Source: Anonymous. 1988. "The Big 3 in New Homes" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, June 18: 21.
In 1988, Landcom, Hooker Housing Group and the St George Building Society (Now St George Bank) teamed up to provide a house and land package. Landcom provided the block, Hooker Housing Group would build the home and the St George Building Society provided the loan. Only 200 homes were on offer, priced from $69,950 to $109,500.
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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.
Source: Anon. 1975. "Big New Shopping Complex". The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, December 3: 3.
Westfield Hurstville was opened in 1978. At the time of opening, it had 120 stores anchored by Waltons, Coles and Nock & Kirbys. It was confined to a block bound by Park Road, Cross Street and Humphreys Lane before being extended over Park Road in 1989/1990.
Before the expansion at the end of the 1980s it also had the Snowy Hill Park, open to the public at all hours of the day.
In 1975, an ambitious proposal was lodged with Hurstville Council (now Georges River Council), which envisioned an even larger park spread on its roof (equivalent to a town square) and an office building, which had become standard with any Westfield development at the time. Three levels of retail would be provided.
Jake Harproff had recently posted scanned images from a document to the Old Shops Australia Facebook Group.
The cross sections from three different angles gives one the perspective of the layout, which would differ significantly from what would be built within the original section of the centre.
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).
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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.
Related Entry
1992: Ultimo's Australian Mercantile Land and Finance Co. Building destroyed by fireBelow is a 1969 newspaper commercial promoting a land release at Campbelltown. It doesn't specify where in Campbelltown exactly, but it would have to be in a suburb within the Local Government area. There is a rail track featured in the map where Campbelltown Road crosses over as a bridge, and that points most likely to be in Leumeah, as the road does cross over the Southern Rail Line there.
The Southern Line had been electrified to Campbelltown the previous year (1968), which meant commuters could travel directly from the region to the city in around one hour. Their key selling point was the commute time. It does take an hour for a commuter from Cronulla to travel to the city by train,n for instance, and Cronulla is closer to the city than Campbelltown is.
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.
