Forgotten Sydney

Forgotten Sydney A journey through Sydney’s historic architecture

This grand sandstone masterpiece was built for entrepreneur Harry Smith as a gift for his wife, Isabella. It was named C...
08/06/2026

This grand sandstone masterpiece was built for entrepreneur Harry Smith as a gift for his wife, Isabella. It was named Curzon Hall after Isabella’s relative, Baron Curzon of Kedleston. Harry and Isabella later took on the noble name, calling themselves ‘Curzon-Smith’.

The castle-like building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style by architect David Thomas Morrow. The original design was a collection of buildings, including the main house, a separate ballroom, and stables. The main house had 20 rooms, with a large entrance hall and spacious cellars. It was encased by colonnaded verandas and balconies, and topped with a striking tower.

Construction of Curzon Hall started in 1897 and was completed in 1899. The hand-cut sandstone was sourced locally from a site that is now in the grounds of Macquarie University.

Following Harry’s death in 1913, Isabella carried on his business and retained ownership of Curzon Hall until selling it in 1921. It was purchased by the Order of the Vincentian Fathers for £8,000 and would remain with the organisation for several decades.

In the 1980s, Curzon Hall was sold to a private business. It was extensively refurbished and converted to a function centre, as it remains to this day. Curzon Hall was first assessed for heritage status in 1982 and is heritage listed.

Images:
1-6. Forgotten Sydney
7-9. Via Navarra Venues
10. Curzon Hall in 1901 (image from Ryde District Historical Society)
11. Curzon Hall in 1910 (image by Arthur Wigram Allen, courtesy of City of Ryde Libraries)

If you’ve ever walked down Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, or perhaps taken the light rail, you’ve probably passed thi...
05/06/2026

If you’ve ever walked down Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, or perhaps taken the light rail, you’ve probably passed this beautiful heritage building. For the first time in over 120 years, it’s on the market, offering us a rare glimpse inside a fascinating chapter of Sydney’s history.

The building’s origins are tied to the expansion of Central Station. In 1901, the Railway Authority acquired the old Devonshire Street Cemetery for the station's new lines and platforms. This forced the Religious Society of Friends (better known as the Quakers) to relocate from their longstanding meeting house, which had sat within the cemetery grounds since 1854.

In 1902, the Society purchased three adjoining lots on Devonshire Street. One of their own members, architect Alfred Allen Junior, penned the design for a new meeting house. He delivered an elegantly understated Federation Free Classical style building, which held its first service on Sunday, 8 August 1903, followed by an official opening in September.

Having remained owned and preserved by the Society for 123 years, its upcoming sale marks the beginning of a new chapter for Surry Hills. It’s also a unique moment for heritage lovers to appreciate its beautifully preserved history.

What would you like to see in this space?

Images:
1-3. Forgotten Sydney
4-6. Commercial Real Estate / Colliers

31/05/2026

Colonial Architect James Barnet designed several courthouses and post offices during his career. His courthouse designs almost always included a bold portico. His post offices usually had a clock tower. Here we see both of these combined in one monumental civic building.

As the population of Balmain grew in the late nineteenth century, so did the need for public facilities. Construction of the courthouse and post office commenced in 1885 and it was completed in 1887. The tender was awarded to Mr G Langley at a cost of £15,470.

The building was extensively refurbished in 1976 by the NSW Department of Public Works. There have been some unsympathetic additions to the side and rear, though the design retains a high level of integrity and character overall.

The building is heritage listed and this includes the red post box near the entrance on Darling Street. The post box was manufactured by Burr & Son and is thought to date back to the late nineteenth century.

Historic black and white image from the Archive Office of NSW.

The first office for the Metropolitan Water Sewerage & Drainage Board opened at Circular Quay in April 1888. The locatio...
29/05/2026

The first office for the Metropolitan Water Sewerage & Drainage Board opened at Circular Quay in April 1888. The location was said to be inconvenient, and within two years, the Board’s office moved to a building at 289 Pitt Street.

In March 1891, a site was acquired further south on Pitt Street. The existing building was demolished, and a new head office for the Water Board was erected in its place. The Board moved into the new office in May 1893.

This Victorian-style office was extended in 1911 following the acquisition of neighbouring land. As time passed, the building proved inadequate. In the late 1920s, adjacent land was purchased as part of planning for the future needs of the Water Board and the growing population of Sydney.

In 1936, the old Victorian office was demolished. The design for a new building was prepared by the architectural practice of Budden & Mackey, who also designed the striking green terracotta-clad building known as Railway House, on York Street near Wynyard. Lovers of this style will notice the similarities of these two Streamline Moderne structures.

Construction was carried out by Howie Moffat & Co. The new building was declared complete on 24 December 1939, and the new head office opened on 2 January 1940.

Significant renovations were completed to the interior of the building in the 1960s. This work resulted in almost all of the original Art Deco features being removed or concealed on the lower levels. It would remain that way until the 21st century when the Water Board, now known as Sydney Water, vacated and moved to new offices at Parramatta in 2009.

The empty building was subsequently sold and redeveloped into a luxury hotel, restoring much of the Art Deco charm of the original design. It opened as the Primus Hotel in 2017 and since 2022 has been operating as the Kimpton Margot Hotel. The building has been listed on the State Heritage Register since 2001.

Images:
1-8. Forgotten Sydney
9-10. The Water Board head office under construction in 1939 (via the City of Sydney Archives)
11. The previous head office of the Water Board, built in 1893, demolished in 1936 (captured in 1910, via the City of Sydney Archives)

26/05/2026

The Dental Act of NSW was passed by Parliament in 1904 to allow the amalgamation of the University of Sydney Dental Hospital and the Dental Hospital of Sydney. The latter was operated and financed by dentists for Sydneysiders who couldn’t afford private dental treatment, while the university provided training.

The original hospital opened in 1912 and was the first purpose-built dental hospital in Australia. By the 1930s, it could no longer meet the demand of Sydney’s growing population and plans were made to create a larger hospital - the one still standing adjacent to Central Train Station.

Images and information sourced from:
- NSW Environment and Heritage
- NSW Health
- Sydney Dental Heritage Collection
- City of Sydney Archives
- State Library of New South Wales
- National Library of Australia

This narrow corner block was created from a subdivision in the mid-1890s and purchased by local plumber William Southwel...
25/05/2026

This narrow corner block was created from a subdivision in the mid-1890s and purchased by local plumber William Southwell in 1897. The address first appeared in the Sands Postal Directory of 1899 under Mrs Southwell’s name. The home was known as “Elton,” which is still inscribed on the gate posts.

The quaint three-bedroom cottage appears to retain many of its original nineteenth-century features, including stone fireplaces and ceiling roses.

Images:
1. Forgotten Sydney
2-5. Via Domain

The Borough of Parramatta was incorporated in 1861. In those early years, with no town hall, council meetings were held ...
24/05/2026

The Borough of Parramatta was incorporated in 1861. In those early years, with no town hall, council meetings were held at various locations in the area, including the courthouse, Elders House on the corner of George and Marsden Streets (now the Woolpack Hotel), and a rented room on Church Street.

With the population of Parramatta growing to over 7,000 in the 1870s, pressure was also growing for the council to find a suitable location for a town hall. With the help of the state government, in 1879, the council was granted permission to take over the site of Parramatta’s market and build a town hall there.

Mansfield Brothers Architects was awarded the tender to design the new town hall and council chambers. Herbert Coates was responsible for the construction of the town hall.

Despite the 1880 inscription on the facade, the new town hall was officially opened on 29 August 1883, more than twenty years after becoming a council. The first performance was held in the hall shortly after, on 4 September 1883. The Parramatta Glee Club performed Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation”.

The town hall has seen a lot of change over the decades, with many alterations and additions taking place. Despite the changes, the facade to Church Street has remained largely true to its original nineteenth-century design. The heritage-listed structure was incorporated into the development of 5 Parramatta Square (PHIVE) between 2020 and 2022, when it was restored and upgraded.

The Victorian free classical building remains in use as a town hall and is available as a venue for hire from the City of Parramatta.

Images:
1-8. Forgotten Sydney
9. Council members out the front of Elders House in the 1870s (City of Parramatta)
10. Perspective drawing of the new hall by the Mansfield Brothers (City of Parramatta)
11. Parramatta Town Hall in the 1880s (from the State Library of Victoria, via the City of Parramatta)
12-15. Via the City of Parramatta
16. Forgotten Sydney

This imposing house was the second homestead to be built on this site in the space of just ten years. The first home, na...
19/05/2026

This imposing house was the second homestead to be built on this site in the space of just ten years. The first home, named Leuralla, was built in 1903. It was tragically destroyed by bushfire in 1909.

The second home seen here, also named Leuralla, commenced construction in 1910 and was completed in 1914. It was designed by architect Edward Hewlett Hogben (1875-1936) in the Federation Free Classical style.

Hogben is known for his involvement in modernising the Carrington Hotel at Katoomba. He had an influential role in the architectural development of Katoomba and Leura during the interwar period.

Leuralla was built for Harry Andreas, who lived at the property with his wife Alice, and their children. In 1928, their daughter Marjorie married Clive Evatt, and the couple acquired the property in the 1950s.

According to news reports, the property was passed down to Victor Raphael Evatt in the 1980s, and later to Clive Andreas Evatt Jnr. It was Clive Jnr and his wife who transformed the property into the NSW Toy and Railway Museum, which operated at the Leura address for over forty years before closing in 2022. The collection of toys and railway memorabilia was auctioned off shortly after.

Leuralla sits within over five acres of sprawling gardens and has magnificent views of the Jamison Valley. The home is listed on the heritage register.

Images:
1-2. Forgotten Sydney
3-11. Via Domain
12. Forgotten Sydney

Congratulations to The Lands by Capella for winning the Architecture category in the National Trust NSW Heritage Awards ...
17/05/2026

Congratulations to The Lands by Capella for winning the Architecture category in the National Trust NSW Heritage Awards this week. The adaptive reuse of The Department of Lands building was designed by Hassell Studio in collaboration with Purcell Heritage Architects. I was honoured to be one of the photographers whose images were included in the award submission.

The Department of Lands building was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Government Architect James Barnet and was built in two stages from 1876. The first stage was constructed by John Young over five years and saw the early use of reinforced concrete slabs, which were considered technologically innovative at the time.

The second stage began in 1888 and completion was overseen by Walter Liberty Vernon, who took over from Barnet as Government Architect in 1890. Construction was carried out by Waine & Baldwin and was completed in 1892.

The building was used continuously as the head office of the Lands Department until 2016 when it was leased by the NSW Government to Pontiac Land Group. As part of the same project, the neighbouring Education Department was also restored and reopened as the Capella Hotel in 2023.

Images:
1-11. Drew Hoy (Forgotten Sydney)
12-16. Timothy Kaye for The Lands by Capella

Known simply by its address today, 33 Alfred Street was Sydney’s first high-rise office tower when it was built as the h...
15/05/2026

Known simply by its address today, 33 Alfred Street was Sydney’s first high-rise office tower when it was built as the headquarters for AMP in 1962. At 117 metres tall, it was double the height of any other building in Sydney and briefly the tallest in Australia, until the State Office Block surpassed it in 1965.

Fifty years earlier in 1912, the state government had imposed a height limit of 150 feet (around 46 metres) on all buildings in NSW. When AMP acquired the land in 1957 and applied to exceed this, it sparked a year-long investigation by the State Government and City of Sydney. Approval was finally granted in 1959, leading to a bill that raised Sydney’s building height limits forever.

AMP brought together a team of experts for their project. Architects Peddle, Thorp & Walker (PTW) were engaged to design the tower, along with structural engineers Rankine & Hill, and mechanical engineers John R Wallis and Associates. Concrete Constructions Pty Ltd were awarded the building contract.

When Prime Minister Robert Menzies officially opened the building in early 1962, public interest was high. The attention was not just for the record-breaking height, but also for the striking mid-century modern curved facade, which was unlike anything else in Sydney.

The significance of the design hasn't faded over time. In 2013, the building won the AIA Award for Enduring Architecture. More recently, in 2020, architecture firm JPW began a major restoration and redevelopment, with the newly refurbished office tower reopening in mid-2025.

Today, 33 Alfred Street is jointly owned by Dexus and Mirvac. It was added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 2024, cementing its status as a permanent icon of our city skyline.

Images:
1-12. Forgotten Sydney
13. The ground floor foyer (livingedge.com.au)
14. Original floor plan (City of Sydney Archives)
15. Under construction in 1961 (City of Sydney Archives)
16. The completed building in 1962 (City of Sydney Archives)
17. An illustration of the building from the original architects (PTW)

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