Modernising our waterfront
In 1900 the NSW government declared a rat plague in Sydney. To solve the crisis, it resumed most properties around our headland and created the Sydney Harbour Trust to modernise the entire port
Architecture
Ipoh’s thwarted concept
Walsh Bay could have boasted a Venice-style canal along Hickson Road, an internal street along Pier 8/9, jetties jutting from three piers, and a landscaped wharf promenade leading to an outdoor pool and pub
An architect’s sketchbook
My sketches are drawn quickly—five minutes or less. I like to work quickly because it keeps me from getting bogged down in detail or overthinking things. They are drawn mostly en plein air, outdoors
Our Scottish architects
Irish engineer Henry Deane Walsh is widely claimed to have created all the Sydney Harbour Trust’s post-plague developments around Walsh Bay. But he had no architectural training and there is strong evidence
Imposter at the Palisade
Completed in 1916 to replace another Palisade hotel built in 1880, the architecture of this building has been described as ‘Federation Free Style’. This expressionist design approach, blending ancient classical forms with
Robert’s heritage renewal
At the end of the 20th century, most of Walsh Bay’s old wharves and warehouses were abandoned, padlocked and dilapidated—but also the subject of intense opposition