A whole suburb, Woolloomooloo, was saved several years ago by Jack Mundey, a Union boss, who adopted a green ban, which stopped development of this pretty dockland area, by stopping all building work indefinitely until the developers changed their plans. Even the blue rinse Liberal ladies of Hunters Hill consulted him to block plans to get rid of a park because developers wanted to put up more buildings which would have destroyed their wonderful and expensive views of the Harbour.
Recently, the inner city is being radically changed. There is a place called Barangaroo. This was originally berths for ships in what was then a working harbour. Then it became a terminal for up to two large cruise ships. At one time, car carriers used to unload their cargo there; and it was there that the Pope, on his sole visit to Australia, held a Mass for International Youth Week and canonised Mary McKillop to be Australia's only Saint - Saint Mary of the Cross. So you can see that Barangaroo has taken and is taking an important part in Australian history.
A couple of years back, a significant Sydney developer wanted to build a casino on Barangaroo. He has breached the rule of only having one casino in Sydney, by buying the licence of the one that is already open. He has breached the building line regulations, and he is building a gargantuan building (it is not for me to judge its architectural merit or otherwise) at Barangaroo, which had been earmarked by the previous State Government as a park.
You can get some of the idea of the scale of the development from the first photograph. Not very distinct, I'm afraid, but other pics later.
The buildings are of a very unusual style, possibly even unique in Australia. They are called "Filigree style" houses. They are old (almost 150 years, which is very old for Australia) and were the homes of ordinary dock workers. They are also Heritage Listed.
They are located in High Street, Millers Point, which is on the Western side of the Rocks (not the eastern tourist side where there are souvenir shops and expensive restaurants).
The western side is quiet, like a small village. The roads are not at all busy, there is a preschool, and a couple of pubs, a cafe, a park, and a few local shops.
Above all, there is a marvellous sense of community which has been developed over about a century. There are residents who were born here over sixty years ago.
These are not large houses; they are two bedroom flats, but they are NOT high rise. They are a little bit of the Nineteenth Century in a Twenty-First Century world.
This is a marvellously mixed community. When I was down there two days ago, I was introduced to several friends and neighbours, and met two of them in the corner cafe.
The thing is that these are what we in Britain are called Council Houses, but in Australia are called Authority Housing. The State Government has already issued notices to quit, and are ready to rehouse the inhabitants elsewhere. A long way elsewhere, where you have to go everywhere on a bus, and the buses are infrequent. There is no effort being made to keep the community together.
The local council, spurred on by the State government (the same government which has been found guilty of corruption and taking bribes (illegal election payments) from developers), is evicting the inhabitants because of this, which is portrayed in the next photo. These two bedroom flats have water views, and still will do even after the casino is finished.
In the Sydney Morning Herald today, a modern flat with harbour views with one bedroom and two bathrooms is up for sale for $ 1 000 000 ! No wonder they want the tenants out!
There is also a preschool in the street. Goodness knows what will happen to the children if those facilities are destroyed
The residents will be holding a picnic in the local park on Sunday, September 14th, and a petition will be available to sign. Why not come along to meet the locals? Bring food and non alcoholic drink. This is not political. It is about natural justice!
If you got this far, thanks for reading it, and now back to photography!
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