In Sydney in the 19th century, large quantities of garbage and horse manure were dumped into the sea every day and washed back to shore by the tide. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
This year marks the 175th anniversary of Sydney's birth. To celebrate this year and to give people a better understanding of Sydney's history, Sydney City Hall is holding an old picture of city history, an exhibition of old films between October 27 and November 12-our City: 175 years of 175 Old objects. To showcase changes in Sydney's urban landscape since 1842, people can take this opportunity to see a lot of precious old photos.
The streets of Sydney at that time were not as quiet and tidy as they are today-horse dung piled up, dead animals clogged the drain, dead rats and carcasses dumped in the sea and washed back to shore.
The exhibition, organized by the Sydney City Historical Archives, coincided with the date of the first municipal council election in Sydney (November 1, 1842) and the inaugural meeting of the first municipal council (9 November 1842). The exhibition is divided into four themes: construction, management, labor and motivation.
Piles of rubbish, horse dung, all over the place.
According to a map of Sydney in 1845, streets were scarce and urban areas were scarce, and even the roads in the city were often complained about. Do not, however, assume that the streets of Sydney in the 19th century were cold and empty. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in fact, in 1886, (George Street), George Street in downtown Sydney, passed 10960 carriages a day, because some of the carriages were four-wheeled carriages with two Malays. As a result, the number of horses passing through the area will be even more, to 19776.
As the city developed, by 1890, goverment had hired many young boys to clean up piles of horse dung on the road every day, and they needed to keep the city blocks clean through busy streets, so, They are also called "block boys". These children are also known as the Horse Dung team and the Sparrow Breeders. After World War I, more than 200 neighborhood boys were responsible for street cleaning in Sydney.
There is also a profession called a trench cleaner. Employed boys need to rinse away dirt, animal carcasses and other garbage from roadside drains to avoid clogging the drainage system. Data show that there were a lot of dead animals on the road at that time. According to the nuisance watchdog (The Inspector of Nuisances) in 1875, they removed a total of 18758 dead animals, mostly birds, dogs, cats, sheep and rats, that year.
The corpses of birds, dogs, cats, sheep and rats clogged the city's drainage system, and the gutter cleaners cleared the gutters. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Thousands of horses pass by every day on the streets of downtown, leaving behind a lot of horse dung. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Dump all the garbage into the sea
Around 1912, Barker Terminal in Darling Port was responsible for handling Sydney's garbage and dumping it into the sea. But the move was protested at the time and aroused public attention.
In 1913, tons of garbage in the city were carried away by boat and dumped into the sea. Eventually, however, the trash will be washed back to the shores of Sydney. At the time, a local resident described Bondi Beach as "very dirty with vegetable residue, straw, animal waste, garbage bags, discarded cloth, straw mats, baskets, iron cans and bottles".
Finally, in the spring of 1929, when the tide washed up all sorts of rubbish-even the carcasses of rats and the animal insides of the butcher's-to the shore, the public was no longer able to bear it, and there was strong protest. In 1932, This sort of garbage disposal was finally stopped.
First map of Sydney City on display in 1842. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Poor infrastructure
Sydney historian Murray (Lisa Murray) told the Sydney Morning Herald that the city's nightlife began in the late 19th century when theatres and bars were busy. However, every full moon, the street gas lights must be turned off, until the streetlights turn to electric lights.
Murray said: "Electric lights are always blinking, and the duration is very short." We can imagine that a city is always full of shadows, and many nights are all black. As long as the weather is gloomy, Sydney will be in total darkness for a moment. "
"imagine the 19th century, when the environment was smoky and pungent. Most companies are using steam power to drive machines, that is, they need to burn a lot of coal. At that time, a large number of smokestacks continued to emit smoke, and people should pay great attention to the direction of the wind when they dry their clothes. The abattoir and the burning of fat meat smelled badly. By 1850, the factories had been moved from downtown to Redfern,Waterloo and Alexandria, but the problem was that Sydney had been popular in the south, so people in the city could still smell. "
Later, the garbage disposal technology all improved, people's life is also more convenient. City councillors have installed men's urinals in Sydney, and one of the iron-cast men's urinals under the Harbour Bridge is still open to use today at one of the iron-cast men's urinals on the north side of George Street.
In 1934, a lot of public toilets had been built in the urban area, and there were more men's toilets than women's toilets, so people often saw long queues in front of the women's toilets at that time. At the same time, Sydney had installed a number of drinking water outlets and electrical street lights.
The show also included the earliest film, "the Strange Skater," (Patineur Grotesque), showing a roller skater performing a funny performance at (Prince Alfred Park), Prince Alfred's Park, attracting laughter from the audience. The Australian Archives of Images and Sound says the film is the forerunner of Chaplin's comedy film.
For people interested in Sydney's history, old photos, old films, this is a rare opportunity for our city: 175 years old.
In 1873, look east from the clock tower of Sydney City Hall. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
In 1899, the ferry to the east of the circular wharf docked offshore. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Historical figures:
165-March 1842, the number of gas lamps in Sydney.
110 tons-the amount of waste burned 16 hours a day at four incinerators at the Pilmont waste incinerator.
The Sydney Slaughter House Act, enacted from 10 years to 1849, removed tanneries, furs, wool cleaners, slaughterhouses, boiler factories and soap factories from downtown Sydney.
9000-in March 1900, the plague broke out, and the number of mice who died of infection within a week.
150ft (45.7 m)-the maximum height limit for buildings set in Sydney in 1912, but was lifted in 1957 as more and more tall buildings broke through the skyline.
6p-the new parking meter was introduced in October 1956, which was the amount of parking charges at the time.
The 26th floor-the number of floors of the (AMP) building, a security group near the ring wharf, which was completed in 1962 as a symbol of Sydney's modernization.
In July 1942, the Sydney City Council celebrated its 100th anniversary. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Workers who are laying planks for (College Street), a school road in the city centre. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
The first parking meters were taken in 1968. (photo of Sydney City Archives)
Sydney block boy in 1928. (photo of Sydney City Archives)