1996: Demolition of the Nestle Factory Chimney

In 1996, the chimney at the former Nestle Factory in Abbotsford was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the site into a new medium density development - Abbotsford Cove. The factory operated between 1918 and 1991.

Below is an article from The Daily Telegraph reporting on the demolition.

Source: Seymour, T. 1996. "Old chimney falls from grace". The Daily Telegraph, September 2: 3.

The Chimney was demolished on September 21 1996 with the public invited to attend. Peter Wilkin, a student from Abbotsford Public School pressed the trigger.  An estimated 1000 people attended and were treated to a sausage sizzle and entertainment. 

Source: Banks, A. 1996. "Down the chimney". The Sunday Telegraph, September 22:39. 

Canada Bay Council Local Studies Collection have published a photo of the demolition. They claim it was circa 1995, which contradicts the newspaper reports. 

 

Source: van Gerwen, A. 2012. Abbotsford Cove. Image. https://www.flickr.com/photos/canadabayconnections/7174613344/in/photolist-bVZJsQ-bVZLA5. Accessed 17 February 2021. 

Nestle no longer produce their products in Sydney, they maintain a corporate presence at Rhodes and a distribution centre is located at Arndell Park. 

Property Advert of the Week: 3 Tranmere Street, Drummoyne (1971)

Below is an advertisement for apartments in a three storey unit block located at 3 Tranmere Street, Drummoyne.

Source: Multiple Real Estate Pty. Ltd. 1971. "Drummoyne: Must Built Home Units" (Advertisements). The Daily Telegraph, June 12: 44. 

One bedroom apartments were on sale for $16 500 (equivalent to $183 000 in todays money) while a two bedroom apartments were available for $23 000 (equivalent to $255 000 in todays money).

Domain has listed sales of units in recent years and one apartment sold for $821 000 in 2014.

Price equivalents in todays money were sourced via the RBA Inflation Calculator.

Property Advert of the Week: Parkview, Drummoyne (1971)

Lets head back to 1971 where $21 000 scored one an apartment with views over Iron Cove.

Click here to see the complex as viewed from the street today.

Source: Burridge Dodd Real Estate Pty. Ltd. 1971. "Parkview" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, May 8:56.

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: What Concord Oval might have been!!! (1987)

I was a toddler when these plans for Concord Oval came out, in 1987 but to discover this about a year ago really impressed me. I had heard over the years especially in the 1990's plans to enlarge it, but this has never happened. 

But the question I might have to ask myself is why the Australian Rugby Union felt the need to build its own purpose-built stadium when Sydney was getting a 45 000 seat football stadium that could accommodate them along with Rugby League and Soccer. The three sports co-exist at Moore Park very well and every weekend has seen one (if not two codes) make use of the ground. 

It was probably about prestige and the fact that maybe one huge 45 000 seat rectangular stadium for Sydney was not enough. The idea of an Olympic Stadium or an ever bigger stadium was yet to emerge. 

Source: Australian Rugby Union. 1987. "Rugby Union announces plans for 39, 800 seat stadium at Concord" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, July 11: 12.

It was the Sydney Football Stadium and Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium) that killed off the plans ultimately. Apart from the facilities that the stadiums offer, Concord Oval is surrounded by homes which make expansion difficult along with access to transport. Parramatta Road which runs along the southern side is Sydney's busiest road. The major stadiums offer better transport options. Stadium Australia is serviced by rail at Olympic Park while the Sydney Football Stadium is served by buses and not far from the Sydney CBD. Stadium Australia is only about five kilometres away as well, and double the size of what Concord Oval might have been.

Canada Bay Council, recently expressed its desire to see the venue get a decent upgrade with the hope of attracting some major events like NRL or A-League games. However that will be hard to pursue as the NSW Government injects over $1 billion into ANZ and the Football Stadium along with Parramatta Stadium. Suburban Grounds will still get some funding as part of the plans with a dollar for dollar deal.

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: Drummoyne's Towering Giants (1970)

Drummoyne doesn't have anything exceptionally tall at all but in 1970, there was a proposal to build major highrise apartment towers at Birkenhead Point. This would have resulted in the demolition of the Dunlop Tyre Factory buildings that would later become the Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre.

The tallest tower was to rise 42 levels (left of picture) or about 8 levels shorter than Australia Square in the Sydney CBD.

Princess Properties International was to develop the site. Apart from providing apartments for 3000 people, there would also be office, motel and retail space included. In addition, a ferry terminal and marina would be built on Iron Cove.

  

Source: Anonymous. 1970. $50 million complex near harbor". The Daily Telegraph, July 25: 1 & 8.

It may have never got off the ground, but we did manage to keep the original Dunlop Factory Buildings and that would form the Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre, one of Sydney's major outlet shopping centres.

Photos taken by the Author.

1995: Sydney's Olympic Road (M4 East)

With the WestConnex now planning to snake its way under Sydney, lets look at one dead scheme that was proposed for the inner west from 1995 as a solution to the traffic gridlock on Parramatta Road.

However it was not going to be a motorway and the road would run above ground through a section of Concord and Five Dock before connecting with the City West Link at Wattle Street, Haberfield. A wise idea to not proceed with it because I think it wouldn't have had any major impact on traffic on Parramatta Road. The bottlenecks would have shifted east along the road into Haberfield and Ashfield. This appears that controlling traffic there would be so challenging as you'd not just manage traffic coming out of the new road but also the City-West Link, Parramatta Road and Frederick Street, Ashfield.

Two alternative routes were considered. One would have included a tunnel under Parramatta Road like the WestConnex Motorway but would have required closure of parts of Parramatta Road or the construction of a viaduct along Parramatta Road.

Source: Larkin, J. 1995. "RTA in push for Olympic road link," The Sunday Telegraph, August 20: 5.

SYDNEY TRANSPORT: Opening of the Gladesville Bridge (1964)

Photo was taken by the Author.

This year the Gladesville Bridge turns 50, and at this stage looks like it will be celebrated with little fanfare. Those who drive over it know little about its engineering feats at the time which makes it a special bridge. Did you know that at the time of completion, it was the longest concrete arched bridge in the world? The longest span is 305 metres while the length of the bridge itself is 579 metres.

But why was the bridge built? It was built to replace a bridge just 300 metres to the west, which would link what is currently Huntleys Point Road at Huntleys Point with Victoria Place at Drummoyne. The bridge itself opened in 1881.

Source: Star Photo Co., Company. Year Unknown.


It could only carry one lane of traffic in each direction plus a tramway. It had a section that could be swung open to enable taller ships to sail through. By the 1950s there were mechanical problems which would stop the bridge from closing. Add in urban growth and increasing use of the car by the growing populace and there was a problem.

The original Gladesville Bridge struggled to cope with increased traffic movements as this image from 1962 shows.

Source: Department of Main Roads. 1962. Accessed August 19 2014, http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Freeways/GladesvilleBr/16.JPG.

Meanwhile, there were plans to build a freeway running west from the Sydney CBD through Gladesville and the North Shore to link what is now the Pacific Motorway (M1) and north-west Sydney (The Castlereagh Freeway which evolved into the current M2 motorway). The bridge itself would form a section of the future freeway like the nearby Tarban Creek bridge which was completed the following year (1965).

Here is how the press covered it all the way back on October 2, 1964, when it was officially opened by Princess Marina. Despite the engineering achievements, it had to compete for attention amongst other news stories at the time. It was reported that 6000 attended the opening before being opened to traffic for peak hour. The Daily Telegraph reported congestion on the bridge and approaches occurring that evening in its paper the following day (October 3).

Source: Anonymous, 1964. "6000 see bridge opened: Ceremony by Marina", The Daily Mirror, October 2: 3. 

The Sydney Morning Herald was the only paper that provided special coverage of the opening. It produced a special supplement focusing on road projects in NSW and focused on the bridge itself. I have decided to share an illustration that they produced of its construction.

Source: Anonymous. 1964. "Much Work On Design." The Sydney Morning Herald, October 2: 14. 

The original Gladesville Bridge no longer remains but two of the spans remain; one each on each side of the Parramatta River.

The span itself

Photo was taken by the Author.