Sydney is subjected to Dust Storms from time to time, especially in periods of drought. Most readers would remember the major dust storm of 2009 and also more recently in late 2018. In the Black Summer Fires of 2019-2020, dust was even mixed with bushfire smoke.
On May 22, 1962, north westerly winds blew dust from central Australia into Sydney. While the storm was minor compared to 2009, visibility dropped to less than a mile. I remember in 2009, visibility was down to 100 metres at its worst (akin to fog).
The Daily Telegraph published a full page feature on May 23, 1962 including a large photograph taken from Bent Street, North Sydney showing the city obscured by the dust. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was visible . The distance from the location of the photograph to the Harbour Bridge was about two kilometres suggesting that visibility had dropped to around two kilometres.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Building in Martin Place was completed in 1964. Below is a photo that appeared in The Daily Telegraph on December 10 1964 showing the view from the top of the building facing south towards Hyde Park. The construction of the Law Courts Building in the 1970's would eliminate the view.
Source: Anon. 1964. "New Look at Sydney's Green Heart". The Daily Telegraph, December 10: 61.
Below is a newspaper advertisement from The Daily Telegraph promoting William Street as a destination to buy a new car. This was published on June 18, 1964.
During January, we take a break from the usual weekly posts and run our Remember This? series.
This week features a 1990 newspaper advertisement by CityRail. In the second half of 1990 petrol prices surged following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the threat of war in the Middle East.
Petrol rose as high as 80.9 cents per litre giving an excuse to ditch the car and take the train. According to the RBA Inflation Calculator, this would equate to $1.62 per litre in todays money.
For CityRail, rising petrol prices provided the perfect opportunity to encourage Sydneysiders to take the train to travel around the city.
Source: CityRail. 1990. "80.9 Per Litre Or take the train" (Advertisement). The Daily Mirror, October 3: 6.
Source: Anon. 1995. "1995 Sydney Skyshow" (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 30:18.
On Thursday evening, we will mark the end of 2020 and usher in 2021. Due to COVID-19, celebrations have been scaled back and it will be ticketed access only to major viewing sites to allow for social distancing between attendees.
It will be interesting how we will look at this in 25 years from now which is a long way off in the future. Instead of focusing on now or how I may present this years festivities in the future, lets rewind back to 1995 and look at how Sydney welcomed 1996.
Like 2020, there were challenges and actually threatened the night itself.
Staging an event costs money. The major sponsors from the previous years had pulled out, threatening the show. There was only one show at 9pm.
Sydney City Council intervened to save the now annual tradition while The Sunday Telegraph sponsored the event.
The Sunday Telegraph prepared a poster for its readers providing details on viewing locations and transport in its edition of December 31.
The SkyShow maintained the traditional launch points - The Sydney Harbour Bridge and one near the Sydney Opera House. The one near the Opera House was shifted eastwards to a point North East of the Sydney Opera House. This opened up even more areas of Sydney Harbour for viewing.
Source: Dean, A. 1995. "Bang goes another year". The Sydney Morning Herald, December 30:2.
Syd Howard continued to coordinate the show and managed to keep costs down. It cost only $175 000 compared with $220 000 the year before. Media reports estimated attendance on Sydney Harbour at 500 000 as in previous years.
For those unable to attend (or those who attended but wanted to see it again), Channel Seven broadcast the show on delay at midnight across the nation. The video is below but no sound is featured. Anne Fulwood presented the show from Cremorne Point. Channel Nine would pick up the baton one year later and turn it into a live TV event.
Darling Harbour provided a very good alternative. In addition to a 9pm fireworks show, there was also a midnight fireworks show with fireworks released from Cockle Bay and Sydney Tower Entertainment was also provided in Tumbalong Park. Sydney City Mission also encouraged partygoers to support its "Mission 96" fundraiser.
Source: Sydney City Mission. 1995. Untitled (Advertisement). The Sun Herald, December 31:94.
CityRail combined with the State Transit Authority for the first time to produce a combined newspaper advertisement for public transport arrangements. Many bus routes operating to the city were subject to diversions to accommodate for traffic congestion and road closures. Sydney Harbour Bridge remained opened to vehicular traffic during the fireworks but pedestrians were banned.
Source: CityRail & State Transit Authority. 1995. "New Year's Eve Bus, Train & Ferry Services". The Sun Herald, December 31: 8.
New Years' Celebrations have become page one news, but our newspapers on January 1 1996 did not feature the celebrations on the cover.
The Daily Telegraph Mirror ran coverage on Page 3. For the paper itself, it was its final day under The Daily Telegraph Mirror before reverting to The Daily Telegraph.
Police patrols were stepped up at Bondi Beach following a riot on Christmas Day (for more details, read my Christmas entry from last week) but it had been reported of clashes with revellers and police. It was estimated that as many as 100 000 could have converged in the area for the evening.
The Sydney Morning Herald published a photo of the fireworks released from the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Page 2, but focused more on Hogmanay celebrations amongst Sydney's Scottish community and sales of French Champagne.
Finally, I wish all of you a very safe and happy new year.
Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×
This is Part 2 of our Christmas Snapshot of 1995. Last week, we focused on the gift ideas and specials provided by major retailers.
Now to the day itself...
12 000 people (largely backpackers) descended on the beach for Christmas celebrations. However that evening was marred by a riot that was initiated by the locals. Hundreds were involved with police in riot gear pelted by bottles.
Before the riot, the crowd was well behaved. There were concerns over noise from an amplifier which led to it being shut down by police.
Also, it was reported that Sydney Harbour Casino was the first casino in Australia to open on Christmas Day without restrictions. Hundreds of bookings were received for lunch and some would linger afterwards for some gambling.
The Exodus Foundation at Ashfield served Christmas lunch to 1100 people.
On December 23, 100 000 people attended Carols in the Domain compered by Rob Guest.
Source: Gora, B. 1995. "100,000 carol singers". The Sunday Telegraph, December 24: 12.
In the week prior to Christmas, the Wesley Mission did the Darling Harbour Christmas Pageant in Tumbalong Park. Apart from carols, attendees were treated to a reenactment of the first Christmas. It was televised on Christmas Eve on Channel Seven.
Below are messages from the Churches but also an overview of services available over Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It has become standard for cinemas to now open across Sydney on Christmas Day.
And how did the retailers fare?
Source: Brennan, W. 1995. "Xmas tills ring in last-minute spree". The Sunday Telegraph, December 24:3.
The Sunday Telegraph on December 24 provided some assistance to last minute shoppers given Christmas Eve was on a Sunday for the first time since 1989.
Source: Green, P. 1995. "Crisis Shopping!". The Sunday Telegraph, December 24: 22.
Retailers felt that trade over the Christmas season fell from 1994 and noted that the anticipated last minute surges did not happen.Were people waiting for the sales? The past decade has seen the sales moved forward with retailers offering discounts but also embracing "Black Friday" from the United States to attract Christmas sales. Post Christmas still remains large but there isn't the rush or need to wait as the past.
Source: Seymour, T. 1995. "Waiting for the rush". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, December 25: 7.
But this article seems to indicate that retail trade was perhaps not as bad???
Source: Brennan, W. 1995. "Xmas tills ring in last minute spree". The Sunday Telegraph, December 24: 3.
In our final Property Advert of the Week for 2020, below is a newspaper advertisement by Australand promoting developments across Sydney that was published in The Sydney Morning Herald on June 13, 1998.
The advertisement promoted new estates at Belrose, Castle Hill and Thornleigh along with its Bridgeport Tower in Bridge Street in the Sydney CBD and Huntleys Cove (which today is a stand alone suburb).
I will resume Property Advert of the Week in February when the property market is back in full swing.
With Christmas approaching, it is an annual custom to look back at how Sydneysiders marked Christmas 25 years earlier.
This year we will focus on 1995.
Given the amount of material that I collated, I am breaking this into two parts.
Part 1 will focus on what retailers were providing for Christmas shoppers while Part 2 (next week) will focus on the day itself.
In 1995, computers and electronics were in vogue.
Coles recently decided to sell factory refurbished iPhones. In 1995, Strathfield Car Radios had their own second hand offers. This advertisement was published in The Daily Telegraph Mirror on December 16 1995.
You needed around $3000 to secure a good desktop computer. In 2020, you can buy a more powerful and advanced computer for several hundred dollars. A Canon inkjet printer cost $699. A basic printer can be found in 2020 for as little as $50. Below is a Grace Bros advertisement that was published in The Sunday Telegraph on December 17, 1995.
Bing Lee offered good computers at lower prices.
Other Advertisements of interest are featured below:
Chandlers
December 17 1995, The Sunday Telegraph
BigW
The first advertisement was published in The Sunday Telegraph on December 10 1995 while the second advertisement was published in the same newspaper on December 17 1995.
Kmart
December 20 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror
Brashs and Target attempted to lure shoppers by offering days where all items were reduced. This included the famous Target 12 1/2 % off everything sale.
Target
December 3 1995, The Sunday Telegraph
Food & Drink
Woolworths
December 20 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror
Coles
December 21 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror
Liquor Stax
December 20 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror
Macs Liquor
December 20 1995, The Daily Telegraph Mirror
Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×
