Bygone Sydney

The Devonshire Street Cemetery was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers and Devonshire Streets, at Brickfield Hill, in Sydney, Australia. It was consecrated in 1820. By 1860, the cemetery was full, and it was closed in 1867. In 1901, the cemetery was resumed to allow for the development of Central railway station, Sydney and representatives of deceased persons buried in the Devonshire Street cemetery were given two months to arrange for exhumation and removal of remains from the cemetery. All reasonable costs were borne by the Government of New South Wales.

Stonemasons at work carving gargoyles during the construction of Sydney University in 1858

Children with billycarts filled with firewood at the Woolloomooloo wharf during the Great Depression, Sydney, 1 September 1932.

Btw, why are they called billy carts? 

Billy carts date back to the late 19th century and were originally made to be pulled by a ‘billy’ goat. When pedal and motor power became available motorised carts, and pedal powered buggies, took over the jobs that were once done by the billy cart, which thereafter became play toys for children. The term ‘go cart’ is short for goat carts which were once pulled by goats, but now refer to a motorised cart.

Tram, Watsons Bay, 1954

Cremorne ferry terminal, Kanangra in foreground, 'Aquitania" just following "Queen Mary" around Bradleys Head, bound for the Middle East.

The City of Sydney Mobile Library in 1957.It was discontinued in 1991.

Vehicle traffic passing through King's Cross, Sydney, 16 December 1937. 80 years ago to the day.

Children playing in Frog Hollow, Surry Hills, Sydney 1949

By 1901 Surry Hills was an established suburb on the fringe of the city. Packed tight with narrow terraces and weatherboard shacks, many of the houses were thrown together by speculators, with ventilation usually poor and rooms damp. Drainage and sewerage fell short due to overcrowding. Surry Hills became a slum associated with petty crime, alcohol, gambling and domestic violence. Between 1895 and 1904 Surry Hills’ Frog Hollow was known as ‘one of the most depraved areas of Sydney’. It was about 9 metres below the surrounding streets and approachable from three directions only by steep flights of stone steps. In this area bounded by Anne, Albion, Riley and Little Riley Streets the houses were literally piled on top of each other. Police claimed that this enclave had bred some of the most ‘desperate and dangerous criminals’ they had encountered. The City Council’s slum clearance came to Frog Hollow, with the first houses at 295-315 Riley Street being demolished in 1925. Part of the site was later used as a council depot, and part as a park named Hills Reserve after Pat Hills, alderman in 1948-56, Lord Mayor in 1953-56 and NSW MP from 1954 to 1988.

Frog Hollow 1949 and 2014

Frog Hollow

Workers cleaning the Sydney Town Hall clock in 1937.

McElhone Place in Surry Hills, one of the slums of Sydney 1930s

Fishing in Victoria Park in Sydney in the 1930's, Sydney University in the background

Kate Leigh, Sydney razor-gang criminal, does Christmas Charity

Bridge Street, Sydney in 1870 and 2009