The original Sydney GPO, which was built in 1847 on land in George Street that Governor Lachlan Macquarie bought for a hogshead of brandy and £50. It was demolished in 1862. The six 10-metre high, 2-tonne sandstone Doric columns you can see across the front of the building were saved. One was erected at Lady Hay’s estate at Crows Nest (now the North Sydney Demonstration School) and it was used for time calculation by the Sydney Obervatory. In 1932 North Sydney Council moved it to Bradfield Park where it remained until 1988 when construction of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel commenced, then it was moved to the bottom of the Mount Street Plaza. In 1871, one of the columns was erected on the waterline at Bradleys Head to mark one nautical mile from Fort Denision. It was used to provide accurate sea measurements. Three other columns were used for a gatepost for ‘Melrose House’ on Old South Head Road. They were later moved to Vaucluse House but their whereabouts today is unknown. The sixth column was sold but there are no records showing who it was sold to and where it ended up. (sydneyforeveryone)
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 00:11:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015