In this series to mark 25 years since Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympic Games, this entry focuses on the torch relay.
On May 10, 2000, in Olympia, Greece, the relay commenced its historic 36,000-kilometre journey. The torch could not be lit using the parabolic mirrors, which create the heat from the sun to generate the flame, due to cloud cover. A backup from a rehearsal had to be used. It spent ten days in Greece before reaching Athens and involved 800 runners.
1500 would carry the torch as it visited nations across Oceania, including Guam, Palau, Micronesia, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga, and New Zealand. Fiji was removed from the relay after a political coup occurred there on May 19 2000.
June 8, 2000, marked 100 days until the Olympic Games and marked the start of the torch relay in Australia. The relay began at Uluru with Nova Peris-Kneebone as the first runner. From there, it visited all Australian States and Territories, covering 27,000 kilometres and involving 11,000 runners.
The relay first reached Sydney on September 3 when it arrived in Penrith after being run across the Blue Mountains. The following day, it trekked through the outer west to Campbelltown for a lunchtime ceremony before heading south to Bowral to continue the relay across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
The relay returned to Sydney on September 11, 2000, after being run from Wollongong, spending the first night in Sydney at Cronulla.
Below is a map of the torch relay route through Sydney, which covered its final days until it entered Stadium Australia at Homebush as the climax of the Opening Ceremony on the evening of September 15 2000.
It encompassed days 96-100 of the torch relay (September 11-15, 2000)
This was sourced from the "Here at last" liftout, which was featured in The Daily Telegraph on September 11, 2000.
Below are selected clippings from Sydney newspapers, primarily focusing on photographic spreads, relating to the final days of the torch relay.
The Daily Telegraph
September 12 2000
The Daily Telegraph
September 13 2000
The Daily Telegraph
September 14 2000
Evening Edition
The Sydney Morning Herald
September 15 2000
On the evening of September 14, an estimated crowd of one million watched the relay weave through central Sydney. At 7:11pm, the Olympic Rings were switched on the Sydney Harbour as Olivia Newton-John passed on the flame to Pat Rafter (Tennis) at the Sydney Opera House.
Below are two articles that featured in The Sydney Morning Herald that day, including the lighting of the flame at the community cauldron at Sydney Town Hall, lit by golfer Karrie Webb.
Source: Dennis, A. 2000. "After seven years, this was not a time for long speeches". The Sydney Morning Herald, September 15: 5.
Source: Stephens, T. 2000. "Torch switch turns on lights all over town". The Sydney Morning Herald, September 15: 5.
The Daily Telegraph
September 15 2000
Evening Edition
The front page featured Greg Norman being mobbed by fans on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Traffic on the bridge was brought to a complete standstill.
The Daily Telegraph
September 16 2000
Next week, I will provide an overview of the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games.
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.
Below is a 1997 newspaper advertisement for the Oakford complex at 252-258 Sussex Street (right at the corner of Sussex and Druitt Street), opposite the Darling Park Complex. It is presently the YEHS Hotel - Sydney Harbour Suites. This was geared towards investors as opposed to home occupiers, given that they are being managed as serviced apartments.
Source: Metroland Development Pty. Ltd., Premier Realty Pty.Ltd & PRD Realty. 1997. "Invest in the Best" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, May 24: 17RE (Real Estate Liftout).
This is my last entry in the current series of Never Built Sydney.
Did you know that the Moore Park Supa Centre was initially planned to be a Trademart? A trademart is where businesses can sell their products to other businesses. Therefore, the original plans for the site focused more on businesses as opposed to consumers. It was proposed by developer Sir Sid Londish, and his company Comreality
The decision to axe the trademart stemmed from the process of approving the third runway for Sydney Airport. For Londish, he wanted to capitalise on the opportunities associated with the increased capacity that a third runway would bring for Sydney Airport, i.e. increased tourism and business opportunities. The recent extension of Southern Cross Drive (1988) to connect it with Sydney Airport meant that South Dowling Street, which fed onto Southern Cross Drive, became a central transport corridor for those travelling to and from the airport.
Even though it was approved and completed (1994), Londish didn't see himself as a hypocrite and stood firm to his word. He would also sell the land. Fortunately, it also had approval for a bulky goods centre, which Londish could have pursued if he had not wanted to proceed with the Trademart.
And out of the ashes would rise the Moore Park Supacenta, one of Sydney's first bulky goods centres.
Source: Howard, J. 1988. "Londish plans 'trade city' for wholesalers". The Weekend Australian, August 21: 45.
The former site of the Reschs Brewery at East Redfern is home to the Moore Park Gardens estate, a residential development comprising 575 apartments in 11 buildings. the brewery was closed in 1983 and the residential development was completed in 1996.
Source: Johnston, M. 1983. "Homes for 600 at old Resch's brewery". The Daily Telegraph, August 20: 7.
Below is the original 1983 proposal to redevelop the former brewery. This coincided with Tooths being taken over by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB). Production of Reschs then shifted to the CUB Brewery at Broadway (now home to Central Park, Sydney). CUB no longer brews beer in New South Wales, either brewed in Melbourne or at Yatala in Queensland.
Six office buildings (up to 18 storeys tall) were proposed as part of the redevelopment along with town houses and apartments to house around 600 people. Nine of the former brewery buildings would be incorporated into the redevelopment, and a public park would also be provided.
Source: Coultan, M. 1983. "$250m plan for brewery site". The Sydney Morning Herald, August 20: 4.
The development was planned in a way that the office buildings would create a buffer zone that separated the residential component from the nearby industrial area.
Source: Anonymous. 1983. "Draughting a new village". The Daily Telegraph, August 27: page unknown.
It was anticipated that construction would be completed in stages over seven years, meaning full completion by 1990. By 1990, the site was empty and still undeveloped.
Below is a 1998 newspaper advertisement for an apartment for sale at 1 Missenden Road, Camperdown. The apartment was listed through Richardson & Wrench, Glebe. No price is listed for the two-bedroom apartment.
Source: Richardson & Wrench Glebe. 1998. "Luxury Living at an affordable price". The Sydney Morning Herald, May 2: 35RE (Real Estate).
In 2023, I posted an entry on the fire that destroyed the Australian Mercantile Land & Finance Co. Building at Ultimo in 1992.
At the time of the fire, the site was facing redevelopment. In 1989, Essington Developments Lrd. (owned by Kerry Packer) proposed a plan to convert the building into a hotel and apartment building. There would be 150 apartments along with a four star hotel. A small office building along with retail would also be provided. The redevelopment was projected to cost $200 million.
Source: Dixon, A. 1989. "New life for a grand old building" . The Sydney Morning Herald, March 29: 2.
The restoration of the former woolstore would have been similar to the Goldsborough Mort Woolstore located further up Harris Street. However had this had gone ahead and there was no fire to the woolstore itself, it have meant that those in Ultimo would not have the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre which occupies part of the present site. The Harry Seidler-designed building is a local landmark in itself.
In this entry in the latest instalment of Never Built Sydney, I look at one of the never-built proposals for what is now the site of the Centennial Plaza complex in Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills (Opposite Central Station). The site comprises three office towers—16, 13, and 10 levels, respectively—a public square, and ground-floor retail.
The site was originally home to the Tooheys Brewery, which opened in 1875
In 1976, Tooheys shifted its brewing operations to its present site Lidcombe. They sought to redevelop the site, blending in the old with the new. This included two 16-storey office buildings and the retention of historical buildings fronting Mary Street. 84-86 Mary Street (separate site) would also be preserved and eventually was converted into office space.
Source: Jones, J. 1980. "Tooheys plans to spend $35m on old brewery". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 11: 19.
What makes this proposal stand out from the eventual complex is the incorporation of heritage into the development. It may have limited the space for the office buildings and clustered them closer to each other, but it would have been more friendly to the streetscape and sympathetic to Surry Hills itself.
One downside is that the buildings would appear aged today but could potentially be ripe for redevelopment in Sydney of 2025.
Below is a 1998 newspaper advertisement promoting the sale of 1 and 2-bedroom apartments in the One Georgina Street complex in Newtown. Prices started from $230,000.
Source: Anon. 1998. "One Georgina Street" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, May 2: 35 (Real Estate Liftout).
Above: Sharpies Golf Store in 2006. The store had closed in 2004, but the facade was still intact from its day of closure. Photo taken by the Author.
Elizabeth Street was home to Sharpies Golf Store (Originally known as The Golf House), an independent retailer popular with golfers.
In 2004, the decision was made to close the shop after 45 years of trading on Elizabeth Street and relocate to a new store at Taren Point as its lease ended.
Source: Miller, L. "City icon's last round". The Daily Telegraph, December 15: 13.
The store was famous for its neon signage atop the building, depicting a golfer hitting a ball into the 19th hole, which was played three times a minute. The exact date of when it was put up was unknown. Some believe it was placed at the time the store opened, and others think that it was in 1964.
In 2002, the signage was heritage listed, and following its closure, it was dismantled (2007) and donated to the Powerhouse Museum.
Above: Sharpies Golf Store after removal of signage (2010). Photo taken by the Author.
The site was redeveloped into Golf House, a luxury apartment complex, completed in 2019. Below are two photos of the complex, taken by me in 2023.
The Sir William Dobell Memorial Sculpture was installed in Martin Place in 1979. In 1996, as part of upgrades of Martin Place, the 19-metre-tall sculpture was dismantled and stored at the Sydney City Council depot in Harris Street, Ultimo.
In May 1999, Sydney City Council voted to reassemble the statue as part of a traffic island to be built at the corner of Pitt and Spring Street. It was recommissioned in October 1999.
In 2021, Sydney City Council approved the permanent closure of Spring Street for traffic entering from Pitt Street, creating a small plaza or square. However, no work has been undertaken to level the footpath.
Source: Skelsey, M. 1999. "Shish kebab to rise again". The Daily Telegraph, May 17: 16.
Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and each year, I post an entry on how Sydney welcomed the new year 25 years beforehand.
The year of focus is 1999.
This New Year's Eve was widely accepted as the last of the second millennium, though it will always be disputed as there was no year "zero". The millennium ended at 11:59 pm on December 21 2000, as it would mark exactly two thousand years.
Cities, towns and villages around the world all wanted to present the biggest celebration that they could do for their citizens to mark the new millennium.
By the end of the 1990s, Sydney had built up a reputation for its New Year's Eve fireworks shows, whether at 9pm or to welcome in 1999, at midnight and was attracting global coverage.
The changeover from 1999 to 2000 was also significant for Sydney because 2000 marked the year it would host the Olympic Games that year and the world would converge on the city for two weeks of sporting competition.
It meant that Sydney had to welcome the new year in Olympic style. It had to be the biggest and the best.
How did it happen?
Program
From 8:30 pm to 11:20 pm - Floating Sea Creature Parade on Sydney Harbour - This comprised a loop around Sydney Harbour. From any vantage point, the parade lasted 25 minutes from the passing of the first sea creature.
9 pm - Family Fireworks
12 pm - Midnight Fireworks
Below is the soundtrack and how the midnight display would work.
Sourced from: Anon. 1999. "NYE Last-minute guide". The Daily Telegraph, December 31: 40.
Launch positions
Sourced from: Anon. 1999. "NYE Last-minute guide". The Daily Telegraph, December 31: 40.
Four barges were located in Sydney Harbour - Off Cockatoo Island, Goat Island, Fort Denison and Bradleys Head.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Opera House (It was meant to be a "one-off" but became permanent in 2013)
Sydney Tower
Skyscrapers in the Sydney and North Sydney CBDs including Chifley Tower, Goldfields House and Grosvenor Place.
There will be eight barges for 2024. Apart from the four locations in 1999, there will be a second barge off Goat Island (one on its eastern side and one on the other side of the island, one just west of the harbour bridge, one to the north of the Opera House and one located off Garden Island.
Bridge Effects
Sourced from The Sun Herald, January 2, 2000
Two lighting effects were featured during the display:
Smiley Face (As featured in the 1997 New Year's Eve Fireworks Display) - It is the only bridge effect to be used more than once.
Arthur Stace's etching of Eternity - This appeared at the end of the show and was in tribute to the late Arthur Stace, a Christian man who etched Eternity fifty times a day from the 1930s until he died in 1967. Bells were rung from St Marys Cathedral and St Andrews Cathedral as it was switched on.
A recreation of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with Eternity was featured in the 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony held at Stadium Australia, Sydney Olympic Park on September 15, 2000, as part of a pyrotechnics display in the Eternity segment. The segment was about paying tribute to those who have been involved in building infrastructure across Australia over time.
TV Broadcasters
Nine Network
ABC
This was the first and only time two television free to air networks broadcast the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks.
The Nine Network had an agreement to broadcast the fireworks with Sydney City Council from 1997-2000 and ended up with the "official" footage and accompanying soundtrack in its broadcast.
The ABC partnered up with TV Broadcasters from 60 nations as part of 2000 Today, which was the world's biggest TV Broadcast to date. ABC provided its own footage of the fireworks and could not play the soundtrack that accompanied them. Footage of Sydney's fireworks would be interspersed between other celebrations that occurred at the same time - Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart, with the soundtrack that of Melbourne's midnight fireworks, which could be played on any broadcast (Channel Nine also did the Melbourne fireworks soundtrack for when they aired the Midnight fireworks immediately following Sydney's Fireworks).
Interestingly, the BBC (UK) Broadcast of 2000 Today accommodated footage from both the Nine Network and the ABC. Click here to view the coverage presented by Michael Parkinson and Rolf Harris.
The Nine Network tried to prevent the ABC from broadcasting the fireworks by claiming "exclusive rights" in the Federal Court, but was unsuccessful.
In 2024, ABC will broadcast the fireworks.
Transport
For the Millennium celebrations, train services operated on a 24-hour timetable to give revellers plenty of time to travel to and from the city.
However, due to concerns about the Y2K bug, all underground stations were closed between 11:45 pm and 1:45 am to ensure that passengers were safe in case. Those leaving the city immediately after the midnight fireworks had to walk either to Central or Milsons Point to take trains home.
A three-day rail ticket was offered for $10 to cover rail travel between December 31 and January 2. Sydney Buses provided their $10 Millennium tickets, which covered 36 hours from 12:00 am on New Year's Eve until 12 pm the following day.
Source: New South Wales Department of Transport. 1999. "24 hour trains on New Year's Eve" (Advertisement). The Sunday Telegraph, December 26:10.
Below is a map of Sydney CBD closures and bus terminals.
The Sunday Telegraph and The Sun Herald (January 2, 2000) reported that public transport services ran smoothly, with 250 000 travelling by rail, 150 000 by bus and 33 000 on Ferries.
Facts of interest
The festivities cost an estimated $5 million. This year, the fireworks are estimated to cost $6.3 million.
An estimated 200,000 individual fireworks were launched.
The midnight fireworks lasted approximately 25 minutes, the longest show to date.
As many as 1.5 million attended the fireworks.
An estimated 6000 spectator craft were on Sydney Harbour (About 7000 spectator craft were reported to have been on Sydney Harbour for the Bicentenary celebrations in 1988). The Sydney Morning Herald (January 1, 2000) estimated that 100,000 people watched the fireworks from a boat in Sydney Harbour.
Coverage
There was extensive coverage in newspapers, given the historical significance of the celebrations. The front page of The Daily Telegraph featured at the top of the post published a special wrap round as part of a 16-page special.
The Sydney Morning Herald
They also published a dawn edition several hours after their regular metropolitan edition to focus on the first sunrise over Sydney of the new millennium. It was an overcast morning.
The Weekend Australian
The Sun Herald (January 2, 2000)
A complete broadcast of the midnight fireworks from Channel Nine was uploaded to Youtube by TheSydneyFireworks if you wish to view the entire show.
2000 Today (ABC) - Uploaded by scana1979 to Youtube.
There was extensive coverage internationally by the press including TV Networks. I have posted a direct link to the BBC coverage above under TV Broadcasters.
ABC America
Uploaded by Mason R to Youtube
CNN & CNN International
Uploaded by Hutchinson Video Archive to Youtube. Sydney Fireworks coverage begins at 28:36 in the video.
That is how Sydney welcomed 2000 and the new millennium in a nutshell. I wish you all a very happy new year. Remember This? returns for its summer series from next week.
Christmas Day falls on Wednesday (December 25), and this entry focuses on how Sydney marked Christmas 25 years ago. The year in focus is 1999, the last Christmas of the 20th Century and the second millennium.
In 1999, Christmas Day fell on a Saturday, which gave one plenty of time to prepare in the week leading up to the day.
Carols in the Domain - December 18
It was held on December 18, 1999, and attracted a crowd of about 100,000 people. The event was hosted by Andrew Daddo and Belinda Emmett. Entertainers included Lisa McCune, who made a dramatic helicopter entrance from her performance in "The Sound of Music," Vanessa Amorosi, The Wiggles, Monica Trapaga, and the Von Trapp children from "The Sound of Music." Other performers included Chelsea Gibb, Simon Burke, Sharon Millerchip, Doug Parkinson, Ignatius Jones, and the Sydney Youth Orchestra. The event also featured a pre-show with performances by the Real Blondes and the Daisy Dolls.
Further Reading:
Minogue, K. 1999. "Lisa to fly in for Domain carols". The Daily Telegraph, December 18: 17.
Rumble, T. 1999. "Choppers and Changes For Busy McCune". The Sun Herald, December 19: 44.
Newspaper Front Page - Christmas Day
In 1999, The Daily Telegraph was the only newspaper published on Christmas Day in Sydney. The Daily Telegraph/The Sunday Telegraph published Christmas Day editions between 1994 and 2004.
The Sunday Telegraph, allocated one page (page 4) for Christmas features in its edition of December 26. Features included the Christmas Addresses from the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney - Cardinal Edward Clancy, and the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Harry Goodhew.
The weather started "wet and wild" before clearing to a sunny afternoon.
Bondi Beach proved popular with British Backpackers, who held their traditional Christmas Day party on the beach.
Christmas Sales
It was reported by The Daily Telegraph in its afternoon edition on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that an estimated $200 million had been spent by shoppers in NSW on December 24, and a total of $2 billion in the lead-up to Christmas.
Source: Lawson, B. 1999. "$2bn splurge: Record Christmas spending". The Daily Telegraph, December 24: 1 & 2.
The afternoon edition on Christmas Eve also included a feature on the marathon trade at the Sydney Fish Markets, a tradition that continues to this day.
Christmas Planners
I love posting the Christmas Planners because they provide a great snapshot of services over Christmas. Compared with today, services available on Christmas Day have remained relatively unchanged if we focus solely on what is featured below. I remember with eateries, many were shut on the day, but some especially fast food chains such as McDonalds have since decided to trade on the day.
The most significant changes in what's available have focused on Boxing Day, with retail trade permitted on Boxing Day across the Metropolitan area since 2015. In 1999, Boxing Day fell on a Sunday and no retail trade was allowed as a public holiday had been gazetted for December 28 (December 27 was to make up for Christmas Day falling on a Saturday).
To close off this entry, a newspaper feature on Christmas lights adorning the homes at Johnson Close at Bonnet Bay in the Sutherland Shire. The competition for the best-lit street at Christmas has gotten fiercer every year since.
Source: Tsavdaridis, N. 1999. "The Bay of lights". The Daily Telegraph, December 25: 15.
This is the last Property Advert of the Week for 2024. Below is a newspaper advertisement from Meriton that appeared in The Inner West Courier on August 14 2000. It was to promote "The Palladium" and "Richmont" in Pyrmont.
Source: Meriton. 2000. "Untitled" (Advertisement). The Inner West Courier, August 14: 124.
Property Advert of the Week returns on the first Saturday in February 2025.
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