MILESTONE: Westfield Liverpool turns 50 - Opening (1972)

 

Yesterday (28 August), Westfield Liverpool turns 50. Last week, I shared newspaper articles associated with the unveiling of plans by Westfield and Grace Bros to build the shopping centre in the Liverpool CBD. Click here to view that entry.

As promised, I will focus on the opening which occurred fifty years ago. The centre was opened by NSW Premier Sir Robert Askin. 

Source: Anon. 1972. "The West Gets Its Westfield". The Daily Mirror, August 29: 54.

Source: Anon. 1972. "The Birth of a Store". The Daily Mirror, August 28:30.

Construction took less than 12 months. Grace Bros was the anchor tenant with 20 000 square feet of space along with Target and fifty five shops.

Below is a Grace Bros Advertisement as published in The Daily Mirror on 28 August 1972. It was a true one-stop shop. Fifty years later, Grace Bros (now Myer) no longer sells pets, liquor or groceries or even a bite to eat.

   

 

 Source: Anon. 1972. "From the Corners of the World". The Daily Mirror, August 28: 30. 

 A major expansion in the 1990's saw the centre expand westwards absorbing Macquarie and Northumberland Streets to create a "superblock". Currently the centre has over 320 retailers, a six-fold increase since 1972. Event Cinemas, BigW, Kmart, Coles, Woolworths and JB Hi-fi are also major tenants. 

Plans were proposed in 2019 for an eight level office building along with additional retail space, entertainment and dining precinct. Construction has yet to commence.

Related Entry

MILESTONE: Westfield Liverpool turns 50 - Plans are unveiled (1969)

Property Advert of the Week: 10-12 Manning Road, Double Bay (1967)

Below is a newspaper advertisement from February 1967 for 10-12 Manning Street in Double Bay.

 

Source: Anon. 1967. "Double Bay Luxury Penthouse-Type Units" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, February 25:20. 

MILESTONE: Westfield Liverpool turns 50 - Plans are unveiled (1969)

Full citation below.

Next Sunday, (28 August) will be the 50th Anniversary of the opening of Westfield Liverpool in 1972. To mark the anniversary, I have organised a two part series focusing on the unveiling of plans in 1969 and sharing some material that was published in newspapers from its opening in 1972.

Source: Anon. 1969. "$8 1/2 Million Shopping Centre". The Daily Telegraph, December 9: page unknown. 

This week, I will focus on the unveiling of plans from 1969. Grace Bros announced that it would anchor the new Westfield Shopping Centre that was to encompass nearly one block, bounded by Macquarie Street (Hume Highway), Campbell Street, George Street and Elizabeth Street. Apart from Grace Bros, the initial plan called for a smaller sized department store and fifty shops.

Plans were lodged by Westfield with Liverpool Council on 8 December 1969. 

Source: Anon. 1969. "New $8.5m Shopping Centre". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 9: 9.

Grace Bros indicated that the 20 000 square feet of space would be as large as its Bondi Junction store and provided an opportunity for growth. It would not impinge on the trading area of its Parramatta and Roselands stores as Liverpool was located "on the fringes" of both trading areas. 

Property Advert of the Week: Greencliffe, Kirribilli (1996)

Below is a 1996 newspaper advertisement for the Greencliffe development in Kirribilli focusing on the sale of Apartment 408. The three bedroom apartment was on sale for $2.7 million. How much do you think it would sell for in 2022? 

Source: Greencliff Developments. 1996. "Greencliffe" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 22: 11RE (Real Estate Liftout)..

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Redeveloping the City Markets Precinct (1968)

Source: Gambie, G. 1968. "Who'll get the 14 golden acres?". The Sun Herald, September 8: 37 & 42. 

This is the last of my first set of entries in the Visions of Sydney series. In 1968, The Sun Herald asked Frank Fox & Associates to prepare a possible vision for the future of the City Markets site at Haymarket, which was relocated to Flemington. This was in response to State Government Proposals for an educational precinct to be created in the area, which was being opposed by the Civic Reform Association.

The fourteen acre area encompassed the current site of Paddys Markets, Darling Square (former site of the Sydney Entertainment Centre), Chinatown and areas encompassing Ultimo Road, Quay and Thomas Street's down to Railway Square.

The Civic Reform development plan encompassed the following:

• Highrise apartment towers and carparks to be built alongside the Western Distributor (planned at the time to go through Glebe and the route is shown at the top right of image). The estimated population living in the area would be 10 000 people.
• Opening up part of George Street to improve pedestrian access.
• Retention of Paddys Markets.

Was this vision fufilled?

Not everything in a concept plan or vision will be fufilled. As the development at Barangaroo shows, it can be changed easily to accomadate changing needs or uses, which means there is a shift away from original plans or intentions.

The NSW State Government proceeded with its plans to develop an education precinct, which has evolved into the University of Technology, Sydney (attaining university status in 1988). Buildings encompassing the university have been built as far as Quay Street (Where the library is based). 44 000 students are currently enrolled. 

Paddy's Markets still trades at Haymarket, and is a "must-do" for visitors to Sydney. 

The High Density Flats would not appear until mid 2010's, after the closure of the Sydney Entertainment Centre (1983-2015) and the decision to incorporate it into a redeveloped Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre Complex. The precinct is known as Darling Quarter.

Above: Darling Quarter fufilled a 1960's vision to turn Haymarket into a residential precinct. Photo taken by the Author (2021). 

One element not completed was the improved pedestrian access to George Street, though the underpass under Railway Square and the conversion of the former goods line into a walkway could be regarded as fufilling at least part of the vision.

The residential population of Haymarket according to the 2021 Census was approximately 8500., just short of the estimated 10 000.

As for the idea of the area becoming a centre of entertainment. Except for the Sydney Entertainment Centre (1983-2015), little was provided in terms of entertainment for Sydneysiders and visitors. Her Majestys Theatre was eventually demolished for an apartment block in the 2000's.

Property Advert of the Week: The Comenarra, Turramurra (1965)

Back in 2014, I posted a newspaper advertisement dated from 1964 for The Comenarra estate at Turramurra on the North Shore. One year later (1965), 22 new lots were on offer for a £185 ($370) deposit.

Source: Lend Lease Homes. 1965. "Land at Turramurra" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, October 30: 35. 

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Additional Sydney Harbour Bridge Roadways (1987)

Sydney's Number One icon - The Sydney Harbour Bridge has even had own visions placed on it. I am not referring to the alternate designs or early proposals, but rather the existing structure itself.

Since opening in 1932, it has had to shoulder the burden of carrying vehicles from north to south and vice versa. For sixty years, it was the only direct crossing for vehicles across Sydney Harbour. The Sydney Harbour Tunnel in 1992 provided Sydney motorists with a second crossing. It did for a few years take the pressure off the bridge itself. 

It is anticipated by 2027, a third road crossing, the Western Harbour Tunnel will provide another bypass road for Sydney's CBD. The tunnel will connect the WestConnex with the Warringah Expressway, running under the Balmain Peninsula and North Sydney.

Building a harbour crossing is not cheap. The Western Harbour Tunnel will cost at least $7 billion to build (likely to be higher) and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel cost $560 million to build.

Proposals or visions for additional crossings has lasted for decades. 

To avoid construction of new crossings, some have proposed boosting the capacity of the briudge itself through construction of additional road decks, either above or below the existing road deck.

In 1987, Architect Bruce Payne of Whitehead and Payne along with the support of Dr Keith Bradfield (son of Dr. John Bradfield), unveiled a proposal to build two additional strips of lanes above the existing lanes instead of building the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.  

The two strips would carry an additional four lanes of traffic (combined) with two lanes in each direction.

Source: Anon. 1987. "$100m double-decker plan to cross Harbor". The Daily Telegraph, March 32:13. 

It was the not the first proposal. In 2005, "Project Star" proposed that a second deck would be built in the undercarriage of the bridge allowing the bridge to carry an additional four lanes of traffic plus an additional two rail tracks.

In 2010, The Sun Herald, reported on a proposal by transport experts to build a second rail deck underneath the existing road deck to accomodate a new heavy rail line running from St Leonards to the city, following largely what is now the Sydney CBD Metro with new platforms at Wynyard instead of a new station at Barangaroo.  

Property Advert of the Week: 'Castaways', Newport (1971)

Below is a 1971 newspaper advertisement promoting the sale of apartments in the "Castaways" complex at 399 Barrenjoey Road, Newport.

It is a well located complex, with shops metres away and Newport Beach right across the road. The Norfolk Pines would have since blocked the views even further but still provide a great backdrop.

Apartments were priced from $15 500 or equivalent to approximately $178 000 in todays money according to the RBA Inflation Calculator.

 

Source: Anon. "Castaways" (Advertisement). The Sun, September 3: 64.   

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Proposals for Sydney City Council's Strategic Plan (1970)

In 1971, the City of Sydney Strategic Plan was released by Sydney City Council to guide city development and planning through to the year 2000.

As part of formulating the document, proposals were tendered from around the world with ideas on how to make our great city better.

The Daily Mirror published the feature article below summarising the proposals from 1970. For some of those proposals, I have separate clippings which could be explored further in a future entry such as the Woolloomooloo redevelopment scheme.

It envisioned a future Sydney with George Street and William Street being turned into boulevards, a Civic Centre in the southern part of the Sydney CBD along with the proposed redevelopment schemes for Circular Quay (i.e. Gateway Plaza site), The Rocks and Woolloomooloo.

Also there is mention of the closure of Martin Place at the George Street end, which was trialled in 1970 before being made permanent in 1971, and led to the closure of the entire street by the end of the decade.

Source: Anon. 1970. "Sydney in the 21st Century". The Daily Mirror, March 18: 4-5.