SECTION 2.0 THE PRE-SETTLEMENT ENVIRONMENT

Historical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

SECTION 2.0 THE PRE-SETTLEMENT ENVIRONMENT

The study area is located on land that stood at the edge of two environmental systems. Extending to just north of Liverpool Street were the Hawkesbury Sandstone slopes. These supported a woodland of Eucalyptus pilularis, Eucalyptus gummifera, Eucalyptus pipirita and Angophora costata. Adjoining this system to the north were forests of Angophora costata and more Eucalyptus. It was also the'eastern limit of the Turpentine ironbark forest (1).

In this area, later named Brickfield Hill, were the deep deposits of clay used to provide raw materials for the early brick and pottery works of the colony. The development of the area for the Brickfields settlers, the need for raw materials for their industry and for building supplies and the position of the site so near to the settlement made it inevitable that, very quickly, the pre-settlement environment was heavily impacted upon. A painting completed in 1796 by Edward Dayes of the Brickfield Hill area shows an unm istakable Angophora together with stumps of Eucalyptus. Already the forests that once covered this area had been pushed back leaving only dying remnants (2). This painting also shows the steep incline that once characterised the rise of George Street from the area of Central railway to the site of St Andrews Cathedral. Later it was described as difficult and dangerous to ascend (3).

Archaeological and geo-technical investigations on sites close by to the study area have shown that very little has remained of this early environment; top soils have eroded and been stripped away and little evidence remains of the vegetation which covered the place (4).

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SECTION 3.0 URBAN DEVELOPMENT

When Sydney was first settled the cove was the focus of settlement. The study area, on the side of the steep hill leading out of Sydney to the second settlement at Parramatta, was well beyond the centre of the town. This was the area of the Brickfields, that small industrial settlement on the fringes of the town where the colony's potteries and brick kilns were first established to take advantage of the plentiful supplies of timber and clay that occurred there.

Lesueur's plan of Sydney in 1802 shows this site to be untouched at that time (1) but other evidence suggests that this was unlikely to be the case. Particularly on the George Street frontage, along the main road in the colony, it is likely that allotments had been formed and huts built as both home and workplace much as those are shown in Dayes' painting of 1796 of a site further down the hill. Certainly the much later "View of Sydney taken from Grose's Farm" by Joseph LyceU in 1819 shows a well developed line of small buildings flanking the main road from Sydney. It is less likely that Kent Street was anywhere near so developed; even much later in the century it was described as a back street.

By the period of c.181 0-1820 George Street in this area had become the preserve of scattered small businesses and an occasional house. The block bound by George, Kent, Liverpool and Bathurst Streets was described at that time:

I/ ••• starting from Bathurst Street was another manufactory, though a small one - that of clay pipes by a Mr Clewitt. Next to this and running about half way to Liverpool Street was one block in which stood a small cottage surrounded by a fine fruit garden, and a painter's named Noble. At the back of his place was a large bakehouse and granary which served two purposes, being used both in connection with baking and as a theatre. Many were the blood and thunder tragedies enacted there with the price of admission only a dump cut from a holey dollar. Just beyond this was Mr Bowman's large wheelwright's establishment and on the corner, a blacksmith named Wilkinson" (4).

Bowman's land encompasses a large part of the study area. This description is also noticeable for establishing that Albion Place, Street or Lane (which names have al been applied to this little thoroughfare) did not, at that time, exist within the block.

By 1831 the land was divided betwe~n five principal grantees and this is likely to the the formalisation of circumstances which had existed for some time before; Bowman, for example, is seen to have been in occupation for at least ten and more years before that time. By the 1830s as the result of a fairly chaotic system of land transactions which had characterised most of the settlement years and pressured by the real estate boom of the 1830s the city was divided into sections and allotments and the owners of each, who could prove their ownership, were recorded at the time. The study area was included in Section 12 of the city.



Albion Place, now a lane from George to Kent Street, was incorporated in land granted originally to William Dawes although, by 1831, it was in the possession of M. How. The lane was formed later than this grant, probably in the later 1830s. The site now occupied by Vine House and running through to Kent Street with the Albion Place buildings also was part of the William Dawes/M. How grant. The site of Roma House and Cresta House was granted to Daniel Miller. The majority of the site was the possession of William Bowman except for s small truncated triangular slice on George Street, the site of 551-555, granted to Catherine Miller (3).

An undated subdivision plan, most likely of the 1830s, shows part of the study area including Albion Street (now Lane) divided into several allotments (4). It is most likely that the intensive development of the study area dates from this period. It would be consistent with the general trends of Sydney which, during the 1830s up to the recession of the 1840s, massively expanded its building stock through the subdivision of the earlier large land holdings.

During this period the George Street frontage was improved by a massive public works programme that entailed making the steep incline on George Street more manageable. It was achieved by cutting back the top of the hill ~nd removing the spoil to the bottom, thus reducing and levelling the hill (5). Kent Street, however, was a backwater and the houses that existed on it were mostly humble dwellings of wooden construction (6).

Certainly by the later 1840s, from when the first Council Rate books are available, the majority of the study area was developed including the formation of Albion Place and the construction of buildings along it. Only the Kent Street frontage remained

" sparsely settled at that time as well as areas of open space used as yards within the centre of the block. By the m id-1860s only the Cresta House site, 522-524 Kent Street, remained largely vacant. Twenty years later this block, like the rest of Sydney, was densely occupied and more buildings were added as a result of another real estate boom in the 1880s. The earliest indicator of the big changes to come, largely as a resl:.llt of the economic impetus provided by the gold discoveries, was the rebuilding of the Albion Place group in 1876-77.

From the early decades of the nineteenth century the land encompassed by the study area has been home to a large number of people and families but it has been owned by a very few people. Most of the frontages have been the property of only one or two people. For example, almost all of Albion Place has been the property of a single person or a single company from the first days of recorded land transactions. The land on both Kent and George Street followed much the same pattern. At the very least one person would have been the owner and landlord of two or three dwellings, for example, the block at 518-520 Kent Street which, for most of the nineteenth century supported three houses rented to a variety of tenants. The tenants generally comprised, for a large part of the nineteenth century, small commercial operators who also made their homes at their place of work.


Historical Analysis: Albion P lace, Sydney

The character of the area had been firmly established by the early 1880s. In 1882 it was said of this part of George Street that,

IIBrickfield Hill is almost like a bazaar; there is hardly any article in common or occasional use that cannot be purchased. In this respect it is distinct from many other paris of Sydney where one class of retailers nearly exclude al/ others" (7).

George Street was primarily commercial although many of the shops also served as houses for the shop-keepers; Rate Books occasionally record the presence of kitchens behind the George Street shops as well as stables and sheds. Kent Street at the same time, though, was described as a Ilbye_ street" and most of the private Ilouses were of a "mean appearance" (8). This frontage remained predominantly residential until the end of the century.

The principal change to the study area during the 1880s was the construction of an arcade, Central Arcade, that ran from George to Kent Street in the area of 545-549 George Street and 526-534 Kent Street. Several similar arcades were formed in the city at this time although few now remain.

The character of the area began to change towards the end of tre nineteenth century with several of the smaller earlier nineteenth century commercial/residential premises being-replaced by multi-storey offices. VinelTaito House appears to have been built in the later 1880s and Cresta House (now demolished) on the site of 522-524 Kent Street in c. 1897. Several were built in the first decades of the new century; Roma House in 1923, at 518-520 Kent Street a three storey office was built in the first decades of the new century as was 526-534 Kent Street. The Central Arcade site was redeveloped in this period.

The study area now retains elements of tHe middle decades of the nineteenth century in the Albion Place group (1-7 Albion Place), the later years of the nineteenth century (9 Albion Place and Vine House) and the early twentieth century (Roma House). The biggest impact on this block has been the construction of the cinema complex and its offices during 1974-1976.



SECTION 4.0 '1-7 ALBION PLACE

The Albion Place group, including the lane to which these buildings have their frontage, stands on land that was first granted to William Dawes and which, by 1831, was in the hands of the executors of the estate of M. How (1). It is unlikely that this portion of the block was substantially developed in any way prior to the construction of the first buildings that occupied this site but that is by no means certain. Similarly it is impossible to precisely date the formation of the lane and those buildings but it is probable that this occurred during the later 1830s in response to the escalating price of land in the town which encouraged landowners to subdivided and develop their larger holdings. An undated subdivision plan appears to show the first division of this.land into separate allotments along the street (2). A map of the town in 1836 records buildings along what may be a lane in this area but it is a very diagrammatic representation and its accuracy is far from certain (3).

The first definitive evidence for the presence of both the lane and the buildings along it is supplied by the Council Rate Book of 1848. Here it is noted that there were ten two storey and one single st~)fey brick and shingled houses. Four had workshops detached in the yard that ran behind. All were owned by Mark Blanchard (4). These are not the buildings that currently occupy the site.

By 1856 the number of structures had been reduced to nine, all of them brick and the three easternmost of the group being smaller than the rest. Behind them, and separated by a yard, were the workshops recorded on the city survey of that date as being of brick or weatherboard and brick construction. A few minor sheds or out-houses occupied the south-eastern corner of the block. On the western side the group lay exposed to Kent Street; this intersection of Albion Lane and Kent Street was, at that time unoccupied. The plan labels the group as as "Blanchards" (5).

In fact the owner of the group had changed; in 1855 Numbers 1 ,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9 Albion Lane were all owned by a Mr Greer. They were still described as two storey brick and shingled houses (6). By 1861 they were the property of Robert Bunting (7) who was still in possession of them in 1867 (8). By 1871 Bunting had added at the end of the group, after Number 9, a single storey timber house with an iron roof (9).

For most of the time these buildings were occupied as residences or mixed commercial and residential properties. In 1861, for example, a blacksmith, bootmaker, dealer and others occupied the houses (10). By the later 1860s it's possible that the condition of the, at least, thirty year old houses was such that they were becoming uninhabitable; they are listed as completely vacant for both 1867 and '1868 (11). Alternatively they were in the process of being adapted to a new use; in 1869 and until 1871 only one occupant, N. and J. Crocker Wholesale Grocers, were listed as the tenant of this row (12). By 1873, though, they had reverted to residential occupation with tenants including an engineer and a mariner. Several houses were vacant (13).



There is no listing for any property at this address in 1876 and by 1877 or 78 the buildings which now occupy the site appear in Council Rate Books. The construction date for 1-7 Albion Place most likely, therefore, is 1876-77. The new owner of the '1,2,3 and 4 Albion Lane, described as three storey brick and stone shingled stores, was John Lawler(14). Lawler, by this time, also owned part of the Kent Street frontage at 522-524, where he had a bedding factory. The first occupants of his new terrace row were Myers and Solomon in Numbers 1 and 2 ,George Risley in Number 3 and IVlc1leland and Roach, a grocery firm, in Number 4 (15). The buildings fronted directly to Albion Place and a shed ran the full length along the southern boundary

By 1880 Lawler had taken occupancy of one of his terraces. By that year the Kent Street frontage had been developed and the Albion Place group was separated from it by a small passage. At No. 1 Albion Place McClleland and Roach, stores, continued in occupation. No 3 was now occupied by Lawler's bedding and upholstery business and No 7 by Davenport Brothers, boot and shoe manufacturers. (16).

Throughout the 1880s the buildings were occupied principally by companies which dealt in.stores and there appears to have been a certain rate of vacancy. In 1891, for ~3xample, by which time the group was the property of Sir George James, only I\lumbers 5 and 7 were occupied by the Griffiths Brothers (17).

The group is recorded on city surveys of both 1887 and 1895 with no apparent change made to them; Council rates only record the replacement of the! shingle roof with iron later in the century

In 1898 the group was purchased by the Monk family and it remained in their possession until 1972 (18).

At the turn of the century the use of the buildings altered from storage to workrooms. In 1902 this group was described as "workshops" (19). Between 1903 and 1919 one occupant was Sing War and Son cabinetmaker (20). The sign advertising this business is still present on the western wall of the building. By 1926 the premises were described as those of Bassetts Welding and Manufacturing as well as several others (21). By the early 1930s the tenants included a leadlight manufacturer, the welding company, a shop fitter and woodworkers (22).

The change in tenants and their various needs required some alterations to the prem ises but the records of these works are few. In 1912 plans were lodged by Eaton and Bates for unspecified works on some part of the buildings (23). In 1922 F. Steer lodged an application to build toilets at Number 7 Albion Place (24). In 1932 the roof was reinstated over Number 1 Albion Place (25) and in 1946 stairs were added to the same building (26). Partitions were added to Number 7 in the following year (27) and in 1969 an application was made to use part of the premises as a restaurant (28).

The group was sold in 1972 for $170,000 and some alterations were undertaken in the following year (29). It was auctioned in April 1978 and passed in at $290,000. It

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was sold later in that year for $260,000. The group was again sold in ,August 1981 for $540,000 and in July 1984 for $518,000. Number 1-7 Albion Place was acquired with 518-520 Kent Street by Greater Union in April 1987 through purchase of the company owing these properties (30), The buildings are principally used for restaurant and small commercial purposes.



SECTION 5.0 9 ALBION PLACE

Like Numbers 1-7 Albion Place this land also was part of William Dawes' grant which, by 1831, was in the hands of the executors of the estate of M. How (1). As with its neighbours it is likely that it was developed during the later 1830s if not earlier but the evidence is particularly unclear. There is no reference to this property in the Council Rate Book of 1848 which only lists as present the earlier house group at 1-7 Albion Place. It is likely, on the basis of later evidence, that this land initially was developed as part of the back of the George Street block it abutted but the Rate i3ooks, again, are ambiguous in this matter. In fact the history of this particular building is very poorly documented largely due to it not being included in either Council Rate Books or City Directory listings.

The earliest definite evidence for the development of this land is provided by the 1856 town survey. This plan shows the site to be occupied by three brick structures and possibly two others or a small shed. Between these and the property on George Street was a long narrow shed. Next to this was a large weatherboard building which ran off the. back of the building at the corner of Albion Lane and George Street. The frontage to these buildings appears to be to Albion Lane but it is not referred to in Council Rate Books (2). The situation appears to be exactly the same in 1865 (3). Directory listings also do not make reference to this group of buildings.

By 1880 most of these structures had been removed and the site of 9 Albion Place was largely occupied by a yard to the lane with a single storey building set back on the block. It was separated by a passage from 1-7 Albion Place (4). By 1887 these too had been removed and the buildings which occupied the site appear to have been large out-buildings for the shops on George Street. It was still separated by a passage from 1-7 Albion Place (5).

There are no references in Council Rates to this building in the 1891 but it is recorded in 1897 at which time 9 Albion Place was described as a three storey brick and iron store occupied by the Davenport Brothers. The owners were D. and G. Binnie. The 1895 town survey shows the building to have been constructed by that date placing it between 1891 and 1895. Sands Directory listings suggest a date of 1893; in that year 529a George Street is first listed and this appears, from later directory lists, to be the building in Albion Lane. Binnie owned almost all of the George Street frontage and it seems most likely that an arrangement was made by him to lease the back part of his George Street frontage at the intersection of Albion Lane and George Street for the new enterprise. To separate it from the building which occupied that place the lane was moved from next to 7 Albion Place to the other side of the new building at B Albion Place.

In 1902 this building was described as a four storey brick factory with a slate roof (6) which suggests that between 1897 and 1902 an additional storey had been added to the building. By 1926 it was occupied by the Reliance Electrical and Engineering Company and others as workshops and storerooms (7).


Historical Analysis: Albion P lace, Sydney

Although the building has certainly undergone substantial programmes of work which have altered it from its original appearance there are few records of these in public archives. The earliest is to work undertaken in 1945 when an RSJ was placed in the front wall (8). Substantial alterations and additions were made in 1959 (9). Throughout the 1960s and 1970s a variety of tenants occupied this building including several office and showroom spaces and a photographic printing and processing business. Each required alterations to suit their particular needs.

The building was sold in 1979 for $150,000 and was again sold, prior to auction, in 1985 for $520,000. The company which bought the building came under the control of Greater Union in 1986 (10).



SECTION 6.0 518-520 KENT STREET

518-520 Kent Street also occupied part of that grant first made to William Dawes and which, by 1831, was administered by the executors of the estate of M. How (1). For most of the nineteenth century this land appears to have been included as part of the allotment occupied by 1-7 Albion Place. Until the later 1860s all city surveys and the Council Rate Assessment Books describe this as IIvacant landll

•

Between 1867 and 1871 three, two-storey brick houses with slate roofs were erected on this block. Their frontages were to Kent Street and they were placed at an angle to the Albion Place buildings from which they were separated by a narrow passage. The out-buildings and sheds backed onto this passage and were separated from the houses by narrow yards. The owner of the property and its houses was James Yeend (2).

Yeend remained the owner of these buildings, which were occupied as residential properties, until the later 1890s. There is little evidence for any change except to the roof which, by 1891, was of iron (3). By 1897 the houses had become the property of the Perpetual Trustee Company (4).

The houses were demolished in 1910 or, perhaps, progressively between 1910 and '1912. By 1913 they had been replaced by an office building at first occupied by tea merchants and a saddler (5). In 1926 this three storey building with a basement was the business premises of the Imperial Printing Company and others and was used as shops, work and showrooms (6). In this year a building application was made to Council for alterations to what was described as lithe warehousell at the address (7). During 1950s applications were made to use the premises for a variety of purposes including the servicing of cash registers.

The building was sold in 1969 for $30,000. At auction in 1980 it was sold for $250,000 and again for the same price in 1981 (8).

During the early 1980s several applications were made to Council for the refurbishment of the place for a variety of offices and for a restaurant. A development application was submitted in 1984 for the use of the basement and ground floor as an office. 518-520 Kent Street was purchased with 1-7 Albion Place in 1987 by Greater Union (9).

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SECTION 7.0 ~522-524 KENT STREET,

It is unlikely that there was any substantial development on Kent Street during the early part of the nineteenth century. Even during the later decades this was considered to be a backwater of the city By 1831, though, the land had been granted to Daniel Miller (1). By the middle of the century the majority of the block still lay vacant except for a large shed adjoining the southern boundary of 518-520 Kent Street. Set well back from the street frontage this was noted on the city survey of 1856 to be the property of "Bowman" (2). Whether this was a remnant of Bowman's establishment 'It/hich occupied part of this block in the period between 1810 and 1820 cannot be determined from the available evidence. This shed had been removed by 1865 and the block was entirely vacant at that time (3). Until the later 1860s Council Rate Assessment books continue to record the site as "vacant ground".

l3etween 1867 and 1871 the owner of the land, Richard Binnie, constructed on this site a single storey wooden and iron roofed stable. In 1871 it was unoccupied (4). By '1877 the occupant, George Risely, used what was now described as a shed with a yard as an "old rag store" (5). By this date, however, the stables now stores had been joined by a store owned and occupied by John Lawler (6).

By 1880 the old rag store had been removed from the site but Lawler's "steam bed factoryll occupied a substantial part of the block. Its northern wall ran along the fence that separated this land from the sheds along the back of 1-7 Albion Place. It was set back from the Kent Street frontage but a small stable did occupy part of that street frontage. Several smaller sheds occupied the back of the block but the remainder was mostly yard space (7). Lawler by this time also occupied 3 Albion Place as business premises.

There is very little evidence of change to this site until 1887; only a few of the lesser sheds had -been removed by that date (8). By 1891 the site was owned by James Leicester and in that year Council records state that the old building was "pulled down" (9). The site was completely vacant four years later (10).

10. new building was constructed on the land in 1896. It was described as being a five storey stone and brick building with an iron roof (11). It was owned by Richard Binnie but there is no evidence of any occupant at that time. A similar five storey building is described as being off the street at this point, presumably behind the Kent Street structure. The street directory listings for these buildings suggest that the new building next to Yeend's houses was not occupied until c. 1898 at which time it was used by l3innie as a storehouse. The other five storey building, "off" the street at this point, was used mainly by tea merchants as a store. By the turn of the century the Kent Street building was used by carriers and by a wholesale grocer. Binnie's stores had relocated to the building behind (12).

From 1907 to 1925 the building on Kent Street was the subject of numerous C3ppiications to Council for alterations and additions (13). The outcome of these works

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by the m id 1920s appears to have been the conversion of the stores building off Kent Street to small factory accommodation. As part of this work it seems that the two formerly separate buildings were joined to form one single structure.

In 1926 the Kent Street building, Cresta House, was described as a six storey building with wooden floors and stairs, columns and girders and wooden framed windows. It v.;as at that time occupied by Pellegrini and Co. Behind this building but joined to it, with a small passage separating it from the properties along George Street, were warehouse flats with various occupants (14). A covered way led from Kent Street to the lane in "the centre of the block. In 1935 Pellegrini submitted an application to construct bridges between this building and the one at 543 George Street (15). More alterations were made in 1941 (16). During the 1950s the building was used by a variety of trades and offices including printers, mens and boys' wear manufacturers.

In 1973 alterations and additions were undertaken to accommodate new offices and shops including for the storage and wholesale of records (17). The fifth floor was altered to serve as a photographic studio in 1977 (18).

This building was traded at auction with Roma House for 1.5 million dollars in June 1980. In 1985 the two were purchased for 7.5 million dollars by Ancona Investments. In the following year an application was submitted to Council to gut and rebuild both ths Kent and George Street buildings for use as cinema offices (19). A building application for the work was entered in 1987. All that now remains of the former Cresta House is its facade.

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SECTION 8.0 526-534 KENT STREET

This land was granted to William Bowman as part of a large allotment that had frontages to both George and Kent Streets although it followed an L-shaped boundary on the northern side (1). There is no evidence to suggest that the Kent street frontage was developed in any way during the 1830s although, probably by the 1840s, this part of Kent Street had been developed for residential purposes. It is difficult to interpret the Council Rate Book for 1848, the first record this type.

Cf~rtait:1ly by the mid 1850s this land was occupied by several houses. In 1855 these v/ere described as four, two-storey brick houses. One was owned by the ubiquitous Richard Binnie and the rest by a man named Bayley (2). The city survey of the following year shows these residences all to be of odd shapes but all joined as a terrace row. Behind them were brick out-buildings and out-houses. These properties were fenced to separate them from the majority of the land from the original grant that ran through to George Street. By 1857 Richard Binnie owned the entire row (3).

There appear to have been no major changes or additions to these houses until the 'later 1870s. By 1877 Binnie had added a fifth, two-storey house to the site (4) although in 1880 this was described as a single storey residence (5). It was demolished in '1882 (6). The entire group was demolished between 1882 and 1884 to make way for the construction of an arcade, the Central Arcade, which ran from George to Kent Street (7). This is shown on both later nineteenth century city surveys.

The Central Arcade was demolished in 1913/14 to make way for a large department store and warehouse. Possibly the Kent Street end of this arcade had ceased to serve that function some time before; directory listings for the arcade on Kent Street cease in 1907. There are, however, no Council records for any changes made to this site for the first decade of the twentieth century. By 1926 the Kent Street property is shown as the site of several factory flats with a yard separating these from the George Street buildings. Separated by a central cartway the northern half was seven storeys in height and the southern half was five storeys. A corridor linked the southern portion to the George Street buildings which were known as, not surprisingly, Binnies Chambers.(8).

Certainly in the 1940s the building on Kent Street was considered to be part of the showrooms, shops and offices that occupied the land between George and Kent Street. This was described by the City Architect in 1943 as Block C of that group being a four storey saw-tooth roof building. It was also noted that the section on Kent Street was, at that time, defective as the result of a fire. The wall on Kent Street needed to be demolished due to its instability and the roof had partially caved in at thIs point. It was then occupied by Bryants and Thompson, french polishers and sewing machine repairers and by J. Sydney Horton a Iynotyper (9).

The only reference to construction after this fire was a building application submitted in 1955 for "reinstatement after fire", the work to cost fifteen thousand pounds (10).

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The date suggests that this building may have been left vacant or little used for some time after the fire. There are no reference to further works until 1 ~73 when Council Vias provided with demolition information prior to the construction of the cinema centre.



SECTION 9.0 531-535 GEORGE STREET

This land was first granted to William Dawes and by 1831 was in the hands of the executors of the estate of M. How (1J This site, due to its position on the Parramatta Road, is likely to have been developed to some degree during the early years of the nineteenth century although the first precise evidence for the nature of this development does not occur until 1855. At that time the block at the intersection of Albion Lane and George Street was occupied by a two-storey brick-built hotel. Next to it was a single storey wooden shop. Both these properties were owned by James rv1 ~Wade (2).

The City survey of 1856 identifies the hotel as the Eagle Hotel and, by that time, the back of this allotment was occupied by a large weatherboard building that extended over the site of the future 9 Albion Place. Next to the hotel was a large brick building. This had several smaller out-buildings behind it (3). Council records identify what appears to be one building as two, three-storey brick-built and shingled shops. These were owned by Mr Blanchard who, for some time, had been the landlord of 1-7 Albion Place (4). By 1863 the second of these was noted to have a store behind it (5). Blanchard r~tained possession of these building s until 1877. By that year Richard Binnie had purchased them (6). By 1880 the corner hotel was superseded by Rose's Chemist shop. The shops next to it were occupied by Thompson's, a tobacconist, and a jeweller's shop (7). The shops remained continuously occupied by a variety of small businesses, with Rose's Chemist being a constant tenant, until they were demolished in 1891 (8).

The 1895 City survey shows the site to have been redeveloped by that year but the Council Rate Assessment records it to be occupied by a single storey brick shop rather than the multi-storey Taito House that now exists there. A possible explanation m ight be that found in the period when the work was undertaken to build the new premises; this was in the middle of a severe national recession. The owner, Richard Binnie, may have elected to construct Vine House in two or more stages with the upper floors being added after 1901 when a single storey is still recorded for the site. There is, however, no record of an application for this work. The earliest evidence for work on the site dates from 1923 when plans were lodged for the construction of an awning (9). This would suggest, though, that the upper storeys had been added by this year.

The new buildings continued to be occupied by a variety of small shops and businesses. Rose's Chemist even returned to its old site for some years. By 1926 the building was described as having four storeys and was occupied, amongst other businesses, by a dance hall (10).

An unsuccessful application was made to demolish the building in 1927. From the later 1920s through to and including the 1940s many applications were made to Council to alter or add to the building to suit the variety of tenants who occupied it including a milk bar, offices, clothing manufacturer and public entertainment venues.

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In 1943 the City Architect described it as a four storey ordinary building with a timber roof and timber floors throughout except for small portion in the ground floor cafe. It was occupied on the ground floor by a cafe, which could seatforty-six, and two shops. On the first floor was a factory, the second floor had a club room and there was a dance hall on the top floor. It had internal timber stairs to the roof and external fire escape stairs (11). .

From the 1960s the BWIU had offices in the building. Later occupants have included a leisure centre, repair centre for amusement machines and a skin care school. Throughout 1970s and 1980s applications have been made for a variety of alterations mainly concerned with the introduction of partitions, air conditioning and a new internal stair. .

The building was auctioned in March 1983 but was passed in at the time. It was traded after auction for $1,725,000. In 1987 it was purchased for five million dollars by the Greater Union organisation (12). Throughout 1990s the building has been the subject of a continuing programme of alterations. In 1997 application was made for a fitout for the ground floor.

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SECTION 10.0 537 ~ 543 GEORGE

This land was granted to Daniel Miller by 1831 (1) and it is likely to have been developed from quite early in the century because of its position on Parramatta Road. It was certainly occupied in the 1840s but the earliest clear evidence for what occupied the site in the nineteenth century is provided by the City survey of 1856 and Council Rate Assessment books from the same decade.

The survey shows the site to be occupied by three large brick terraces with brick out-buildings and other out-houses in the yards behind. The properties were fenced from a yard in the centre of the site which backed onto Bowmans, later Lawler's bed factory, site on Kent Street. The 1857 rates describe these buildings, all owned by Richard Binnie, as two-storey, stone-built and slate-roofed shops and houses. One had a detached kitchen and another stables and sheds (2). The change in descriptions from brick to stone is not necessarily indicative of a redevelopment of the site. These buildings appear to have been identified as either quite regularly in official records.

There is no appreciable change in these buildings between the mid 1850s and the m id 1860s (3). Until the later 1870s the assessment descriptions of these two-storey stone buildings remains consistent. In 1880 the buildings were occupied by a draper, a boot manufacturer and a grocer (4). However, in that year the buildings were described by Council as brick-built and of varying heights. It suggests that Binnie may have redeveloped the site or part of it in that year. City surveys of both the later 1880s and mid-1890s, however, indicate that if new buildings did occupy the site they had changed in area and form very little from their predecessors. However, the assessment of these structures in 1897 suggests that some change may have occurred by this year. Two of the shops were described buildings of brick and iron roofs, one of three storeys and one a single storey. The third building was a two-storey stone building (5).

f-Jumerous works appear to have been carried out on these buildings during the early aecades of the twentieth century. Council records indicate that applications were rn ade in 1907, 1914, 1917 and 1922 (6). In 1923 plans were lodged by the firm of Bray and Halliday for a new building to be known as "Roma House" (7). By 1926 the newly built Roma House was described as being principally of concrete construction and occupied by shops, showrooms and offices (8). There is little evidence of any work being undertaken in this building until the 1950s with the exception of a steel bridge constructed in 1936 (9). From the 1950s to the 1970s, however, it was subject to an almost constant programme of change.

R.oma House was auctioned with Cresta House in 1980 and they sold for 1.5 million collars. In 1985 the two were purchased for 7.5 million dollars (10). Throughout the 'I 980s many changes have been made to the interiors to provide for tenants who have included an amusement centre and restaurant.

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SECTION 11.0 545-549 GEORGE STREET

This land was part of a grant made to William Bowman by 1831. The land of this grant extended all the way through to Kent Street (1). It is very likely that this property was occupied from very early in the nineteenth century; descriptions of the period of 1810-20 record that Bowman had a wheelwright's establishment on this block in n that period. It was certainly occupied by the 1840s but the first certain identification of the nature of this occupation derives from the middle of the nineteenth century.

In 1856 the site was occupied by one large brick terrace and a collection of small br;ck buildings and sheds that ran ·into the centre of the block. Access was by an ill-defined passage from George Street (2). Thes.e buildings were all owned by Richard Binnie and comprised a collection of mixed commercial/residential properties and one house. Most were of two storeys and one had a kitchen detached and another stables and a shed (3). Occupied by a collection of small brick buildings with a passage from Kent Street (1856). There is no evidence for any substantial change to these buildings, apart from tenancies, through to the mid-1860s although the stables at the back of the block were said to be in bad repair by 1867 (4). In 1880 the buildings were occupied by a tailor, barber, saddler and the stables occupied the back of the block (5).

The first significant change to these fifty or more year old buildings occurred in 1882. In that year one of the shops was pulled down (6). By 1885 all except one large brick terrace joining the shops on what is now the site of Roma House had been demolished, as had all the building in the centre of the site all through to Kent Street. In their place was built a commercial arcade that stretched from ~eorge to Kent Street. It was called the Central Arcade and it housed sixteen single storey shops (7).

Central Arcade, by then known as Liverpool Close, was demolished in 1913/1 ~ (8). In its place was constructed. a multi-storey retail complex known as Binnies Chambers. The height of the new building varied; on the northern side it was seven floors and on the southern five floors. In 1943 the City Architect described this building along with that adjoining it on the southern side on George Street as well as the Kent Street frontage all of which were linked and served Bryant's Furniture Warehouse. Apart from the defective state of the Kent Street frontage due to fire the rest of the bui!ding was described as a brick structure, with timber floors and a saw-tooth roof. The various portions of the building, of which this was Block A, were interconnected at various levels (8) .

. In -1974 the entire building was demolish~d and the Village Cinema was built in its plac~.

VI/endy Thorp for NBRSP Page 19

Histor"ical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

SECTION 12.0. 549 D 551 GEORGE STREET

This land was part of a narrow, truncated triangular block that extended half way across to the Kent Street frontage. By 1831 it was the property of Catherine Mitchell (1). Certainly developed during the early part of the nineteenth century in 1856 the site was occupied by two terraces, separated from each other by a narrow passage, with out-buildings behind.

These two storey brick-built shops are identified in Council records as being demolished in 1882. If so the buildings which replaced them, also shops, were almost ide~tical as they are recorded on both later nineteenth century surveys. These buildings were probably demolished in c. 1913/14 at the time the Central Arcade was removed from the the site. By 1926 the site was occupied by Bryants Ltd Furniture Warehouse, a seven storey building with a bulk store behind (2). During the 1920s and 1930s a variety of alterations were made to these premises but by the 1960s complaints were made of the condition of the building.

The building was demolished to make way for an extension to the Village Cinema complex which was completd in 1976.

V\lendy Thorp for NBRSP Page 20


SECTION 13.0 DOCUMENTATION

13.1 Endnotes

Section 2.0

1. Ooug Benson and Jocelyn Howell, Taken for Granted The Bushland of Sydney and Its Suburbs, 42.

2. Edward Oayes View of Brickfield Hill, 1796 in Tim McCormack, First Views of Australia, 81.

3. James Maclehose, Strangers Guide to Sydney 1839, 69.

L!. For example archaeological investigation of the World Square site and geo-technical testing on 589-583 George Street.

1. Plan de la Vi lie de Sydney 1802 in Kelly and Croker, Sydney Takes Shape, 10.

2. Edward West Marriott, Memoirs of Obed West, 17.

3. Arnbrose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831 (Revised), SAONSW AO Map 5402

4. Untitled Subdivision Plan George to Kent Street NO, ML SP 881.173212

5. James Maclehose, Strangers Guide to Sydney 1839, 69.

6. Ibid.,64.

7. Gibbs and Shallard and Co., An Illustrated Guide to Sydney in 1882,33.

e. lbid., 45

\tVendy Thorp for NBRSP Page 21

Hist.orical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

Section 4.0

1. Ambrose Halien, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831. SAONSW AO Map 5403.

2. Untitled Subdivision Plan George to Kent Street ND. ML SP 881.1732/2

3. Map of the Town of Sydney 1836, ML M2 811.16/1836/1

4. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Street 1848.

5. Gity Survey 1856.

6. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Street 1855.

7. Ibid., 1861.

8. Ibid., 1867.

9. lbid., 1871.

10. Sands Directory 1861, Albion Lane.

11. Ibid., 1867 -1868

12. Ibid., 1869 -1871.

13 Ibj9., 1873. "

14. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Lane 1877.

15. Ibid., 1877-79

16. Percy Dove, New Complete Whatf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880.

17. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Lane 1891.

18. Sydney Cityscope 8 May 1997.

~ 9. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Lane 1902.

20. Sands Directory Albion Lane 1903 - 1919.

21. Fire Underwriters Association NSW, Sydney Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 173).

\Nendy Thorp for NBRSP Page 22

HistOl"ical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

22. Sands Directory Listings Albion Lane 1932.

23. Council of the City of Sydney Street Cards, Albion Place 1912 "

24. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 698/22.


26. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 50146.


28. Sydhey City Council Development Application Number 200/69


30. Ibid.

Section 5~O

'I . j\mbrose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSW AO Map 5403

2. City Survey 1856.

(:1. Trigonometrical SUNey of Sydney 1865

4. Percy Dove, New Complete Wharf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880.

5. NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Sydney Sections 9, 11 and 12 (1887).

6. Council Rate Assessment Book Albion Place 1902.

7. Fire Underwriters Association NSW, Sydney Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 173)


9. Ibid., 2338/59


\Nencly Thorp for NBRSP Page 23

Histol"ical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

Section 6.0

1. Ambrose Halien, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSW AO Map 5403.

2. Council Rate Assessment Book Kent Street, 1871.

3. Ibid., 1891.

4. Ibid., 1897.

5. Sands Directory listings Kent Street 1910 - 1913.


7. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 255/26

8. Sydney Cityscope 8 May 1997

9. Ibid.

Section 7.0

1. /\mbrose Halien, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSWAO Map 5403.

2. 1856 City Survey.

3. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, Trigonometrical Survey of Sydney 1865

4. Council Rate Assessment Book Kent Street 1871.

E·. Ibid., 1877.

6. Ibid.'

f'. Percy Dove, New Complete Wharf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880

E. ,\1 SW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Sydney Sections 9, 11 and -12 (1887).


VVsndy Thorp for NBRSP Page 24


10. NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Sydney Sections 9, 11 ana' 12 (1895).


12. Sands Directory Listing Kent Street 1890 - 1900.

13. Sydney City Council Archives, Street cards Kent Street 1900 - 1929


i5.Sydney City Council Building Application Number 767/35

16. Ibid., 187/41

1 T. Ibid., OA 277d2/73 ,OA 675/d2/73

18. Ibid., OA619/77

19. Ibid., BA 448611407

SecUon 8.0

1. Arnbrose Hallen, Section 12, City ~f Sydney 1831, SAONSWAO Map 5403.

2. Council Rate Assessment Book Kent Street 1855

3. Itiel, 1857.

4. Ibid., 1877-79

5. Ibid., 1880.

6. It: id., 1882.

1'. Sa lds Directory listings Kent Street 1886.


9. City Architect and Building Surveyors Department, Inspection Report for 536-534 Venf Street

We';ldy Thorp for NBRSP Page 25

Hisforical Analysis: Albion P lace, Sydney

10. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 224/55 B2

Section 9.0

1. ft.mbrose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSWAO Map 5403.

2. Council Rate Assessment Book George Street 1855.

3. City Survey of 1856


5. Ibid., 1863.

6. !bid., 1877.

7. Percy Dove, New Complete Wharf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880

8. Council Rate Assessment Book George Street 1891

9. Street cards 531-35 George Street.

10. Flre Underwriters Association NSW, Sydney Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 173)

11. City Architect and Building Surveyors Department Inspection Report for 531-535 George Street, 1943.

12 Sydney Cityscope 8 May 1997

S~1dion 10.0

1. ,l·\mbrose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSWAO Map 5403.

2. Council Rate Assessment Book George Street 1857

2,. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, Trigonometrical Survey of Sydney 1865.

~. P;9rcy Dove New Complete Wharf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880.

F. C>Juncil Rate Assessment Book 1897-1901 George Street.

\Nendy Thorp for NBRSP Page 26

. ,-

, I"'· :; ~ .~ ,


6. Council street cards.

7'. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 543/23

8. Fire Underwriters Association NSW Sydney Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 173)

SI. Sydney City Council Building Application Number 868/36

10. Sydney Cityscope 8 May 1997

Section 11.0

'!. /\T1brose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSWAO Map 5403.

2. 1856 City Survey

3. Council Rate Assessment Book George Street .1857

4. Ibid., 1867.

E,. Fe "cy Dove, New Complete Whatf and Street Directory of Sydney 1880


7'. Ibid., 1891.

f:. Sands Directory Listings.

9. City Architect and Building Surveyors Department, ./nspection Reports for 545-551 George Street, 536-534 Kent Street.

8ectior,l 12.0

1. A.mbrose Hallen, Section 12, City of Sydney 1831, SAONSW AO Map 5403.

2. Fire Underwriters Association NSW, Sydney Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 17'3)

vVel1dy Thorp for NBRSP Page 27

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13.2 Bibliography

E30oi~s and Reports

Doug Benson and Jocelyn Howell Taken for Granted The Bushland of Sydney and Its Suburbs I<angaroo Press. 1995.

Gibbs and Shallard and Co. An .rJjustrated Guide to Sydney in 1882 Facsimile Edition. Angus and Robertson. 1981.

Max Kelly and Ruth Croker SydnfW Takes Shape Doak Press. 1978.

Jarnes Maclehose pjc[ure of Sydney and Strangers Guide in NSW for 1839 Facsimile Edition. John Ferguson Pty Ltd. 1977.

Edward West Marriott (Ed) Memoirs of Obed West A Portrait of Early Sydney Barcom Press. 1988.

Tim McCormack First Views of Australia 1788 - 1825 A History of Early Sydney Davicl Ell Press. 1988.

Land Details

Syc'n t3Y Cityscope 8 May 1997 Cityscope Publications. 1997.

Rate Assessment Books 1848 - 1926 Council 6fthe City of Sydney

CBD Heritage Inventory Council of the City of Sydney

Street Cards 1907 - 1929 Coun~il of the City of Sydney

\Ne.lcly Thorp for NBRSP Page 28

His:ol"ical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

City j,rchitect and Building Surveyors Department Inspection Reports for 531-535 George Street, 545-551 George Street, 536-534 Kent Street for 1943 Council of the City of Sydney Architects

F<ecords of Building and Development Applications Council of the City of Sydney

Sands and Kenney City end Suburban Directory 1858 - 1932

f\!lap:e: and Plans

Per::y Dove New Complete Whati and Street Directory of Sydney 1880 Council of the City of Sydney Archives

Fire Underwriters Association NSW Syc'oey Fire Assurance Maps 1926 (Block 173) Council Of the City of Sydney Archives.

(:f8~1 and Co. Real Estate City Subdivision Plan NO (1930s?) ML SP 881.1732/29

I\miJrose Hallen Section 12, City of Sydney 1831 SAONSW AD Map 5403

j\[Tl iX0se Hallen Section 12, City of Sydney 1831 (Revised) SAONSW AD Map 5402

City Survey 1856 Council of the City of Sydney Archives.

M!3trc'politan Water and Sewerage Board ·(rir,o.?ometrical Survey of Sydney 1865 Council of the City of Sydney Archives

1·.!SV\f Department of Lands M:a!mpolitan Detail Series Sydney Sections 9, 11 and 12 (1887). li'- ,'LI," Ser4 811. 1711

\/.le -,ciy Thorp for NBRSP Page 29

1- iislorical Analysis: Albion Place, Sydney

N8'N Department of Lands Malmpolitan Detail Series Sydney Sections 9, 11 and 12 (1895). hL ~l Ser4 811. 1711

Sycney Water Sewer Amplification Drawing NO Syc~ney Water Board Archives

fiycn8Y Water City Sewer Connections E3iackwattie Series 3743 (1930s) Syc ney Water Board Archives

Section 12, City of Sydney Suhdivision Plan NO f\~L SP 881.1732/28

Untitil3d Subdivision Plan George to Kent Street NO /\IlL S.D 881.173212

Map of the Town of Sydney 1836 r·lI.. M2 811. 16/1836/1

Vv's.idy Thorp for NBRSP Page 30

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SECTION 2.0 THE PRE-SETTLEMENT ENVIRONMENT

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