Darlinghurst Blog: Past and Present: Corner of Hardie and Liverpool Streets

I have walked around this particular corner of Hardie and Liverpool streets countless times so I instantly recognised it in this March 1931 photograph. The then Sydney Municipal Council would photograph scenes like the one above for their "Demolition Books" and there are hundreds of them in the council's archives. They are a great record of the times. I love how the photograph below captures how the children of the neighbourhood have gathered around to watch the demolition of their old corner shop, and I particularly like the little boy on the left who is just staring at whoever is behind the camera. 

I also love the old painted-on advertising, which you can still find in NSW country towns such as Portland in the central west, where the Letterheads sign-writing group repainted all the old signs in 2001. Incidentally, if you walk along the Liverpool Street side of Novar, you can still see the old, painted name sign. It is so faint that every time I pass by, I'm surprised to see that it's still there. 

Today, the corner of Hardie and Liverpool streets seems so much quieter:

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Links:

City of Sydney Archives

City of Sydney ArchivePix

Darlinghurst: Apartment Buildings: Meriden

I rather fancy maps. Not only are they immensely practical, I find them rather pleasing to the eye too. So while sleuthing around the City of Sydney Archives last week, I was delighted to come across an old book of City Building Surveyor's Detail Sheets. 

It was a large compendium of about a dozen A2-sized Sydney city building maps, exquisitely and precisely illustrated. I took photographs of all the maps related to Darlinghurst and when I returned home and enlarged them on my computer, I was excited (yes, I was excited) to discover that the building at 40 Hardie Street, where I used to live, is called Meriden. It's an appropriate name too, for it was a merry den indeed.

I'm not certain of what period the Surveyor's Detail Sheets were made, but I will take a wild guess and say the early 1960s. If you look closely at the above illustration, you can see that the Alexandra Flats is still listed as a ''School'' and the Marist Brothers College closed in 1968 - so that is how I came to my scientific conclusion. And, well, if you see the maps, they've got that 60s vibe about them.

I also found it interesting to see that Iona is listed as Hughlings Private Hospital and my beautiful Stoneleigh was going through its ''Greencourt'' period.

Anyway, as I said, I was excited to learn that 40 Hardie Street, my old favourite home, was called Meriden, and this inspired me to do some online sleuthing at the National Library of Australia's Australian Newspaper archives. 

I firstly came across this old classifieds advertisement (above) from the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, dated January 4, 1930. I found similar advertisements in the Herald from 1929, which were published on April 18, November 2 and December 1. 

Rental of a ''Modern, self-contained bachelor flat, comprising large bed-sitting room, tiled kitchenette and bathroom,'' at 40 Hardie Street cost a mere 30 shillings, and interested persons could apply to flat 12.

Then I hit upon this advertisement from March 21, 1953, which lists the building for sale.

But by far the most thrilling discovery was from the Sydney Morning Herald edition of September 23, 1949. Hidden amongst the classifieds was a list of prize-winners for the newspaper's Name a Foal Competition and among them was a Barbara Martin of 7/40 Hardie Street - the very same apartment I lived in for five years. 

When I lie in bed staring at the ceilings of my apartments, I often wonder who has lived there before me and what festivities, dramas and banal domesticity the ceiling has witnessed. I never wondered so much while living at number seven, because the moulded ceiling had been recently covered up. But now I know. And now I am wondering who Ms Martin was, what she looked like and what she did for a living. Was she a school teacher, nurse or exotic dancer?

Perhaps I'll never know.

Darlinghurst: Detritus: Christmas Below the Coke Sign

Christmas Lights Above the Coke Sign, Christmas Eve, 2010.

It's a Friday night and Christmas Eve in Darlinghurst and the neighbourhood is empty. Residents have flown from the city, suburbia has decided to give the suburb of sin a miss for the night, and tourists are low key. 

Parking spots? 

Hundreds of them.

Yet over the past couple of weeks, people have been celebrating Christmas in Darlinghurst with trees, wreaths and colourful lights - in laundromats, dress shops and private homes. I wandered through the back streets seeking out such decorations and here is a collection of photographs taken on my jaunts.

I'll be back on Monday, December 27, with a reader's ripper of a story set in 1960s Darlinghurst, so make sure you check in next week.

Have a safe and happy Christmas dear readers! 

Stars and Lights, Burton Street Laundromat, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Caldwell Street, Darlinghurst.

Lights, Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst.

Bells, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Red Christmas Tree, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Hardie Street, Darlinghurst.

Kingsgate Shopping Centre, Kings Cross

Merry Christmas, Blossom Gardens Nursery, Burton Street, Darlinghurst.

Plastic Santa, Blue Spinach, Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

Red Door and Wreath, Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

White Door and Wreath, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Star and Wreath, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Blue Lights, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

 Wreath, Craigend Street, Darlinghurst.

Nativity Scene, Nimrod Street, Darlinghurst.

Tinsel-Covered Bus, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, 22 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

 Christmas Trees, 61 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

 Miniature Christmas Tree, 46 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

Lights on Frangipani Tree, 19 Roslyn Street, Elizabeth Bay

And my little tree branches!

Darlinghurst: Retailers: Flash Auto Repairs

I've written before about how I used to live on lovely little Hardie Street, next door to Flash Auto Repairs. Well, while living there, I couldn't help but befriend the owner, Peter, who I would see practically every day as I went to and from my home. 

Flash, as I liked to secretly call him, has been operating out of this workshop for the past 14 years, but the building has been a motor garage since 1903.

This is a 1926 photograph, which Flash has framed and hung on one of the walls of his workshop, and shows the Savoy Motor Garage with a gleaming convoy of cars out front. The wall on the right is painted with the words Swans Savoy Garage Cars For Hire. I suspect the man in the picture is the mechanic Swan or Savoy.

The man's son was walking down Hardie Street one day and popped in to say hello to Flash and then later sent him the picture of his father's workshop. 

As you can see, the exterior of the building hasn't changed, except for the signage, but the neighbouring apartment block I used to live in, has yet to be built. I imagine the 1920s interior was much the same as it is today:

Only the models of the cars would be quite different. Flash is quite the specialised mechanic and has a large following of Australian and American Chrysler owners who turn to him for repairs, services and other work. But walk by his workshop any day of the week and you are bound to see many rare and valuable vintage cars waiting in line for his close attention. 

Peter is on the right and his French workshop manager, Michel, is on the left.

When I went by on Friday, this sexy aqua Corvette was in the workshop. It was a left-hand drive, so perhaps Flash is going to move the steering wheel across to meet Australian standards. Although apparently, if the car is of a certain vintage, you can apply for a permit to keep the left-hand drive in place.
But Flash isn't a car snob and is always willing to give my little Japanese vehicle its regular service and registration check. And he is so accommodating and happy to squeeze my car in, even when he is obviously busy. Just from living next door, I know that he works long hours and is dedicated to his job.

I spotted an espresso coffee machine in the corner of the workshop, so maybe he has lots of caffeine hits to keep going, but I really suspect it's because he is still passionate about cars.

His workshop is also a photographer's delight with all the kind of curios and adornments you would expect from a mechanic. 

The customary girly calendar is on the right.

But he also has this cute Dunlop tyre ashtray:

And these lovely vintage, pin-up girl auto repair pictures:

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Flash Auto

42 Hardie Street

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

02 9331 3633

www.flashauto.com.au

Darlinghurst: Retailers: Dust

Dust is not actually dusty at all, in fact it is quite clean considering the amount of bric-a-brac, antiques and curios that fill its display windows, shelves and tables. Dust has been operating from this tiny shop in The Rutland apartment building, on the corner of Liverpool and Hardie streets, for the past ten years. When I lived on Hardie Street, I would pass this shop most days and always wave hello to the owner, Stephane, who was usually standing or sitting by the entrance:

But in all that time I only popped inside his store once, and had never actually spoken to him, until this past week. Stephane, I was surprised to learn, has a French accent. He is also very knowledgeable about the period and origin of the thousands of items in his store. 

Before setting up shop in The Rutland, Stephane hosted a stall at the Bondi Markets for seven years, so he has been in the antiques game for almost two decades and can source the most interesting items, such as these colourful tin food carriers from Timor: 

Stephane, like me, is also a fan of Formula One, and prior to coming to Australia, he used to work at the Monaco Grand Prix. I'm sure he has dozens of stories to tell, so why not visit his shop and say hello.

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Dust

381 Liverpool Street

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

02 9332 2854

0414 493 346

Darlinghurst: Comics: 2002

I made this comic about Darlinghurst soon after settling in Hardie Street. The day I moved in there was a big poo on the front doorstep. It wasn't a particularly good welcome sign.

A few weeks later my family paid me a visit and there was another poo near the front doorstep. So I suppose I was a little shocked (after the relatively sweet homeliness of Surry Hills) and also disappointed about the amount of rubbish that overflowed from people's garbage bins and on to the streets.

I think I was also saddened by the number of old, male alcoholics who used to rant and rave on the streets. Are there less of these men around today or have I just become immune?

The comic was published in the Spring 2002 edition of Strewth magazine, a small, independent publication that no longer exists.

For those without sharp eyes, the text reads:

On her way home very late one night / Violet Tingle found the city was not quite right.

A sour stench of urine hung in the air / And a plague of pigeons shook dirty feathers everywhere.

The ageing gum flowered fast food wraps / While beneath lay a bed of syringes and scraps.

She thought Oh perhaps I got lost on the way / But no! With relief she saw it was familiar as day.

A weak homeless man trying to put up a fight / And a sloppy brown poo glimmering in the moonlight.

Yes, I know, it's terrible, but I still make these hopeless little comics when I'm inspired and have the time.