New Years Eve 25 Years Ago: 1997

Above: Promotional poster featured in The Sunday Telegraph on 28 December 1997.

Saturday is New Year's Eve in Sydney, and it will feel well and truly back to normal this year. Last year would rank among the quieter New Year's Eves because of the spread of the Omicron Variant of COVID-19, which meant that many decided not to risk infection by staying home. On 31 December 2021, 22 577 people across NSW tested positive for COVID-19. A reported 30 000 gathered to watch the fireworks, but the figure would likely be higher given that those with views of Sydney Harbour would have been able to watch from their home.

The previous year (2020) saw access heavily restricted under the Zero Covid policy that NSW and the Commonwealth applied at the time. Key vantage points were closed to the public to avoid mass gatherings as the Northern Beaches experienced an outbreak. Those in the Northern Beaches were subjected to stay-at-home orders. 

It will be a quarter of a century before we explore 2020 and 2021, but let's wind back the clock a quarter of a century to 1997.

The story so far...

Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations had their origins in 1989. Back then, it was a thirty-minute fireworks show held at 9pm, which continued each year. Midnight fireworks commenced at midnight on 1 January 1994, though confined to Sydney Tower and Darling Harbour. 

The midnight display was first screened on television on the Nine Network to usher in 1997 at midnight on 1 January 1997, while the 9pm show was first broadcast on 31 December 1994, though delayed until midnight. The first live broadcast of the 9pm show was on 31 December 1996.

What was new in 1997?

 

Source: Totaro, P. 1997. "$2m spectacular to welcome 1998". The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December: 2. 

Sydney City Council's aim was to make the celebrations bigger for each year leading up to 1999, and they did not let people down:

• The introduction of the first bridge effect - a smiley face.
• Extended entertainment program - Children's concert began at 4pm at Hyde Park and a flotilla of boats shooting fireworks every four seconds from 8:30pm.
• A fireworks barge located west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time to "double the impact" of the fireworks.
• Fireworks were to be launched from Star City Casino alongside Sydney Tower at midnight.
• While the fireworks were directed by Ric Birch, two companies provided the fireworks - Syd Howard Fireworks International & Foti's.

Above: Vantage points to view the fireworks as published on Page 4 of The Daily Telegraph on 31 December 1997.

Compared with the previous year, a similar number of fireworks were to be released - 20 000 fireworks with five tonnes of explosives.

The projected cost of the festivities was $2 million, up from $1.5 million the previous year.

The Nine Network provided live coverage of the fireworks for a second year, with 2UE providing a simulcast of the soundtrack featured in the show.

Transport Arrangements

Below are the public transport arrangements for New Year's Eve 1997 as advertised in The Sunday Telegraph on 28 December 1997. By now, Sydney was mastering the art of transporting the hordes in and out of the city.

Driving was not recommended, given large sections of the Sydney CBD and The Rocks were closed to vehicular traffic. Despite the fireworks, several lanes of the Sydney Harbour Bridge remained open.

Fireworks Wrap Up

Below is coverage of the festivities from The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald on 1 January 1998.

The Sydney Morning Herald

The Daily Telegraph

A final word...

I wish each person a safe and enjoyable new year, regardless of how you want to mark it. 

Christmas Snapshot: 1997

Each year, it has become a Christmas custom for me to post an entry focusing on how Sydney marked Christmas 25 years earlier.

The year of focus is 1997.

I have decided to change focus to the actual celebration of Christmas and media coverage and dispense with the retail advertisements as I have done in previous years.

Above is a list of the services available for Christmas Day and Boxing Day as published in The Daily Telegraph on 25 December 1997. 

On Christmas Day, Hotels are still allowed to trade from noon to 10pm, but only dining areas and that alcohol can only be purchased with a meal.

Generally, there has been little or no change to the services provided. However, there have been changes such as Cinemas being permitted to trade longer hours or fast food outlets electing to open, particularly McDonalds.

Below is Page 4 from The Daily Telegraph (25 December 1997), containing a summary of Christmas Messages from Prime Minister John Howard and Church Leaders, and a typical summer weather forecast for the day with 26 degrees.

The Sydney Morning Herald has maintained a tradition of not publishing on Christmas Day. Below is coverage of Christmas Day as reported in its edition of 26 December 1997.

Below are two clippings relating to how the day was marked across the city, including the homeless and disadvantaged.

 

Source: Hill, K. 1997. "Day of giving: less holy but wholehearted". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 26: 4.

There was even a feature on church services attended by prominent Sydneysiders. 

 

Source: Pitt, H. 1997. "Jockey's lean days are over". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 26: 4. 

For the followers of consumerism, retailers were happy with sales in the leadup to Christmas. Given the headline spread across the page, there is also a photo of backpackers spending the day at Bondi Beach, a feature on seafarers marking Christmas and preferred destinations for the summer break by Sydneysiders.

Source: Cummins, C. & Jamal, N. 1997. "Retailers reap best harvest in years". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 26: 4. 

Finally, I would include a newspaper clipping of Carols in the Domain which was held on 20 December 1997. Sadly, I could not locate an article on it for 1997, but I can provide the finale which was uploaded to Youtube by Daniel Celeno.

Noni Hazelhurst & John Jarratt (Better Homes & Gardens, Seven Network) returned for a second straight year to compere the evening. Have fun identifying the stars, but I will mention that a young Hugh Jackman performed on the evening. 

That is our snapshot for Christmas 1997. I wish each person a very safe and wonderful Christmas.

Property Advert of the Week: Wattle Bowl Estate, Carlingford (1968)

This is our last Property Advert of the Week for 2022. Below is an advertisement for the Wattle Bowl Estate at Carlingford with six blocks on offer for $4000.

According to the RBA Inflation Calculator, this would equate to $52 208 in today's money.

Source: Parkes Developments Pty. Ltd. 1968. "Wattle Bowl Estate" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, June 1: 35. 

1984: The Conservation of the Plaza Theatre

 

Source: Anon. 1984. "Plaza's face saved". The Sydney Morning Herald, February 2: 16.

For nearly forty years, the the McDonalds Plaza restaurant (as it is known) has been located in the former Plaza Theatre in George Street, directly opposite Event Cinemas. McDonalds bought the building from the Hoyts Theatre organisation in 1981 and spent $2 million dollars converting the former theatre into a retail and commercial office building. The restored building was officially opened by NSW Premier Neville Wran in February 1984. The McDonalds restaurant opened in December 1983 and has traded there to this day. 

The building was also home to Planet Hollywood between 1996 and 2002 when finacial difficulties bought on its closure. The blue globe remains atop the building two decades later.

Property Advert of the Week: Wimbeldon Estate, Greystanes (1966)

Below is a 1966 newspaper advertisement promoting the Wimbeldon Estate at Greystanes, though it is advertised as Merrylands. Going by the map featured in the advertisement, the estate encompasses Bromwich Street, Hopman Street (part of) and Sedgman Street. The school featured in the map is Greystanes Public School.

 

Source: C. H. Degotardi Limited. 1966. Untitled (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, March 5: 53. 

1972: The Arrival of Sydney's S Set trains

Source: Anon. 1972. $17 m New Carriages". The Daily Telegraph, July 14: 3. 

1972 saw the delivery of the first carriages of the famous S set trains that would operate for 47 years on Sydney's rail network.

The new carriages were built to boost capacity on the rail network and allow more passengers to be accomodated on each service.

509 carriages were built by Comeng and later Goninan with the last carriages entering operation in 1980. Some carriages were built with an amended design.

Source: Anon. 1973. "New Carriages for City". The Sydney Morning Herald, November 20: 3.

Initially, driver cars were built with trailer cars added in future orders.

Trains promised to "increase capacity and comfort", yet they were not air-conditioned which caused discomfort either on cold winter days or hot summer days.

Tulloch trailer cars (carriages) were also used to form either four, six or eight car sets until 2004, when they were phased out ensuring that S-set trains comrpised of S set carriages only. 

The introduction of trains that were entirely double-decker marked the beginning of the end of single deck trains on the Sydney rail network as they gradually replaced the red rattler trains. By the end of 1993, the entire Sydney rail network comprised of double-decker carriages. The opening of the Sydney Metro (independent of the main rail network) marked the return of single decker trains.

During the 1990's the carriages were renovated as part of the Citydecker program with new windows and the installation of electronic destination boards on the driver cars.

The S Set trains were phased out from service between 2012 and 2019 as the Waratah Trains were introduced across the network (Excluding the T4 line). The last line that operated the S Sets was the T7 Olympic Park line. 

Property Advert of the Week: Plaza Apartments, Rockdale (1999)

Below is a 1999 newspaper advertisement promoting Stage 3 of apartment sales at the Plaza Apartments complex at Rockdale. Plaza Apartments was a three tower development built in the late 1990's atop the Rockdale Plaza Shopping Centre. 

Apartments in this release started at $250 000 for a 2 bedroom apartment.

Source: City Freeholds. 1999. "Plaza Apartments" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 5: 30RE (Real Estate Liftout).

Related Entries

Property Advert of the Week: Plaza Apartments, Rockdale (1997)

Property Advert of the Week: Plaza Apartments, Rockdale (1998)

SYDNEY RETAILING: More Midnight Shopping Clippings (1987 & 1989)

After my entry on the Pitt Street Mall hosting the first Midnight trade evening in September 1987, I found another two clippings relating to another two instances where retailers could trade until midnight. In one instance, one retailer decided to begin the day's trade at midnight.

Christmas 1987 - Kmart

Source: Coren, D. 1987. "Crowds Flock to Shop Late". The Daily Mirror, December 23: 2. 

On 23 December 1987, Kmart opened stores at Blacktown, Hornsby and Merrylands at midnight as part of extended Christmas trading and was a "great success" according to Blacktown store supervisor Jim O'Reilly. 

Midnight trading was allowed on the thursday before Christmas in 1988 (22 December 1988). Below is a newspaper advertisement for Bankstown Square as published in The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader on 20 December 1988.

Mothers Day 1989

 

Source: Knowsley, J. 1989. "Traders Clash On Midnight Opening". The Daily Mirror, May 12: 16-17.

Retailers were allowed to trade until midnight on Thursday 11 May 1989. Westfield decided to keep its centres open until midnight. Westfield claimed it was successful, but there were some that felt it did not work out and the anticipated extra trade did not eventuate. 

Christmas 1989

Westfield repeated the extra late trading on the last Thursday before Christmas in 1989 with a midnight close on 21 December. 

Source: Westfield. 1989. "Open Today and Every Day until Christmas (Advertisement)." The Sunday Telegraph, December 17: 149. 

Peter Fitzsimons also wrote a feature on the extended late trade at the Grace Bros City Store for The Sydney Morning Herald. This was featured in a previous entry focusing on Christmas in 1989.

Source: Fitzsimons, P. "To some, night is the time for shopping. " The Sydney Morning Herald, December 23: 2. 

Related Entries

• Christmas Snapshot: 1989
• Sydney Retailing: Midnight Shopping (1987)

Property Advert of the Week: Glenmore Park - First Release (1990)

I have posted two advertisements for land sales at Glenmore Park dating from 1992. This one is from 1990, when the first 110 lots in the suburb went on sale from $66 000.

Source NSW House and Land Corporation & Elders Finance Group Limited. 1990. "Glenmore Park" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, February 17: 19.

Related Entries

Heritage Homes, Glenmore Park (1992)

Glenmore Park Land Release (1992)

SYDNEY RETAILING: Midnight Shopping (1987)

Source: Anon. 1987. "Midnight Mall A Smash Hit". The Sun, September 25:5.

In 2022, its possible for Sydneysiders to shop very late in the evening, though the offerings are limited. Selected Woolworths and Coles Supermarkets can trade until midnight. Several Kmart stores trade 24 hours. 

It has aided those who work outside of normal business hours or shift workers or those in desparate need of something and cannot wait until the following morning.

 

Source: Anon. 1987. "Midnight Bonanza" The Daily Mirror, September 22: 15.

Thirty five years ago, Sydney took a bold step in retail trading hours when for the first time, retailers were allowed to trade until midnight.

It was a one-off event - 24 September 1987. Retailers in the Pitt Street Mall were allowed to trade until midnight that evening as it was the first thursday evening of trading since the mall's opening on 19 September 1987.

Normally on a Thursday evening, retailers would close at 9pm, which meant that shoppers could shop an extra three hours.

And shoppers in the Pitt Street Mall were also treated to live entertainment.

Source: Anon. 1987. "Pitt St Mall jam-packed on party night". The Daily Telegraph, September 25: page unknown.

The night was a great success. Shoppers relished the opportunity for the extra late trading and entertainment. Retailers were impressed. Grace Bros' City Store recorded a single day trading record with over $1 million in sales, The Mid-City Centre reported that their daily sales were up 40%.

Source: Phillips, B. 1987. "It's Mall Mania!". The Daily Mirror, September 25: 8.

Related Entry

MILESTONE: Pitt Street Mall turns 30 (1987)

Property Advert of the Week: Kirrawee Land Release (1962)

Below is a 1962 newspaper advertisement promoting a land release at Kirrawee in the vicinity of Duneba Avenue. Blocks were available from £995 ($1990) to £1795 ($3590). Adjusted for inflation (RBA Inflation Calculator) this would equate to between $30 500 and $55 000.

Source: Parkes Developments Pty. Ltd. 1962. "Fantastic Engineered Project at Kirrawee" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, April 14: 49.

SYDNEY MEDIA: Rupert Murdoch buys "The Daily Telegraph" and "The Sunday Telegraph" (1972)

 "You will never get your grubby hands on my Telegraphs Rupert. You know that"

Sir Frank Packer in "Power Games" (2013).

Above: The Daily Telegraph becomes the news on 5 June 1972 on the front page of its own newspaper.

Whether or not the conversation happened is an unknown as per any TV Drama based on historical events, but it suggested for Rupert Murdoch, owning The Daily Telegraph would be his jewel in the crown and also control of Sydney's competitive newspaper market.

Murdoch began his newspaper empire with now defunct The News (Adelaide) in 1952. In 1960, he bought the ailing afternoon newspaper The Daily Mirror which was at the time owned by the Fairfax Family. Four years later, he founded The Australian, originally based in Canberra but moved its head office to Sydney in 1967.

By the mid 1960's The Daily Mirror had overtaken The Sun as Sydney's most circulated afternoon newspaper and was second overall in daily newspaper circulation in Sydney. The Daily Telegraph (morning newspaper) had a higher circulation but the margin had narrowed to 4000 by 1972. 

Between 1967 and 1972, The Daily Telegraph recorded a daily circulation drop of 24 000 copies daily. 

Why Sell?

The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph were part of Sir Frank Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings which included the Nine Network (TCN9, Sydney & GTV9, Melbourne) magazines such as The Australian Women's Weekly and The Bulletin, along with a number of regional newspapers and radio stations. 

Unfortuantely, the "Telegraph's" were incurring financial losses in the early 1970's. Apart from rising costs of newsprint, wages and production costs, Consolidated Press Holdings did not own a evening newspaper which could have kept production costs down. Fairfax were producing both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun at Broadway, ensuring that the presses were constantly in use.

It meant that either Packer had to buy The Daily Mirror from Murdoch which was highly unlikely to in order to ensure The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph could survive or sell his papers to Murdoch.

On 4 June 1972, Packer sold the papers to Murdoch for $15 million. Kerry Packer led the negotiations for the sale on behalf of his father.

  

The following day, it was revealed to the world. The Daily Telegraph (top of page) and The Australian (above) published identical articles to announce the sale. 

The Sydney Morning Herald also ran a major feature on Page 1 while The Daily Mirror kept it off Page 1. Interestingly, The Sun did not make a mention of it. 

 

  What happened next?

 

From 19 June 1972, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph moved to 2 Holt Road, Surry Hills where they have remained to this day. In 1994, the printing presses were relocated to their present site at Chullora.

The Sunday Australian was absorbed into The Sunday Telegraph. While the newspaper would remain a Sydney newspaper, the paper would be available nationally each Sunday. In 2022, The Sunday Telegraph is still printed and distributed in Victoria and Queensland in addition to NSW.

Property Advert of the Week: United Homes Advertisement (1963)

Below is a 1963 newspaper advertisement from United Homes. Three model homes are featured in the advertisement:

• Kent - Three Bedroom Home with the option of a garage.
• El Rancho - Three or Four Bedroom Home with the option of a garage
• Triple 70 - Three bedroom Home with the option of a garage

Prices ranged from £3 395 ($6 790) to £3 495 ($6 990). According to the RBA Inflation Calculator, the homes retailed at the equivalent of $105 000 in todays money. 

Source: United Homes. 1963. Untitled (Advertisement). The Daily Mirror, April 5: 18-19. 

1988: Early mention of a proposed North-West Rail Link.

I found an article from The Sunday Telegraph that was published in 1988 focusing on transport options for our North-Western Suburbs including Rouse Hill and Kellyville. 

At the time, Rouse Hill and Kellyville were semi-rural suburbs with planning underway to develop them into new suburbs.

Source: Pedley, S. 1988. "New rail link likely for suburban sprawl". The Sunday Telegraph, October 23: 11. 

Baulkham Hills Shire Council (Hills Shire) had met with representatives of the NSW Government and property developers to discuss transport options to serve the new estates.

Being considered was construction of "major new freeways". This would have included construction of the Castlereagh Freeway which evolved to become the M2 Motorway and part of the Western Sydney Orbital. 

Also it mentioned that "Sydney's rail system could be extended to take in the proposed development of new suburbs north-west of the city".

I highlighted could because it meant that a rail line was a possibility. However no mention of possible routes is given.

Council was prepared to approve the developments subject to a commitment that the transport projects proceed.

As a minimum, council was prepared to accept a "property integrated bus service" to serve the new estates.

It was disappointing though, that there were no possible routes suggested for the rail link because that would have had the debate going.

Related entries

1998: The first plan for a North West Sydney rail line

Property Advert of the Week: Lane Cove North (1999)

Below is a newspaper advertisement for apartments in the "Lane Cove North" development in Lane Cove from 1999. The development is located where Mowbray Road meets Lane Cove Road, though road access is only possible from Mowbray Road. Three Bedroom Apartments were on sale from $387 500 and Three Bedroom Townhouses (including Study) were on offer from $465 000.

The townhouses featured in the architects drawing in the advertisement are located in Goodlet Close.

Source: Anon. 1999. "Lane Cove North...Live Amongst Nature" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 5: 11RE (Real Estate Liftout). 

SYDNEY DEPARTMENT STORES: Demise of the Hordern Tree (1974)

Last week, I shared an entry on the end of Anthony Horderns focusing on the takeover of the company by Waltons in 1970. This week, I will focus on the demise of The Hordern Tree at Razorback Ridge near Camden.

Anthony Hordern's motto was "While I live I'll grow" and this was symbolised by a budding tree on the crest of their coat of arms. An oak tree at Razorback Ridge near Camden bore a striking resemblence to the tree and Anthony Hordern arranged with landowners in the 1920's to have the company motto plced at that location.

The 1960's was not kind to the Anthony Hordern's. It lost trade as rival department stores opened suburban stores along with the rise of shopping centres reducing the need for shoppers to trek to central Sydney to do their shopping.

In 1967, tree vandals tried to posion the tree but it was unsuccessful.

 

Source: Anon. 1974. "The tree vandals tried to kill". The Sun, May 10:31. 

However, the "Sygna" storm of 1974 would finally claim the tree when it split in two. This came months after Horderns Mid City store was closed by its owner - Waltons (Click here to read more about their takeover from 1970) the previous year. It is believed that the demise of the tree was linked to the end of the Anthony Hordern's Department Store chain. 

Source: Anon. 1974. "'While I live I'll grow' - no more". The Sydney Morning Herald, May 28: 2. 

Property Advert of the Week: Cheltenham Heights Estate, Pennant Hills (1968)

Some readers may have thought that this advertisement would focus on a housing estate within the suburb of Cheltenham. 

Even I was fooled when coming across it and was even being fooled again in preparing this entry.

Below is a newspaper advertisement that was published in The Daily Telegraph on 14 December 1968.

Blocks were on offer in the estate for $5250 which is equivalent to $68 522 today (RBA Inflation Calculator)

Source: Hooker-Rex. 1968. "New Release! 25 Blocks". The Daily Telegraph, December 14: 48. 

Going by the map provided and current maps, Boundary Road would be what is Kurrajong Street, Pennant Hills today.

 

I believe that the name was given because the estate borders Cheltenham but there is no direct road access from the estate to Cheltenham.

SYDNEY DEPARTMENT STORES: The end of Anthony Horderns' (1969)

The demise of Sydney department store chain Anthony Horderns' extends for a longer period of time than what this entry will focus on.

This entry will focus on the sale of Anthony Horderns' in 1969 which marked the end of its existence as a department store chain.

In November 1969, the Brickfield Hill store which had traded for a century closed. This generally went unreported by the newspapers. I could not even find any "closing down" advertisements.

The following month saw its compeitors rival for control:

• Buckinghams Holdings Limited (Buckinghams) - $6 million offer
• Waltons Limited - $9.3 million offer

Developer Stocks & Holdings also joined in the frenzy, offering $8.6 million for the company.

   

Source: Riggs, C. 1969. "$8.6m city store bid is accepted". The Daily Mirror, December 3: 2. 

This proposal had been accepted by the company. 

As the fight for control ensued, the company sold its Brickfield Hill site for $8.5 million to the State Superannuation Board.

 

Source: Anon. 1969. "Hordern's Site Owner Named". The Daily Telegraph, December 24: 1. 

On 5 January 1970, Waltons gained majority ownership, when it accquired 36% of the company from its rival bidders - Buckinghams and Tjuringa Securities. 

 

Source: Anon. 1970. "Waltons claims victory". The Daily Mirror, January 5: 26.

Shares in the company (Anthony Hordern & Sons Limited) were delisted from the Sydney Stock Exchange on 8 April 1970, completing the take over process

Source: Anon. 1970. "The last day for Anthony Hordern". The Sun, April 8: 68.

Hordern's Mid City Store closed in 1973. 

Property Advert of the Week: Willoughby Homes - "The Victoria" (1966)

Below is a newspaper advertisement promoting "The Victoria" by Willoughby Homes from 1966. This model home was on offer for £4159 ($8318). 

Note: Goods and Services could be sold in pounds, shillings and pence for a two year period following the introduction of decimal currency in 1966.

Source: Willoughby Homes Pty. Ltd. 1966. "The Victoria" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, October 15: 28.