Darling Harbour

With the opening of a steam mill in 1815, Darling Harbour became the Country's industrial hub. International shipping terminals and docks were built to accomodate the wool, grain and timber trades. However with the increased use of container shipping  the area eventually lost its commercial viability and fell into ruins. It wasn't until the 1980's that ideas were brought forward to re-develop what had become an embarrassing eyesore. The Darling Harbour Authority was formed in 1984 to oversee the area's  54 hectacre (130 acre) commercial options and by 1988 the Darling Harbour complex was opened featuring eateries, shopping malls, a National Maritime Museum, Convention & Exhibition Centre and the Sydney Aquarium.