The RocksBrief History The Rocks is the foundation place of Sydney
and Australia's most important historical site. Located
on the western side of Sydney Cove, the Rocks are named
after the sandstone outcrops located on the hillside.
Almost immediately following Captain Arthur Phillips
arrival with the First Fleet, convicts were sent ashore
to clear land for setting up tents and huts. Many of the
tents and huts were built along this rocky sandstone
outcrop.The Rocks soon became the centre of the colony's
maritime and commercial activity. The area became home to
convicts, officers, whalers, sailors and street gangs as
warehouses and bond stores were built. Slums soon emerged
and the area became notorious for gangs and thugs. The
area fell into total decline after the modernisation of
shipping and storage facilities and industry moved away
from Circular Quay. An outbreak of the bubonic plague in
1900 and the construction of the Harbour Bridge also
added to the area's decline. It wasn't until the 1970's
when re-development of the area was undertaken by people
in the building industry and the union movement. The
Sydney Cove Re-development Authority was established to
oversee the successful transition from slum to historical
tourist precinct.
Things You May Not Know About The Rocks In 1900 the bubonic plague spread thoughout
The Rocks area.
Following the arrival of the First Fleet, female convicts were picked to be nurses for the makeshift hospitals set up in The Rocks area. The area is now known as Nurse's Walk. Cadman's Cottage is the oldest surviving house in Sydney.
The Argyle Stores are one of the earliest bond stores built in Australia.
The Hero of Waterloo hotel has secret tunnels in its basement, which were used to smuggle rum and unsuspecting drunks back and forth to the harbour.
Henry Lawson captured the essence of the early years of the area in his poem 'Captain of the Push' . During the 1800's The Rocks was virtually run by a gang of larrikins known as the 'Push'.
There are 13 pubs in The Rocks precinct. Prior to the 1970's all pubs had to close at 6pm sharp. Patrons would throw down as many beers as they could before the publican stopped serving. This ritual became known as the 'six-o'clock swill'. Things Are Looking Up At The RocksThe original buildings of The Rocks were mostly constructed from local sandstone from which the area derived its name. The area consisted mainly of warehouses and public houses with the majority of local residents being convicts, sailors, soldiers and prostitutes. By the 1900's many of the buildings were already in serious decay and the area was little more than a slum. Adding further to the areas woes was the outbreak of the bubonic plague, which forced the State Government to resume much of the areas around The Rocks and Darling Harbour. All was to be flattened, but re-development plans were stalled when World War I broke out. In the 1920's hundreds of buildings were demolished to make way for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but again the area
was saved, due this time to the outbreak of World War II.
In the 1960's the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority
made a grand attempt at having the whole area demolished
and replaced by high-density residential buildings. It
didn't take long before a group of disgruntled locals
formed the 'Rocks Residents Group' to oppose the plans.
Well, as you can imagine all hell broke out when the
group imposed a Green ban on the area. After numerous
arrests, demonstrations, political powerplays and
everything else which goes with a good battle, much of
the The Rocks area was saved. Through a great deal of
renovations The Rocks was transformed from slums to one
of Sydney's most popular tourist precincts. Thank you
Rocks Residents Group. The most interesting architectual
areas can be found on George Street , Harrington Street and
Argyle Street. There are several bond
stores still standing, the Metcalfe , Campbell, Argyle and the ASN stores . Historical buildings of note
in the area are Lilyvale , Cadman's Cottage
and Garrison Church. |
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