The suburb in the Sydney metropolitan area experiencing Urban Decline that I have chosen is an inner-city suburb known as Pyrmont
HISTORY:
Pyrmont was once a vital component of Sydney's industrial waterfront, with wharves, shipbuilding yards, factories and wool stores. As industry moved out, the population and the area declined. In recent years it has experienced redevelopment with an influx of residents and office workers.
Before European settlement, the Eora tribe of Indigenous Australians inhabited the area. Their Aboriginal name for this area was 'Pirrama', which is still the name of a road on the Pyrmont waterfront.
Pyrmont contained a mineral spring of cold water bubbling out of a rock and was thus named for a similar natural spring in Bad Pyrmont, close to Hanover, Germany. Thomas Jones was granted 55 acres (22 ha) of land on the peninsula in 1795. Land was sold to Obadiah Ikin in 1796 for 10 pounds, which he then sold to Captain John MacArthur in 1799 for a gallon of rum.
Pyrmont was the site of quarries from a fairly early stage because of the quality of the sandstone. Charles Saunders, licensee of the Quarry man's Arms hotel, became the biggest quarry master with three quarries established in the area from 1853. The work was continued by his son and grandson till circa 1931. The quarries were nicknamed Paradise, Purgatory and Hell Hole by the Scottish workers employed by Saunders.
Steam-powered equipment was used there for the first time in Australia. The sandstone was used in many of the most significant buildings in Sydney. Saunders Street, near the site of the Paradise quarry, was named after Saunders.
The area was also the site of the first Presbyterian Church in the colony, built in 1864 and situated in Mount Street.
The congregation eventually outgrew the premises and had to move to a new church at Quarry Street, Ultimo, in 1883. In the 1870s, a small Methodist chapel was built in Harris Street on land owned by Charles Saunders. In the 1920s, it was converted to the Maybanke Free Kindergarten, named after Maybanke Anderson, a feminist and educationist. It was still used for that purpose as of 2013.
Pyrmont became a working class industrial and port community. A major sugar refinery was operated by CSR Limited. In 1900 the area had a population of around 30,000. The first Pyrmont Bridge opened in 1858. A larger bridge with a swinging span opened in 1902, but was closed to traffic in the 1980s. It was subsequently turned into a pedestrian precinct.
Pyrmont was regarded as a slum area in the 19th century. It started to decay seriously after World War II, when industries closed down, and the residents moved to the suburbs. In 1963 the Ultimo Powerhouse closed down as well. Its population declined to only 1,800 by 1978.
By 1990 the population had dropped to around 900.
Reasons for Change:
The area had been valued pre WW2 because it was in walking distance to employment for many working class people. Better roads and trains postwar shifted the focus to the suburbs and the "Aussie dream" of a block, a house, a lawn and a barbie.
Suddenly less sought after, inner city blocks were less well maintained and fell into disrepair, hence slums. The answer may also have something to do with the status of Red fern and the demands and behaviour of its locals, spilling out to the parks nearer Balmain and Ultimo.
Many local and waterfront businesses failed or went into serious decline. You can see the remnants of slipways, boatyards, chandlers and other firms on the foreshore of Hunters Hill to this day. This area had thrived during the war, now it was surplus to need.
The easy way to get to many of these businesses had been by ferry, e.g. from Balmain and Pyrmont. Now there were no businesses to commute to.
As the population declined, pubs went out of business or became a shadow of what they once were. Conversely, businesses in Pyrmont and Ultimo often found the land too expensive and relocated.
The Impacts
In order to rejuvenate the area the government initiated the Better Cities Program. In 1992 the City West Development Corporation has been created with the mission to renew the precinct. In 1999 this responsibility has been transferred to the Sydney Harbor Foreshore Authority.
This led to a larger community of 13,000 by 2004 and also an increase of trade with businesses moving back into the area, totaling 22,000 employees.
Almost all industrial function is gone from the area now, replaced by low and high-rise residential developments. The sugar refinery closed down and some of the buildings, including The Cooperage and Tablet House, were restored as residential and office space. Both are heritage-listed.
Following the redevelopment the suburb became more multicultural, with only 35% of residents born in Australia, followed by 8% born in China.
HISTORY:
Pyrmont was once a vital component of Sydney's industrial waterfront, with wharves, shipbuilding yards, factories and wool stores. As industry moved out, the population and the area declined. In recent years it has experienced redevelopment with an influx of residents and office workers.
Before European settlement, the Eora tribe of Indigenous Australians inhabited the area. Their Aboriginal name for this area was 'Pirrama', which is still the name of a road on the Pyrmont waterfront.
Pyrmont contained a mineral spring of cold water bubbling out of a rock and was thus named for a similar natural spring in Bad Pyrmont, close to Hanover, Germany. Thomas Jones was granted 55 acres (22 ha) of land on the peninsula in 1795. Land was sold to Obadiah Ikin in 1796 for 10 pounds, which he then sold to Captain John MacArthur in 1799 for a gallon of rum.
Pyrmont was the site of quarries from a fairly early stage because of the quality of the sandstone. Charles Saunders, licensee of the Quarry man's Arms hotel, became the biggest quarry master with three quarries established in the area from 1853. The work was continued by his son and grandson till circa 1931. The quarries were nicknamed Paradise, Purgatory and Hell Hole by the Scottish workers employed by Saunders.
Steam-powered equipment was used there for the first time in Australia. The sandstone was used in many of the most significant buildings in Sydney. Saunders Street, near the site of the Paradise quarry, was named after Saunders.
The area was also the site of the first Presbyterian Church in the colony, built in 1864 and situated in Mount Street.
The congregation eventually outgrew the premises and had to move to a new church at Quarry Street, Ultimo, in 1883. In the 1870s, a small Methodist chapel was built in Harris Street on land owned by Charles Saunders. In the 1920s, it was converted to the Maybanke Free Kindergarten, named after Maybanke Anderson, a feminist and educationist. It was still used for that purpose as of 2013.
Pyrmont became a working class industrial and port community. A major sugar refinery was operated by CSR Limited. In 1900 the area had a population of around 30,000. The first Pyrmont Bridge opened in 1858. A larger bridge with a swinging span opened in 1902, but was closed to traffic in the 1980s. It was subsequently turned into a pedestrian precinct.
Pyrmont was regarded as a slum area in the 19th century. It started to decay seriously after World War II, when industries closed down, and the residents moved to the suburbs. In 1963 the Ultimo Powerhouse closed down as well. Its population declined to only 1,800 by 1978.
By 1990 the population had dropped to around 900.
Reasons for Change:
The area had been valued pre WW2 because it was in walking distance to employment for many working class people. Better roads and trains postwar shifted the focus to the suburbs and the "Aussie dream" of a block, a house, a lawn and a barbie.
Suddenly less sought after, inner city blocks were less well maintained and fell into disrepair, hence slums. The answer may also have something to do with the status of Red fern and the demands and behaviour of its locals, spilling out to the parks nearer Balmain and Ultimo.
Many local and waterfront businesses failed or went into serious decline. You can see the remnants of slipways, boatyards, chandlers and other firms on the foreshore of Hunters Hill to this day. This area had thrived during the war, now it was surplus to need.
The easy way to get to many of these businesses had been by ferry, e.g. from Balmain and Pyrmont. Now there were no businesses to commute to.
As the population declined, pubs went out of business or became a shadow of what they once were. Conversely, businesses in Pyrmont and Ultimo often found the land too expensive and relocated.
The Impacts
In order to rejuvenate the area the government initiated the Better Cities Program. In 1992 the City West Development Corporation has been created with the mission to renew the precinct. In 1999 this responsibility has been transferred to the Sydney Harbor Foreshore Authority.
This led to a larger community of 13,000 by 2004 and also an increase of trade with businesses moving back into the area, totaling 22,000 employees.
Almost all industrial function is gone from the area now, replaced by low and high-rise residential developments. The sugar refinery closed down and some of the buildings, including The Cooperage and Tablet House, were restored as residential and office space. Both are heritage-listed.
Following the redevelopment the suburb became more multicultural, with only 35% of residents born in Australia, followed by 8% born in China.