Westfield Burwood Redevelopment (2000)

Source: Westfield. 2000. "Westfield Burwood Grand Opening Thursday 17 August" (Advertisement). The Inner Western Suburbs Courier, August 14: 1. 

Did you know that Westfield Burwood is the only Westfield Shopping Centre to have been completely demolished and rebuilt as part of a redevelopment?

Source: Anon. 2000. "Designed for the new millennium". The Inner Western Suburbs Courier, August 14: 21.

This month is 25 years since the redeveloped complex opened to shoppers. The size of the centre was doubled to 62 000sq/m and contained 220 stores. Anchor tenants from the original complex returned, including Grace Bros and Coles. Target, which traded on a separate site in Victoria Street, moved into the complex and its former site was incorporated into Westfield, becoming home to a new 12-screen Greater Union (now Event Cinemas) complex. 

 

Source: Westfield. 2000. "It's easier to get here (but even harder to resist)." (Advertisement). The Inner Western Suburbs Courier, August 14: 155. 

Woolworths and Kmart opened new stores for the first time. The official opening was on August 17, 2000, by swimming legend Dawn Fraser, an Inner West local herself.

According to The Inner Western Suburbs Courier,  an estimated 90,000 flocked to the centre for the first day of trading.

Source: Anon. 2000. "Huge crowd flocks to Westfield". The Inner Western Suburbs Courier, August 21: 1.

Grace Bros was branded as Myer in 2004, before closing in 2007 and was replaced by David Jones. In 2024, a refurbishment saw David Jones reduce its trading space from three floors to two floors. The space on level 2 is now occupied by Aldi, JB Hifi, Nike and Rebel Sport. 

These advertisements were published in The Inner Western Suburbs Courier in its editions throughout August 2000.

Coles

 Woolworths 

 Kmart

Dymocks

 

Grace Bros published a special advertising supplement on August 17, 2000, in The Daily Telegraph. I share three of those pages with you.

Entry of interest

MILESTONE: Westfield Burwood opens (1966)

Property Advert of the Week: Meriton Advertisement (1973)

Below is a 1973 newspaper advertisement from Meriton Apartments (then known as Meriton Properties) promoting apartments for sale in Sydney.

The main listing was for 23-25 Sherbrook Road, Hornsby. In addition, apartments were on sale in Dee Why, Randwick, Harbord, Caringbah, Lane Cove and Mortdale. 

 

Source: Meriton Properties Ltd. 1973. "Home Units Hornsby". The Sun, October 19: 63. 

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Bondi Junction Piazza (2001)

Full Citation Below

This is the last entry in our current series of Visions of Sydney. In 2001, Waverley Council had plans to build a Piazza in Bondi Junction to revitalise the Oxford Street mall. Retailers were struggling to attract customers into the mall following the opening of the undercover Bus/Rail Interchange, along with the redevelopment of Westfield Bondi Junction (completed 2004). 

Piazza-style malls were a trend at the time in Sydney, as reflected with The Forum at Leichhardt (1998) and Kogarah Town Square (2003). Apart from retail, the malls were surrounded by a residential population residing in apartment buildings (low to mid-rise). 

The piazza was to be centred on the site of Bronka Arcade and buildings adjacent to it. Low-rise apartment buildings would surround the Piazza along its western and eastern ends, while the podium of Eastgate Plaza would be moved forward into Spring Street to connect the complex with the piazza. This would have required the closure of Spring Street between Bronte Road and Newland Street.

   

Source: Harley, R. 2001. "Council is thinking outside the square". The Australian Financial Review, September 4: page unknown. 

Property Advert of the Week: "San Michelle" at Queenscliff (1970)

Below is a 1971 newspaper advertisement promoting the sales of units in a two-building complex at Queenscliff - "San Michelle", located at 63 Crown Road. Each building has six units spread over three floors, with an average of two units per floor. 

Going by the RBA Inflation Calculator, a unit would range in the equivalent of today's money from approximately $ 266,700 to $ 481,200.

  

Source: I.E.L. 1971. "San Michelle" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, June 5: 43. 

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Otis Personal Rapid Transport System for Central Sydney (1974)

Did you know that in the 1970s, the Otis Elevator Company proposed a personal rapid transport system to transport people in central Sydney?

Below is a newspaper feature from The Sydney Morning Herald in 1974. 

Along the four-mile proposed route (Approximately 6.5 kilometres) from the Sydney Opera House to Central Station, vehicles seating up to 24 people would operate either at ground level or on elevated rails. This was seen as a solution to traffic congestion and air pollution in central Sydney. It was even suggested that it could be used to serve the Northern Beaches, which at the time (and still is) not served by heavy rail. 

Source: Anon. 1974. "Air cushion travel proposed". The Sydney Morning Herald, January 30: 3. 

Property Advert of the Week: Neeta Homes (1992)

Below is a 1992 newspaper advertisement by Neeta Homes. Not long after this advertisement was published, the company went into liquidation (May 1992). Buyers only needed $1000 for an initial deposit, while the total price of a house and land package ranged from $ 99,500 to $ 149,000. House and land packages were available in Liverpool, Blacktown, Campbelltown, Penrith, and Camden regions, along with Bligh Park and the Central Coast.  

Source: Neeta Homes. 1992. "Super Homes Sellout" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, March 7: 4. 

VISIONS OF SYDNEY: Circular Quay facelift (1972)

Over the years, there have been several visions to give Circular Quay a facelift, many of which have never become a reality, either in part or in whole.

Below is one vision from 1972 that was published in The Daily Telegraph. In summary, the vision was to:

• Renovate the wharves with glazing (renovations did not occur until the 1990s, and Wharf 3 was rebuilt in the 1980s to accommodate the Freshwater Class ferries and their automated gangways.)
• Covered walkway from the Sydney Opera House would be extended down to the Cahill Expressway.
• A waterfront public square, tavern and restaurant along the waterfront at East Circular Quay.
• New paving
• Electric Train with open-air carriages (carnival style)
• New lighting

 

Source: Anon. 1972. "Our Quay to the future". The Daily Telegraph, December 13: 28. 

Property Advert of the Week: Arena, Rockdale (2002)

Below is a 2002 newspaper advertisement for the Arena complex, located on the Princes Highway at Rockdale.

 

Source: Cramer Property Agents & PRDnationwide. 2002. "Arena" (Advertisement). The Sunday Telegraph: 15 (homeowner liftout).