Mapping the peninsula
Physical development of our headland is best understood by looking at key maps and birdseye views of this area, in chronological order. Three First Fleet artists produced the first European maps
Arts
Waterfront photography
Since photography became popular in the late 1800s, our picturesque waterfront has been a popular location for cameramen—and it appears in the background of many images taken from the lower north shore.
Painting the scene
Some of Sydney’s finest artists sketched and painted the west headland of Sydney Cove—before and since the Walsh Bay wharves were built in the early 20th century.
Probably the earliest local artworks were
Performing arts evolutions
Walsh Bay’s history of performing arts began with Aborigines chanting and dancing around foreshore campfires, then evolved to rowdy singalongs by convicts, seamen and wharf workers
Useful old wharf drawings
Builders now renovating Pier 2-3 and Wharf 4-5 are sometimes finding it useful to check the original structural drawings produced by architects and engineers at the
Peter Kingston’s pier views
Lavender Bay artist Peter Kingston was furious about 1990s plans to redevelop the wharves at Walsh Bay—and especially to replace the single-storey Pier 6/7 with a brand-new, over-water apartment block
Coming back to Eora life
On the big screen outside Barangaroo Park’s Cutaway events venue, an amazing film now reveals the daily activities and culture of the Eora people who lived on our shoreline long before
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
Paintings of a passing port
Before new developments of Barangaroo, it was a major berth for container and cruise ships. JANE BENNETT, artist-in-residence for Patrick and Sydney Ports, painted the end