John Job Crew Bradfield (E)
(bridges)
Construction by Dorman & Long, Ralph Freeman Consulting Engineer
Sir John Burnett & partners Consulting Architects
location
Sydney Harbour, between
Miller's Point and Milson's Point
date
Design 1922-24: construction from 1923
(approaches)
1929-32
There have been markets on this site since 1810. The Queen Victoria Markets replaced the old George Street markets in
1898. They were designed for the Council by the City Architect, George McRae, and aspired to be the grand
shopping arcade of Sydney rather than produce markets. The imposing Romanesque building was never successful
as markets until it was refurbished in 1986.
1868 John Henry Wilson (original
design facing George Street)
1873-77 Albert Bond (mansard roof and vestibule interiors)
1875-77 Thomas and Edward Bradridge (clock tower)
1883-89 Thomas Sapsford (Centennial Hall)
1886-88 George McRae with John Hennessy
1934 Entrance portico replaced
Town Hall, the seat of local government of the City
of Sydney. This building was built in stages between 1869 and 1889 on the site of what was known as
the Old Burial Ground. Between 1792 and its closure in 1820, about 2,000 people were buried here.Many of the burials were shallow and people used to
complain about the stench. According to the official records, the Burial Ground was closed because it
was offensive to the inhabitants. Before the Town Hall was built the bodies were supposedly exhumed,
but even today whenever there is digging in the area a stray skeleton is likely to turn up.
The Town Hall’s high Victorian architectural style and decorative excesses earnt it the nick-name ‘the
wedding cake building’. In the 1960s some people even thought it should be pulled down. Today, the
Town Hall steps are a favourite Sydney meeting place.
This is one of Sydney’s most interesting Art Deco buildings. Designed by Bruce
Dellit, it was opened in 1934. It contains sculptures by an English-born migrant,
Raynor Hoff. His beautiful interior statue called ‘Sacrifice’ depicts a group of three
women supporting a dead soldier - the givers of life, weighed down by death. This
is often interpreted as a powerful peace symbol, and at the time of building this memorial generated a lot of debate. The memorial
contains no names, but 120,000 stars in the ceiling dome represent those from NSW who served.
The General Post Office was constructed in stages from
1866-91. It is the most notable work in the city by colonial architect James Barnet.
The realistic carvings facing Pitt Street and Martin Place, carved by sculptor Thomas
Sani, caused a public scandal. They were viciously attacked by the press and Parliament as
being “hideous in form and expression” and attempts were made to force Barnet to
remove them.
Sydney's oldest surviving colonial church,
begun in 1822, was designed by the government architect, and former
convict, Francis Greenway. At one time the church's spire served as a
landmark for ships coming up the harbor, but today it looks totally lost
amid the skyscrapers. It's well worth seeking out, though, especially for
the plaques on the wall, which pay testament to the hard early days of the
colony when people were lost at sea, were "speared by blacks,"
and died while serving the British Empire overseas.
Thomas Rowe, Aaron Loveridge (stonework)
Partly supervised by Walter Liberty Vernon 1973 Orwell Phillips and Kevin Gallagher (facade cleaned, gates
restored)
A composite building of Romanesque,
Gothic, Moorish Revival and Byzantine motifs.
The Great Synagogue was designed in the 'Transitional French Gothic' style by Thomas Rowe, one of Sydney's leading architects in the second half of the 19th Century. It was opened in 1878. It is a splendid building with magnificent cast iron gates and elaborate stone carving. It was called the 'Great Synagogue' because it followed the principles and rituals of the historic Great Synagogue in London, and combined two smaller Jewish congregations. One group of Jews had previously met at the Egyptian-style synagogue in York Street and the other at an old Baptist church in Macquarie Street.
There had been at least 16 Jews among the 751 convicts on the First Fleet, but the early governors refused to allow them to meet together and, as convicts, they were forced to attend services conducted by the Church of England chaplain. The first Jewish congregation in Sydney was not officially formed until November 1831.
