Rebuilding the face of Old Sydney

Press, 1 November 1984, Page 31

Rebuilding the face of Old Sydney

Old Sydney Town, 50 kilometres north of Sydney on the Pacific Highway, is an attempt to rebuild as accurately as possible the first European settlement on Sydney Harbour. Hills round a lake reproduce the shape of Sydney Cove — now the area just east of the Harbour Bridge where the ferry wharves are — where convicts and guards first came ashore. The buildings being put up reproduce those that stood in Sydney between 1788 and 1810. If a building remained unfinished in 1810, it is unfinished in the reproduction. Old Sydney Town was begun as a private venture and is now owned jointly by the New South Wales State Government and the Westpac Banking Corporation. Much has been done; more than 100 people are employed there, but much also remains to be built. The project attempts to show not only the first buildings of Sydney but the way of life of the convicts and free settlers who lived there. Visitors can dine at Rosetta Stabler’s Eating House, first opened in 1803, from a menu made up from recipes of the time. They can shop for fans and bottles in Elizabeth Rafferty’s shop, which first opened its doors in 1805. Down at the stables the blacksmith is at work. William Saltmarsh, the cooper, is at work in the bonded store. At the drop of a stave, Saltmarsh will describe how he was transported at the age of 15, and how he was flogged for being drunk at his job in the store. “Why do I work here? There’s two reasons — I was transported here; and I’m stupid,’’ he says. Clockwise, from top left, the pictures show: ® The Government windmill that stood on the ridge to the west of Sydney Cove. The tower is made from blocks of sandstone 60cm thick, hewn on the site. The four sails have a span of 18m. ® Old Sydney’s candlemaker at the door of her cottage. The candles, still being made for sale, are formed by dipping a cotton wick first into hot wax, then into cold water. The process is repeated quickly so that layers of wax build up. Making a pair of candles takes only a few minutes. ® Two members of a Sydney fencing club re-enact a duel, to the delight of visiting children. © Bullocks yoked to a waggon provide visitors with a lazy, leisurely way to tour Old Sydney Town. In the background are replicas of the first two ships built at Sydney — the sloop Contest, of 44 tons, and the brig Perseverance, of 136 tons. Perseverance, launched in 1887, was used for trading voyages to China and for sealing in sub-Antarctic waters. • A familiar name on a “Wanted” poster outside the first printing works. The poster offers a conditional pardon to anyone helping to apprehend the felon who is wanted for robbery under arms. • A partly finished thatched cottage waits for a thatcher’s attentions. Old Sydney Town, in its attempts to be authentic, is reviving old skills such as those of stonemason and thatcher. However, finding persons with the skills, or those prepared to learn them, is proving a problem.

Pictures by NAYLOR HILLARY