pcbadier

The telephone cable holder was one of those dreadful mistakes in 'street furniture' - " ... In 1885 a cable support disguised as an ornamental verandah front was erected along the western side of George Street from the G.P.O. to what is now Railway Square. (ref 3'4'5) This is a distinctive feature which can be seen on many photographs. It became the backbone of the network with pole routes branching off at every cross street. The pole route in this section of George Street was replaced by a smaller one carrying only telegraph wires. The cable support was superseded before 1900 but was not all demolished. Shopkeepers had been allowed to use it to support awnings, and where they had done so it was left in place. ... " From - www.telephonecollecting.org/lightpoles.htm

beachcomber australia Hey BC thanks for the article - very useful!

This view is essentially unchanged.

We love this series of his historical photos!

City of Canterbury Bankstown It's great isn't it - so much interesting stuff at ultra-hi resolution to really find details. And many of these images seem to be very rare, if not one-offs. Big thanks to Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons for sharing the Edward Hungerford Album on Flickr. And to Edward Hungerford for collecting the photos together in the first place!

Strange - this Charles Bayliss photo shows statues in the niches of the Great Hall - www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.pic-vn4193369

beachcomber australia [http://www.flickr.com/photos/51979177@N02] As mentioned, the different coloured brickwork makes it hard to distinguish shapes in the niches:

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/51979177@N02] That house/building is not marked on most 19th century maps, except this wonderful 1822 map - it could be "30 - the Water-bailiff's Residence". I am thinking it might have survived redevelopment for a long time because it was a government building. Interactive 1822 map - www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.map-f107-sd&rgn=0....

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/51979177@N02] beachcomber australia Lovely! Thanks folks. The little house is a sweet recurring feature.

These two photos seem to be at either end - like a pano - Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons Are they arranged close by in the album?

beachcomber australia They aren't arranged next to each other, but a few pages apart. The little number in square brackets in the caption gives you some idea of the ordering in the album. I think there is a Government House panorama coming up, and these images come from either end of the album.