Sinuous, Kent Street, The Haymarket

This is my contribution to the Weekend in Black and White community.

The sound of egos colliding

Hobartville Stud at Richmond

And so ... History Week fades for yet another year, not with a whimper but a bang! And that boom-crash-wallop was the sound of egos colliding in the early colony. Macquarie with Greenway which was grandly reciprocated. Macquarie with Bigge where the better man lost. Greenway with Bigge where the more talented man lost. Greenway with Kitchen where the younger man didn't realise it was a contest! The real winner, as it turned out, is the citizenry of Sydney who probably don't much give a toss!!

Above Left: The Rectory at Windsor; Above Right: the Rectory's stables; Below: St Matthew's Windsor

On Saturday, we bused around the Macquarie Towns checking out St Matthew's at Windsor and its Rectory which is where young Henry Kitchen earned the ire of Greenway for competing for the Governor's patronage. Kitchen literally gave up the ghost.

Then onto 'Hobartville' at Richmond which is attributed to Greenway for all sorts of architectural reasons. It is a stunning setting and really rustic collection of outhouses not generally open to the public. More on that tomorrow. This tour was led by Scott Carlin from the Historic Houses Trust.

We finished our inspections with a wander around Greenlees at Menangle across the river from John MacArthur's Camden estate. The gestation of this building is all very skulduggery with both Kitchen and Greenway involved in the plans and the building of same. But with Kitchen carking it and Greenway generally getting everyone offside, it is a rollicking yarn. Macquarie by this time had been recalled for being too profligate.

Left: Entrance to Hyde Park Barracks; Right: St James from HP Barracks

On Sunday with the pealing of church bells resounding in our ears, we accompanied Robert Griffin, Curator of The Mint, around the Queen's Square precinct at the head of Macquarie Street, where he elaborated on the design 'phases' of the area and the various proposals for a 'haussman-like' makeover, especially after the 1909 Royal Commission. The aim was to gain an understanding of the urban design involved in the siting of Hyde Park Barracks, The Mint (and the original three-winged hospital), St James, and the Supreme Court buildings.

Above: The spire atop St James; Below Left: detail from St James northern wall; Below Right: the vista down to the Supreme Court

I have yet to track down the church and hospital in Liverpool attributed to Greenway and also a private dwelling in Cleveland Street Surry Hills also attributed to Greenway. Lots of other structures designed by Greenway (and often supervised by Greenway who came from a family of buildings from Bristol, and who rode builders something terrible), have gone the way of Whelan-the-wrecker.

Greenlees at Menangle

Elizabeth Bay - The beauty of crumbling age

Elizabeth Bay is like an ageing matron who wastes before one’s eyes. With hay-stalk hair, and sagging bosom, she slashes the lipstick where once fulsome lips puckered. Desperate for that one last fling at the ball, she throws herself at everyone, but only the rapacious are remotely interested.


The footings of each apartment building cling to the rocky outcrops of the ridge that runs down to the Bay. The footings cling, the buildings huddle – and, together, they slowly subside. The suburb is peopled with the ageing bodies of European mid-century devastation. They are the character and the soul of the suburb, but they are rapidly diminishing. It is a suburb of those without dependants – families need space. The pleasures of Elizabeth Bay reside in this very jumbledness. It is a melange of buildings, of styles, of socioeconomics, and of culture. Most emphatically of all, it is NOT boring.