Old Sydney Markets: Meat, 1890

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Built in 1887, it was the first refrigerated meat market in Sydney, and lasted until 1914 when it was cleared for Darling Harbour's railway expansion. This image is about 1890s. 

After the jump, we have a quick peek inside, a look at the area around, and a couple of clearer shots during its construction.

A peek inside. This was the main floor, and there was a huge cold storage basement below that covered the same area. Refrigerated meat was railed into here from all over NSW. It was cheaper to process meat regionally than ship livestock, as had been the normal trade prior to the 1880s.

I cropped this 1892 panorama, taken from the GPO, to show the meat market in situ, highlighted at left. At centre, highlighted in green, is the old Ultimo Public School, a gorgeous Victorian-Gothic building which I've pictured further down the post, and was sadly swept away with Darling Harbour's expansion in the early 20thC. On the right, highlighted in purple, is, I think, Mr Bunn's old house, with its veranda removed.

In this 1873 crop of a panorama taken from Sydney Town Hall, highlighted in purple on the opposite shore is Mr Bunn's house (hence the street name there today). In red highlight, is the future site of the meat market. As an aside, the most striking thing between these two photos, for me, is the stark difference in development of the city in just twenty years.

The Ultimo Public School in Bunn Street, 1890s.

I've added these two construction photos to show the scale of the market. At left, the sandstone building behind it is a woolstore that would later be expanded upwards and sideways under Goldsborough Mort. It remains today converted into apartments. At right, is the same corner of the building we see in the restored pic at top.