powerhousemuseum

Just going on what can be gleaned from the digitised newspapers, I think this pic must have been taken in ca. 1909-10 --------------------------------------------------------------- Some date markers: 1) The bandstand in the middle of the tram loop was evidently built/completed in ca. 1909...possibly by about mid year... trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15033090 - SMH, 3rd February, 1909...see notice towards bottom of first column... 'TENDERS are hereby invited up to 4 p.m. on MONDAY the 8th FEBRUARY for the completion of the BAND STAND at Coogee Bay. Plans and Specifications at Town Clerk s office. The lowest or any tender not necessarily accepted. Tenders to be under cover, and endorsed "Tender for Band Stand" E. H STRACHAN Town Clerk Town Hall, Randwick, January 29th, 1909 ' -------------------------------------------------------------- 2) There's no sign of the Coogee Surf Club clubhouse...it was built in ca. early-mid 1910... -------------------------------------------------------------- 3) The 'Figure Eight' roller coaster ride which appears here behind the roof opened in October 1907...it evidently continued operating until 1912... trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/238264130 - the Daily Telegraph, 14th October, 1907...item on the opening of the 'Figure Eight' the previous Saturday... trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/114808962 - the Evening News, 2nd May, 1912...brief item on the demolition of the 'Figure Eight'...

collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/427523 - link to the pic at the PHM...the PURL link has long since died... I'm fairly certain this pic was taken in the 3rd incarnation of the Union Bank, which occupied the SE cnr Pitt/Hunter Sts, in Sydney...this 3rd incarnation was built in 1907-08...so my guess is this pic was taken in 1908, at about the time the building work was completed... This pic appears to have been taken in the ground level banking chamber looking East, with the windows to the left facing Hunter St...the stairs at the end of the chamber lead up to the Hunter St entrance (the bright outside light is falling on the landing) and from there there's a shorter flight of stairs leading up to the Hunter St wing/extension, which was built at a slightly higher level, up the Hunter St incline... This SLNSW A.E. Foster Collection pic shows the Hunter St exterior of the Union Bank as it was in 1925...if you go to the original photo at the SLNSW and zoom in, you can see that the windows and entrance in Hunter St are consistent with the interior that we see here... www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/52629792088/

When the Union Bank and the Bank of Australasia merged in 1951, the building at the SE cnr of Pitt/Hunter Sts became an ANZ Bank branch...it was demolished in 1963 to make way for the building that still stands today, which was originally an ANZ Bank building... This 1963 Women's Weekly pic shows the then ANZ Bank building in the process of being demolished...the pic appears to have been taken in the ground level banking chamber...as you can see, the remaining capital on one of the columns matches the capitals on the columns seen in the 'Interior of a Bank' pic...the actual columns aren't a match, but I suspect they might have been altered at some point... Then, on the wall between the ground level banking chamber and the Hunter St extension, the decorative moulding around what looks like a blind window or bricked up window matches the decorative moulding on the windows seen on the wall on the rhs in the 'Interior of a Bank' pic... www.flickr.com/photos/193158484@N02/53186547399/ Various items in the digitised newspapers indicate that a number of fairly substantial alterations were made to the Union Bank building over the years...the doorway between the ground level banking chamber and the Hunter St extension appears to have been bricked up in 1953...so my guess is that by 1963, when the building was demolished, the ground level banking chamber would have looked somewhat different to how it appeared in the 1908 'Interior of a Bank' pic...

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253066347 - Sydney Punch, 17th November, 1883... At Coogee. I stood on the rocks and I watched the waves rolling With mighty force in from the far reaching deep, And how my heart heaved as I saw them come bowling And dashing in spray clouds above each wild reef. See! now they're receding, repulsed for a moment, But only to gather fresh strength in their course, And ere I can fancy them gone, comes a torrent Of billows which bears all along with its force. Now I look at the wall of blue waves which come tearing Like cavalry horses in martial array, Their white crests, like plumes, all so gallantly wearing, Ere breaking their forms in light showers of salt spray. Oh ! grand are the anthems of music they're ringing, And wondrous the changes of feeling they wake, No minstrel that e'er charmed the ear with his singing, Sent such thrills thro' our hearts as those they can make. And I've seen them too when far out on the ocean, Their home, where nought else can their power contest, When even the Heavens seemed to join in their motion And flung me from one to the other's wild breast. Roll on, mighty monarchs ! o'er your wild dominions, Intruders can. but at your pleasure, remain Insulted, you have but to shake your wild pinions, And alone! you continue to rule over the main.