Macquarie Street 1857c

Original

Today (Google)

Standing on the upper verandah of the Mint building, looking north-west to what is today Martin Place.This one photo turned out to be the most epic, meticulous investigative work I've done so far.

The original image is so degraded, faded and lacking in detail that there is basically little more than some blurry shapes. It didn't even have a description, I had to work that part out. And yet, after cross-referencing decades of related maps, land registries and plans, and photos, I landed at an extremely satisfying outcome. This is most likely the earliest photo that exists of Macquarie Street, historically the most important Australian governmental street at the time.

The photo shows, at the rear, the original St Stephens church in Phillip Street. The church was redeveloped and extended a few times, given a huge spire and interior galleries, before its demolition to make Martin Place in the 1930s. But I've only seen drawings of its original version, never a photo. 

The buildings facing the foreground were all demolished before 1859, apart from that one house on the right, with the verandah facing the street. That old-timer lasted until the 1930s too, surrounded then by newer, higher offices and flats.

In the foreground at bottom, is the roof of the south gatehouse of the original Sydney Hospital. The gatehouse was enlarged before 1870, so it appears smaller here than what you would see in later photos. To its right is the original boundary wall of Sydney Hospital, which was constructed as full height sandstone. This, too, was changed before 1870, into the later fashionable Victorian style of institutional fence; iron-railings along a stone base.

I happily assure that all the buildings in this restoration have been fastidiously reviewed.