1876–1900: Heyday

  • Unloading the barque Ravenscourt and steamer Wallarah, date unknown (SAR).

In the late 1800s, Sydney’s economy and culture was surging—and the northern waterfront of Millers Point was one of the city’s busiest shipping precincts. Fast clipper ships continued to berth there, but they were rapidly being replaced by steam-powered ships (which often also carried sails to save coal on long voyages and to use if the new, often unreliable, engines failed).

Sydney panorama looking north-west across Millers Point, by Horace Harral, 1879 (LSM).
Panoramic photograph of the bay, 1870–1880s (ANMM).
Late 19th century yachting in Sydney Harbour (Picturesque Atlas of Australia).