Remember This? Sydney Harbour Bridge Painter at Work (1961)

Around a decade before Paul Hogan posed for his famous photograph while at work as a Sydney Harbour Bridge Rigger, The Sunday Mirror captured this image of a harbour bridge painter at work.

Back in 1961, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was the tallest structure in Sydney at 134 metres which justifies the headline He's as high as he can go. The man in the photograph is Sam Scheffer, a painter who had been employed since 1959.

Source: Anonymous. 1961. "He's as high as he can go". The Sunday Mirror, September 17: 5. 

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: Cronulla Hotel & Heliport Proposal (1960)

Full Citation Below

In 1960, plans were unveiled for an 18-storey hotel, topped with a heliport, at Cronulla in Gerrale Street, opposite Cronulla Park and Cronulla Beach. From the information that I have, an exact location is not known, but based on maps, this development would have to be located in or around the intersection with Surf Road, which intersects with the park.

The estimated cost was around £3 million ($6 million).

Concerns were raised about the overshadowing of Cronulla Park and Cronulla Beach (also known as South Cronulla to locals), the loss of views, and noise concerns associated with the placement of a heliport atop the hotel, as well as parking issues. 

Sutherland Council rejected the proposal in June 1961, ensuring "no future for this hotel plan". 

Source: Anonymous. 1961. "No future for this hotel plan". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, June 28: 13. 

 

Remember This? Sydney Skyline (1969)

In 1969, Photographer Neil Stewart (The Daily Mirror) trekked to the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to capture a photograph of Sydney's skyline. The photo appears below. Alongside the photo is a photo taken from the same location in 1961. It gave readers of The Daily Mirror a good insight into how Sydney's skyline had changed over the 1960s. 

If compared with a photo taken at the same location in 2024, one would notice, apart from new buildings, some notable omissions:

• The State Office Block has since been demolished (1997)
• Goldfields House was demolished in 2016.
• The Waterboard Building is now the Greenland Sydney Centre, roughly double the height of the original building and is a residential building.

Source: Stewart, N. 1969. "The eight-year face-lift". The Daily Mirror,  June 9: 22-23. 

1961: Harry Seidler calls for demolition of the QVB

One of the most popular entries on this blog since its inception has been my entry on the 1959 proposal by Sydney City Council to demolish the Queen Victoria Building and replace it with a public square and underground carpark. 

I mentioned in that entry that one supporter of its demolition was architect Harry Seidler and made reference to the 1970's when he called for a carpark to replace the building.

In that search for information on Harry Seidler and his advocacy for demolition, I had come across photos on the internet of a scanned newspaper article which in inital searches was undated - "Tear down this city horror". However one photograph taken of a pasted article from one of his scrap books had "Mirror 26/9/61" which was enough for me to locate the article which was featured in the September 26, 1961 edition of The Daily Mirror.

Below is a Microfische copy of the article.

What was Seidler's position?

Seidler told The Daily Mirror that the building was "an architectural monstrousity, a wasteful stuipd building". At the time, the building housed the Sydney County Council and construction had been halted on the building of its new offices at the corner of George and Bathurst Streets (not completed until 1968). He argued that there was a "desparate need" for a Civic Square and underground carpark in central Sydney.

Seidler had his supporters including Professor Denis Winston, Professor of Town and Country Planning at Sydney University who stated that "the time to act is now" along with Cr. W. Doherty, Chairman of the Sydney County Council. 

How did Sydney City Council respond to the article?

Source: Anon. 1961. "Only a bomb will shift it". The Daily Mirror, September 27: 7. 

The following day (September 27), Lord Mayor Harry Jensen, told The Daily Mirror that "insurmountable obstacles" had stopped the building from being demolished. The civic square could only be built if the Sydney County Council vacated the building. Construction had been halted on its purpose built headquarters at the corner of George and Bathurst Streets due to construction costs. The building was not completed until 1968. 

Jensen believed that any Civic Square on the site of the QVB would be determined by future councils and not him.

Finally note this statement at the introduction to the article: 

"...todays teenagers will probably be old men and women before they see the last of the building's clutter of columns, cornices and cuploas." 

In 2021, the teenagers referred to in 1961 are now senior citizens. The QVB is here to stay following its restoration into a retail complex during the 1980's. This was opened in 1986 and 2021 is 35 years of retail trading at the QVB. 

And the headline "Only a bomb will shift it" is true in itself. 

SYDNEY SHOPPING CENTRES: Early Scheme for Roselands (1961)

A few years ago, I shared some material on the opening of Roselands in 1965. Here is a "prequel" entry.

I recently found a proposed scheme for the Roselands Shopping Centre dating from 1961 which was approved by Canterbury Council. Instead of one big building housing all retailers (as they did) anchored by Grace Bros, this scheme had several buildings. It appears that there was even two open air squares.

Source: Anon. 1961. "New Shopping Centre". The Sydney Morning Herald, November 10: 6. 

Could Roselands have evolved differently had they gone with the scheme? Would we have seen a Warringah Mall style shopping centre, south of the Harbour Bridge?

Or would they have to demolish the centre or a major renovation may have had to occur in future years to bring it to date with retail trends? Some good What If's to answer.

The design for the original centre was finalised in 1964. Projected cost was five million pounds.

Previous entries on Roselands that you may find of interest: 

• 1965: Grace Bros Supermarkets (Roselands) Advertisement
• MILESTONE: Roselands turns 50 - The Marketing (1965)
• MILESTONE: Roselands Opens (1965)
• MILESTONE: Roselands Turns 50 - The Future

1961: Plans for Australia Square are unveiled

Australia Square Tower. The photo was taken by the Author (2013).

Harry Seidler's Australia Square Tower (1967) is regarded as a Sydney landmark. Between 1967 and 1973, it was the tallest building in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.

It is regarded as an innovative building for its time and is heritage listed.

Plans to develop the tower as part of the Australia Square complex date back to 1960, but formal plans did not eventuate until 1961. The plan was to demolish the buildings on a block bounded by George, Bond, Pitt and Little George Street's and build two towers around a public square. The taller tower would rise 58 levels above George Street with a 13 level tower rising over Pitt Street.

  

Source: Anon. 1961. "Skyscraper Project: 58-Storey City Block Planned". The Daily Telegraph, December 5:9.

In March 1962, plans were approved "in principle" by Sydney City Council but it was recommended that 10-15 floors be removed from the final design of the Australia Square Tower. It led to the tower that we see today.

Australia Square Tower (right) with the Plaza Building at left. The photo was taken by the Author (2013).

Construction began in December 1962, with the Pitt Street tower completed in 1964 and the 50 level tower in 1967.

The decision to ditch the setback at the top of the original design was a wise idea because the round shape of the tower is what makes it a great building and the fact it is a simple design.

1961: Anthony Hordern's Shopping Centre

This week, I share with you two newspaper advertisements to promote the opening of the Anthony Horderns' Shopping Centre in Central Sydney from December 1961.

It was boasting to be the first "drive-in" shopping centre in Sydney's CBD which had parking levels within the existing structure. Shoppers had 100 shops to choose from.

This was done in response to the opening of "drive-in" shopping centres that were already open in Sydney e.g. Top Ryde or were in the planning stages.

By the end of the decade, there would be no more Anthony Horderns at Brickfield Hill. However, some small shops were allowed to trade until the 1980s when it was pulled down for the World Square development.

Sources:

Anthony Horderns. 1961 "Anthony Horderns' New Drive-In City Shopping Centre (Advertisement)." The Daily Telegraph, December 6: 29.

Anthony Horderns. 1961 "Opens today at 12 noon (Advertisement)." The Daily Telegraph, December 6: 24.