as photographed in 1965. Full citation below. |
The Daily Telegraph published in 1965, a feature on Sylvania Waters, which was being promoted as Sydney's "first marine suburb". It focused on the planning and design approach towards the suburb. Over 200 acres of land was being reclaimed from Gwawley Bay, formerly home to mangroves and oyster leases.
While much of the land had been reclaimed from Gwawley Bay, sand from the Kurnell Sandhills was mixed in sections. The curved shorelines were designed to ensure that water could circulate with the rise and fall in tides. The roads also reflect the curved nature of the shoreline. This aerial sourced from Google Earth depicts the suburb today with the street layout.
For the developers - Sylvania Waters Pty. Ltd. (now known as Sylvania Waters Ltd.), it was estimated that the 800 homesites would have a combined value of 10 million pounds (or $20 million) when the development was completed by 1968. This did not eventuate they were still selling vacant housing sites into the 1970's.
The full article appears below.
Source: Anon. 1965. "Marine estate from swamp". The Daily Telegraph, January 25, 20.
I have enlarged the aerial photograph at the top of the entry to highlight progress at the time of publication. Murray Island (towards the bottom of image or northern end of the suburb) was completed (1964). James Cook and Barcoo islands were under construction.
Normally, I would reserve real estate advertisements for Saturday's but the advertisement complements the article and hence have included it in this entry. The attached map does exclude streets and cul-de-sacs that were built either to the west or south of Belgrave Esplanade.
Below is a newspaper advertisement from 1999 for the Newtown Square complex in Carillon Avenue, Newtown. Apartments were on sale from $159 000 for a studio and from $235 000 for a one bedroom apartment. "Most" apartments were advertised as being spread over two levels.
Source: Realty Marketing. 1999. "newtownsquare" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, September 25: 18 (Real Estate Liftout).
In 1988, the NSW Government delivered the last ferry in the Freshwater Class of Sydney Ferries - Collaroy.
Source: Anon. 1988. "'Family' cruises for new ferry". The Daily Telegraph, August 2: 9.
Unlike the other three ferries in the fleet - Freshwater, Queenscliff and Narrabeen, the upper deck was open at each end. Post 2000, the other three ferries would also provide open decks at each end.
Collaroy had been fitted with stablisers to manage the ocean swells along with catering facilities. More than a canteen could be offered to commuters on the Manly run or on a harbour or ocean cruise.
Source: Caldbeck-Moore, B. 1989. "Harbor Ferry can take on the foamy ocean, safely". The Daily Telegraph, January 6: page unknown.
In 1989, Sydneysiders were able to experience ocean cruises on the Collaroy, reviving the cruises provided by the South Steyne between 1953 and 1973, when it was under the ownership of the Port Jackson and Manly Steamship company.
Below is one newspaper advertisement from February 1989. Cruises ran between Circular Quay and Cottage Point. Tickets were $38 for adults and $25 for children and pensioners and included a picnic lunch.
Source: Sydney Ferries. 1989. "Run away to sea for a day on a Sunday Coastal Cruise" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, February 28: 43.
The cruises ran until the following year. It was written in Ferries of Sydney by Graeme Andrews that the services were terminated after ferry officers demanded the payment of a "spew allowance" that was being received by deckhands working on the services. The "spew allowance" referred to a payment to cover cleaning up the mess left behind by seasick passengers.
With new Emerald Class ferries about to commence full time service on the Manly run, Collaroy will step back into a part time role, operating on weekends alongside the Freshwater (oldest of the Freshwater Class ferries). This only occurred after a backlash from Sydneysiders over plans to retire the entire fleet citing:
