thedomain

The cars look 1940s to me, and I think the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island is there (1944+). Interesting to compare with this earlier view, both from the roof of David Jones -

Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection beachcomber australia Photograph taken prior to 1950 as the line down King Street closed in 1950 and was replaced with a balloon loop around the dear old lady in that year.

When Garden Island was an island... A similar viewpoint in 2005

According to this 1890 map of Sydney, those are segregated Baths on the left, where Andrew Boy Charlton Pool is now. www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-rm1280-s1-sd&rg... The modern looking roof at the bottom is the temporary Art Gallery - "Intended to be the foundation of a more substantial building when funds became available, Hunt's temporary building, which was nothing more than a series of thick walls with a sawtooth roof, was universally disliked. It was denounced in the press by prominent citizens as the 'Art Barn.' " www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/history/building

I think the date might be mid 1920s...

One date marker is the signage on the Goldsbrough Mort wool store at Circular Quay...

Goldsbrough Mort moved all their Sydney wool store and warehouse operations to Pyrmont some time in ca. 1923…they retained their Circular Quay office at Goldsbrough House, the former Harrison Jones & Devlin wool store, which fronted Loftus St, etc…

The Circular Quay wool store was sold to City Parking Stations Ltd in 1926…and then in December 1927 it was sold again to the Farmers and Graziers’ Co-operative…I haven’t yet managed to establish when the ‘Farmers & Graziers’ signage replaced the ‘Goldsbrough Mort’ signage, but it appears not to have been until 2+ years later, in ca. July-August 1930…

trove.nla.gov.au - Sydney Mail, 27th August, 1930...this pic shows the 'Farmers & Graziers' signage in place...

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Another date marker is British Medical Association House, which was built 1929-30...it's at 135-137 Macquarie St, near the Astor apartments...but I don't think we see it here...it's difficult to be certain, but I also can't see Locarno, No. 141 Macquarie St, completed ?1926...or Harley, No. 143 Macquarie St, completed ?1927...

trove.nla.gov.au - this NLA Fairfax aerial pic appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 9th March, 1932...I gather it had been taken recently...it shows the buildings in Macquarie St as they then appeared...

trove.nla.gov.au - this NLA Fairfax aerial pic appeared in the Sun on 27th March, 1927...it was evidently taken the previous day, when the Duke and Duchess of York arrived in Sydney on what was the first leg of their tour of Australia...this pic also shows the buildings in Macquarie St...as they were in early 1927...

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trove.nla.gov.au - another date marker is the Sir Richard Bourke statue...which was moved to its present location outside the Mitchell Library in late May/early June, 1925...I think it's there...so this might be an earliest date...

Another date marker/s are Gilbert Bayes' bronze statues 'The Offerings of Peace' and 'The Offerings of War', which were placed outside the entrance to the Art Gallery in ca. October/November 1926...it's difficult to tell, but I don't think they appear here...

So all up, I think the date might be 1925-26...

👍that's really helpful. Thanks.

Another date marker is the tree outside the Art Gallery which was chopped down on 27th October, 1925...it's difficult to tell, but I don't think it's there...so this might be an earliest date...we see the tree still there outside the Art Gallery in this aerial pic...

...or 1927-28 given the state of construction of the Royal Automobile Club building in Macquarie St...

trove.nla.gov.au - the Sunday Times, 10th April, 1927...pic of the Automobile Club Building under construction...

Covid Convict I too have been attempting to ascertain the date Farmers & Graziers was painted onto the GM woolstore at the Quay. The earliest image with F&G is dated from a 7 Nov 1929 aerial of the quay in an SMH article on a cabinet decision to proceed with the Bradfield plan for Circular Quay Stn.
I have Sam Hood and Arthur E Foster images from 1928 still with GM, but the latest one with an actual date is 30 Dec 1927 from a pic from the NLA.
I feel the change was around Aug-Sep 1929 but cannot narrow it down conclusively yet.
Also the RAC building looks substantially complete and that was completed by March-April 1928.