VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Sydney CBD Light Rail Loop (2000)

Above: The proposed Sydney CBD Light Rail Loop. Full Citation Below.

Back in 2000, Bob Carr predicted a major expansion of the Inner West Light Rail Line, which ran at the time from Central Station to Lilyfield. To coincide with the opening of the extension from Glebe to Lilyfield, the NSW government considered an expansion of the light rail network to include a Sydney CBD Loop running up Pitt and Castlereagh Streets from Central Station to Circular Quay. In the inner west, the light rail line would have been extended into Norton Street Leichhardt. Any expansion would wait until the opening of the Cross City Tunnel (proposed to open in 2004 at the time).

 

   

Source: Skelsey, M. 2000. "Back to the future with tram power". The Daily Telegraph, August 14: 15. 

The vision had its merits, especially the concept of a CBD loop which would have opened up for better integration of eastern suburbs services with inner west services, unlike the current network where eastern suburbs and inner west services operate independently of each other with no integration.

Property Advert of the Week: The Wharf: Woolloomooloo (1999)

Below is a 1999 newspaper advertisement for "The Wharf" at Woolloomoolooo. Remaining apartments were on sale from $815 000 to $2.75 million. Water views were guaranteed.

 

Source: Walker Corporation & Multplex. 1999. "The Wharf Woolloomooloo" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 5: 23RE (Real Estate Liftout).

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Sydney, 2001 as envisioned by Jeremy Bingham (1989)

For the next five weeks, I will run another Visions of Sydney series,  posting entries our planners or leaders had in mind for our city, whether it involved widespread redevelopment within the Sydney CBD and surrounds or new developments in our suburbs.

The first entry focuses on a vision by Lord Mayor Jeremy Bingham (1988-1991). In 1989 he revealed to The Daily Mirror what he wanted to see in Sydney by 2001.

 

Firstly, he envisioned what has become the Cross City Tunnel. His plan was featured in a blog entry last year. It was not until 2005 that the tunnel became reality. It has not necessarily seen the removal of traffic from Bathurst Street and Park Street or William Street.

The Capitol Theatre was restored during the 1990's and his vision for wider footpaths has been fulfilled.in recent decades along with more garden settings i.e. plant boxes, though not all of it was undertaken by 2001.

Another vision was the tram revival. Unfortuantely, there was no tram service between Central and Circular Quay until 2019, but it was possible to travel from Darling Harbour to Central from 1997 which used most of the former goods line running along the rear of Darling Harbour and Pyrmont. 

However the electric bus loop and fast inner-city loop services were not fulfilled. 

Property Advert of the Week: St Ives Cul-De-Sac's (1966)

Below is a 1966 newspaper advertisement promoting blocks of land in two cul-de-sacs in St Ives - Durack Place (first map) and Jessica Gardens (second map). The lots were on sale from £2200 ($4400).

 

Source: Anon. Untitled (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, February 12:39.

Note: Decimal Currency was introduced on 14 February 1966.

Remember This? When McDonald's first opened in central Sydney (1972)

Mcdonald's opened their first store in Australia in 1971 in Yagoona. The following year, the first store in Central Sydney opened. It was at 632-634 George Street, not far from their current lodgings inside the former Plaza Theatre (from 1984).

   

Source: McDonald's System of Australia Pty. Ltd. 1972. "McDonald's first city location" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, November 4: 10. 

Nine stores currently trade in the Sydney CBD, including the Ultimo Store at Railway Square, Darling Quarter and Darling Square. 

In recent years a number of stores have closed. There may be some on the list that are missing. Let me know if I have left any out (excluding ones that were relocated):

• Pitt & Park Street - Closed due to Sydney Metro construction. The building was demolished. 
• Martin Place - Closed due to Sydney Metro construction.
• The Rocks - The Rocks Centre
• Ground floor, Metropolitan Hotel (Corner of George and Bridge Street) - Closed due to "end of lease", as I recall, around a decade ago. 
• Harbourside Darling Harbour - Closed due to the current redevelopment of the site.
• Mid City Centre - This operated as a McDonald's Express outlet, I recall and closed due to redevelopment into the current centre.
• Centrepoint Sydney - Located in the food court before redevelopment into Westfield Sydney.
• Glasshouse - Operated as a McDonald's Express outlet but unable to provide a date of closure.
• Hunter Connection - This operated as a McDonald's Express outlet, I recall and closed sometime in the 2000s.
• Hoyts Cinema Centre, George Street

Property Advert of the Week: Balmain Cove & Balmain Shores (2000)

Below is a newspaper advertisement from 2000 promoting apartments in the Balmain Cove and Balmain Shores development at Rozelle. This is the site of the former Balmain Power Station.

 

 

Source: Australand. 2000. "Dream Location" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 10: 32A (Domain Liftout). 

Related Entries

1992: Leichhardt Council Vs The State Government on local development 

Property Advert of the Week: Balmain Cove (1998)

Remember This? Boxing at the Sydney Opera House (1982)

 

Source: Anon. 1982. "Fight Promotion A Smooth Opera-ation". The Daily Telegraph, April 3: 9. 

Did you know that the Sydney Opera House once hosted Boxing? 

It happened on 4 April 1982 when the Performance Hall was converted into a temporary boxing arena with the boxing ring placed on the stage.

3000 people turned up to the event, promoted by Rugby League player Tommy Raudonikis. 

The evening's main bout was between Paul Ferreri and John Feeney for the Commonwealth bantamweight title, which was won by Ferreri in the 13th round after the fight was stopped. 

Newspaper reports reported that brawls broke out amongst the crowd during the event, which security struggled to contain, and police were not to be seen until after the fight subsided. 

After the violence that evening, Boxing bouts were banned and have remained so to this day.

Source: Anon. 1982. "Ban on Opera House boxing". The Daily Telegraph, April 6: 3. 

Property Advert of the Week: Gold Star Homes (1966)

Below is a 1966 newspaper advertisement by Albert & Co promoting house and land packages on offer from Gold Star Homes in the Fairfield and Liverpool regions.

Deposits on your home and block began from £445 ($890) equating to around $13 135 today (RBA Inflation Calculator).

Source: Albert & Co Pty. Ltd. 1966. "Gold Star Homes" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, February 19:28. 

Note: Goods and services were allowed to advertise in pounds, pence and shillings for a two year period following the introduction of decimal currency on 14 February 1966. 

Remember This? Crowded House Concert at the Sydney Opera House (1996)

Full citation below.

Remember This? is back for a short three-week mid-year series. 

This year marks the Golden Jubilee of the Sydney Opera House as it celebrates fifty years since opening, and I thought I'd select one highlight from its fifty-year history. 

The biggest event at the Opera House occurred in its forecourt on 24 November1996 when 150 000 people attended the last-ever concert by Crowded House, literally making it a crowded house. The concert was televised on television and raised $1 million for Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick.

Thousands were turned away, and the final figure, I believe, includes those who failed to land a spot on the forecourt and were forced to watch (or listen) from nearby foreshore areas.

The concert began at 8pm, lasted around two and a half hours and concluded with a fireworks display on Sydney Harbour. The final piece played was Don't Dream It's Over, which is still played widely on the radio to this day and even used in a New Zealand tourism commercial in the 2000s

Crowded House reunited for a one-off concert at the same venue in 2016 to mark the twentieth anniversary of that concert, performing to a crowd a fraction of the size. 

Such a crowd will never be matched due to safety restrictions that restrict the capacity of any major concert or event held in the Sydney Opera Forecourt.

Finally, it would rate as one of the most highly attended concerts in Australia but falls short of the 200 000 that attended the 1967 concert by The Seekers at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. 

Source: Rumble, T. & Hilferty, T. 1996. "It's a full House". The Daily Telegraph, November 25: 3.

Property Advert of the Week: Harbour Tower Gardens (1999)

Below is a 1999 newspaper advertisement for the Harbour Garden Towers in Harbour Street in the city.

Apartments started from $242 000 for a one bedroom unit with penthouses on offer from just under $2.2 million

The monorail was literally on the doorstep with a monorail station located in the podium of the building to transport residents to Town Hall.

Source: Accord Pacific & Jones Lang La Salle. 1999. "Harbour Garden Towers" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, June 5: 18.