kentstreet

In 1888, Mason Brothers were listed as connected to the GPO Central Telephone Exchange, #190. One of the regulations of conducting business through the exchange was that "Telephone Messages containing unbecoming expressions must be refrained from" - see Sands Sydney Directory 1888: Telephonic - Customs & Stamp duties - Wharfage & Tonnage rates - Firms with fixed pay days

Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection AB, can you please upload to Flickr the last remaining "vignetting" image that beachcomber australia identified - investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp... I've gathered them together here - [http://www.flickr.com/photos/pellethepoet/galleries/72157627467313436]

Google maps shows 277 Kent Street on the west side between Eskine and Margaret Streets. Which makes the shadows all wrong on this building - it looks like it faces west. Hmmm? maps.google.com/maps?q=277+Kent+Street,+Sydney,+NSW,+Aust...

beachcomber australia The 'Trades and Professional' section of the 1888 Sands has 263-277 Kent Street listed. The shadows would indicate the photo was taken in the morning?

pellethepoet If it was a morning photo the shadows at bottom right would point over to the left.

Next door to the Captain Cook Hotel -

The contract for the Kent Street intercepting sewer had been recently let by 24 May 1887 according to SMH 24 May 1887 p 4 trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13657564 See also SMH 2 August 1887 p7 for the report of the death of sewer miner Thomas McLean in Kent Street trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13657739 JS

Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection JS Aha! The Sydney Sewers - a whole dark, deep place to explore! Who knows what secrets lie there? I am not sure that the sewer work dates this as 1887. I think it is more likely to be part of The Rocks Resumption program in 1900-01. The scaffolding and surveyor (?) were simply there, and not the main interest. But then, the "vignetting" suggests an older style of photography ... Funnily enough Google Street view shows the sewer manhole quite clearly - it should be a Heritage Listed Manhole! - maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=-33.858674,151.203525&a...

beachcomber, I agree it is not clear whether this is a surveyor or photographer and more likely to be a surveyor. However it is not one of the Rocks Resumption images of late 1901 because Sand's Directories for 1900 to 1902 show Number 31 Kent Street as a butcher shop occupied by Richard Williams and Number 29 was a tailor shop occupied by Joseph P McGrath. Well spotted on the vignetting. There seems to be a different quality to the images with it, as against the images we can date to around 1900-1901 and later. The later ones are somehow better in quality with a softer contrast. I still believe this is 1887 or 1888 at the latest. Numbers 29-31 Kent Street was a butcher shop occupied by Thomas Huntley from at least 1877 until 1889 according to Sands. The street was renumbered circa 1880-1881 and it was previously numbers 19-21. (Sands Directories 1877 p78, 1879 p87, 1880 p91, 1882 p72). In Sands for 1890 (p68) Number 29-31 is occupied by William Mitchell, builder. In 1891 no occupant is listed. In 1892 Number 31 is a crockery ware and fancy goods shop,and in 1893 a Working Men's Reading Room. Thomas Huntley went insolvent on 3 June 1882 but his certifcate was issued on 3 July 1883. George Turner is listed as the occupant in Sands for 1883 and 1884 (1883 p211, 1884 p69). In Sands for 1885 to 1887 the occupant is T Huntley and Company (1885 p66, 1886 p69, 1887 p72). George Turner left the partnership in December 1885 (SMH 28 December 1885 p12) leaving the remaning partners George Wilson and Thomas Huntley. Wilson and Huntley dissolved their partnership in September 1886 (SMH 27 Sept 1886 p1) and Sands Directory for 1888 and 1889 lists just Thomas Huntley (1888 p69, 1889 p66). Remembering, of course, that Sands is published in the January of the year from information compiled from the previous October. Thomas Huntley went bankrupt on 14 October 1888. His creditor's examination reported in SMH 11 Oct 1888 p4 and 23 Oct 1888 p3 reveal that since 23 January 1888 he had managed the business for a new owner who appointed another person to collect the monies. In March 1889 his bankruptcy accounts were filed (SMH 6 March 1889 p2). By August 1889 Huntley was managing a butcher's shop at 145 George Street North for the London Butchering Company (SMH 6 August 1889 p2). JS

Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection JS - Wonderful information. This gets more and more interesting. I have no access to Sands and no idea how to use it. But damage to buildings caused by the Kent Street sewer construction seems very likely. I had no idea about that and will enjoy finding out. As well as these two photos there are five others of various buildings in Kent Street which also have this vignetting. Perhaps they are all sewer affected and c.1888 - investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp... investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp... investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp... investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp... investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp...

betting on c.1901.

Later view from other direction:

There is another version of the same view with a man in the gateway -

beachcomber australia Perhaps it was taken at the same time, the school children look to be in the same place in the school yard (top left) AB

This photo was recently determined to be part of the Rocks Resumption photographic survey, the title and date of the image has been changed accordingly Here is a map of the Rocks Resumption area (last one in the sequence)