The final decades of the 19th century saw a
phenomenal increase in the Darling Harbour
railway goods yards. While mainly servicing the
wharves on the southern and western sides of the
Harbour, this site continued to house a wide array
of manufacturing businesses such as a timber
yard, the Anchor Flour Mill, Harper’s Spice Mill,
Vicar’s Tweed Mill and various engineers. From
here their wares could be transported not only
around the country by rail, but also overseas via the
steamships that berthed along the Harbour’s shore.
1873—1900
1900—1988
1988—2010
Darling Harbour was severely hit by the outbreak
of Bubonic Plague in 1900. The New South Wales
Government purchased all of the properties
between the water and Sussex Street and began
the process of cleaning up the waterfront.
Along with numerous decrepit wharves and
warehouses, many workers houses were
demolished. Improvements continued through
the 1920s when spoil from the excavation for
the City Circle railway was used to reclaim the
harbour to create what we see today. Railway lines
extended to the new wharves, and warehouses
sprang up in the maze of laneways that had
sprung up on the former Barker’s Mill site. In the
1970
s Darling Harbour could no longer support the
burgeoning maritime transport. Facilities needed
for loading and unloading container ships saw the
Government’s decision to relocate to Botany Bay,
and by the early 1980s the railways, wharves and
related industries were all but silent in Darling
Harbour. In 1984 the NSW Government announced
plans for the redevelopment of the Harbour as a
place of relaxation and entertainment for Sydney’s
bicentenary. In early 1988 the new Darling
Harbour was opened to the public by Queen
Elizabeth II; the largest urban renewal project
Australia had ever seen.
Since opening Darling Harbour has matured with
new parks, restaurants, hotels and entertainment
facilities. In addition it has become a mecca for
commerce with a number of prominent financial
institutions establishing their head offices here.
The people of Sydney have embraced Darling
Harbour as a place to celebrate, and tens of
thousands flock here every week for entertainment
and relaxation; to attend conferences, exhibitions
or simply to kick-back, and enjoy.
Barker’s Mill on the site of Darling Quarter, c 1871.
(
Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW) [Mitchell Library SPF/484]
Darling Quarter site in 1910.
(
Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority)
Darling Harbour in 1984, just prior to demolition of the wharves
and railway yards. (Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW)
[
Mitchell Library GPO4-36082]
Steam power came to Sydney in 1813 when John
Dickson erected his factory nearby in what is now
Chinatown. Just ten years later a second steam-
powered mill for grinding wheat was built on
this site by Cooper and Levy, soon after purchased
by Thomas Barker. Barker was to become the
greatest mover and shaker of Sydney’s industrial
history. He took control of Dickson’s mill, and
encouraged engineers and manufacturers to set
up their works at Darling Harbour, which had
been renamed in 1826 in honour of Governor
Ralph Darling. Prominent engineer Peter Nicol
Russell developed a large part of this site with his
engineering works in the 1860s-70s. Here he made
refrigeration equipment, railway rolling stock and
stamper batteries for the goldfields, amongst other
machinery. Throughout this time the need for more
land meant more and more of Darling Harbour was
filled in, and a succession of seawalls, piers and
wharves pushed the waters of the harbour further
and further out.
1823—1873
FROM COCKLES TO COMMERCE
FROM COCKLES TO COMMERCE
23
22
Harper’s Spice Mill, on the site of Darling Quarter in 1901.
(
Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW) [Mitchell Library PXE 91]
