Petersham 1888

What strikes me most here is the engineering - all cut, dug and built by hand, with just rudimentary tools, no machines. And for a remote, small population, where these works are repeated throughout the land, it's an amazing feat. We really don't appreciate our pioneers. 

Today, the same spot, just higher up, as a light-rail line runs beneath, and under that again the creek is now a concreted canal.

 

As an addendum, next to the modern viaduct is a remnant of the original. You have to look for it to know it was there. 

Circular Quay 1929

At the far back is George St; in front, the fire station with the steeple was demolished for the overpass in the 1950s; the little bank on the right was rebuilt in the 30s and then demolished in the 50s. 

Standing and looking in exactly the same spot today (verified on SIX Maps) -

York at Market 1877

 

 

York Street 1936

Anzac Parade, Moore Park 1870

From the earliest days of the colony, Moore Park was officially set aside for public use.

The same place today -

Woolloomooloo 1935

A police photograph from a crime scene, detectives investigating. All very noir.

But today, not so much -

Yes, though unbelievable, we are looking from the exact same spot as the photo at top. I verified it on SIXMaps.

Barangaroo 1865

This is an awesome pic of a ship-builder because it's so early in Sydney's photographed history, and look behind. I've spliced two old stereographs together and enhanced the details. Top left on the hill is Sydney Observatory, and top right is the church tower of St Philip's, both still intact today. The steep cliffs and shoreline have been redeveloped many times over many decades so that today they're unrecognisable from the original.

And how do we know we're in the same spot as the photo above? Triangulate the Observatory tower and its west dome, and they match.

Google Street View (clickable).