History

1788-1910 Early Land Grants & Site Development

The site is located partly on an original land grant to Alexander Donaldson dated 1795 and partly on a grant to William Wemyss, after which Wemyss Lane has eventually inherited its name.

An early map of the Town of Sydney, dated 1831 shows the site vacant, perhaps because it was the head of a stream or seasonal rivulet at the time, which ran eventually down to Darling Harbour, under Campbell Street. Another map, a Plan of Sydney with Pyrmont, dated 1836 corroborates this view, showing the stream emanating in what is now Goulburn Street, forming an S bend just east of the corner of the site and running across and under what is now Commonwealth Street and emerging further downstream just before Elizabeth Street, disappearing only to emerge again west of what was then named Brickfield Hill [now George Street near Central], before emptying itself into Darling Harbour.

Wells's map of 1843 confirms the course of the stream but indicates it at the time as emanating further uphill in Crown Street, Surry Hills. Woolcott and Clarke's Map of the City of Sydney 1854 shows the site occupied by Sherrif's Gardens with the unnamed stream running on the opposite and southern side of Goulburn Street, now extended further east.

In just over 30 years and after the world's biggest gold rush, Sydney expanded enormously. The Illustrated Sydney News of 1879 published a detailed building by building view of the whole city showing just how much development had occurred. The view is stylistic and not to be taken as literally as a surveyor's map, but it does show the site occupied by a building and completely surrounded by housing. Nine years later, a birds-eye view published by the same paper as a special supplement shows a dramatic increase in the housing density of the area.

By 1888, Foster's Hotel is marked on the site, and known in Sands' Commercial Directory at 34 Macquarie Street, on the corner of Macquarie Street South [later renamed Commonwealth Street] and Wemyss Street.

Despite these maps of growth, Sydney was nevertheless, a "City without a Plan".

Henry Daniel's, the Council Town Clerk, noted on the first page of his 1891 Annual Report:

He may have been referring to the new "science" of town planning and his comment pre-dated the comment of J.D.Fitzgerald by 20 years who lamented that town planning appeared to have been tracked by "the errant goat" whose "track through the bush" was responsible for the haphazard patterns of streets.

In the late summer of 1900 another crisis gripped councillors' more immediate attention - bubonic plague.

Just over 100 of the 303 people who contracted this disease died. A further 1800 were quarantined, 4000 homes were cleansed and 105,000 tonnes of garbage and sewerage were removed. Paradoxically it was deralded as a great "blessing". Reformist councillors including, medical practitioners, sanitarians, town planners and assorted 'experts' took advantage of the situation and from 1906 the first of the "slums" was earmarked for complete demolition.

Many locals were trapped within their quarantined areas. They could not leave event to go to work and were therefore employed in the clean up. In the first outbreak, 14 cases were confirmed in Surry Hills including the Goulburn street area.

The lord Mayor later spoke, however, of the "enhancing" effect factories had on the value of properties and thus rate revenues.

He described the Wexford Street slums, just soutwest of Goulburn Street as "a menace to civilisation". The area was resumed in 1906, the owners immediately becoming tenants to a City Council as landlord, pending eviction before demolition. Council stated it wanted "a seemly means of access" to the newly re-built Central Station.

Athlone Place, Ultimo was the first to go - an "undesirable class of tenant" said the City Health Inspector. Surry Hills was next. Wexford Street and Exeter place, just southwest of where the Macquarie Hotel now stands were unilaterally demolished.

Wexford Street was predominantly Chinese and a ghetto area combining food stores, brothels, cafes, gambling dens and cabinet factories. Most houses lacked basic sanitation and were "unfit for human habitation" according to the Health Inspector.

Council had known for more than eight years Surry Hills was a decrepit part of town. Its 1902 survey showed that over 45% of its houses had either defective drains and sewer connections or inadequate sanitary facilities with seven times fewer toilets than the rest of Sydney. Nearly 70% of houses had insufficient ventilation and more than 8% had rising damp problems. This was put down partly to illegal additions and the closing in of verandahs, possibly for extra bedrooms or living spaces for rent.

Council's motives were not merciful so much as mercenary; council was keen to encourage commercialism and traffic flows. The inner city's population had now almost tripled from 44,240 in 1851 to 112,921 in 1911, and with it had come a new need, the motor car.

With the resumption process now in full swing between 1906-08, 178 houses were to go in the Wexford Street area. Another 65 houses were added to the demolition list by opening up a "new broad Street" to be called Wentworth Street to join up with Oxford Street. Houses were discouraged by new high lease rates and the area changed irrevocably from residential to industrial.

In a public statement that hit the first page of news of the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday 18th February, 1910 under the banner, "RE-MODELLING. - BIG RESUMPTION SCHEME. - NEW WENTWORTH AVENUE." the Mayor announced, in what the Herald shyly called "an interesting statement", a plan to raze dwellings in the area captured by Elizabeth, Oxford and Liverpool Street.

The costs of the project were substantial, £400,000, but the plan was presented to the public coupled with the idea that half the costs would be ameliorated by income from leases form the properties resumed [purchased by Crown prerogative]. Additional income was to be received from the sale of lands [after the demolition of St. Francis' Church on half an acre on the corner of Hay and Castlereagh Streets and the removal of Paddy's Markets to a new site.

The total area of the resumption was about ten acres. Even when the scheme was announced, the Herald presented the message as a fait accompli: "The Wexford-Street slums have been pulled down...remodelling will begin about June...[when] a widened way is clear into and up Oxford-street. When that exists values are expected to jump. The Lord Mayor considers it well worth while to leave the land vacant in order to get the higher price later on.

According to Dr Shirley Fitzgerald, City Historian, Wentworth Avenue was "probably named for William Wentworth, explorer and father of the NSW Constitution.

The current site was occupied by Kennedy's Hotel from 1900 to 1907 but by 1908 the name was changed to the Macquarie Hotel. The proprietor was Mr W.H.Brown. it was probable named after the street in which it stood, Macquarie Street South which itself was an extension of Macquarie Street North which resumed at the northern end of Hyde Park.

By 1909 Macquarie Street South had become Commonwealth Street. Today the only Macquarie Street is the one at the northern end of Hyde Park.

The site of the Macquarie Hotel was then vacant during the resumption process. A poster advertising 50 year leases for "SPLENDID BUSINESS SITES...For sale by public auction" shows the availability of nearby sites prior to the auction date of "Monday 29th January 1912 at 11.30am".

1911 -CURRENT THE RE-ERECTED MACQUARIE HOTEL

In 1911, the architect Eric Lindsay-Thompson B.Arch, F.R.I.B.A, F.R.A.I.A. draw up plans for the "Re-erection" of the Macquarie Hotel, corroborating the name of the former building. The original site configuration included two shops on the Goulburn Street side, at street level, turning into weymss lane, with curved plate glass.

Mr Lindsay-Thompson was a prolific artiest on the Sydney scene. His earlier work is largely unknown, but includes another inner city hotel, Hotel Sweeney's in Clarence street.

His later works include:

• Various Art deco shopfronts
• Alteration to Avalon golf club 1937
• Dairy buildings, Bonney Doon 1941
• Fenchurch Business premises, Pitt Street, Sydney, 1937
• Commercial premises for Aboud, Wright & Apperly, Architects 136
• Broadway, Sydney
• Phoenix house, Bridge Street Sydney
• Roberts Hotel, Market Street, Sydney 1933
• RSL Hall, Moss vale, 1947
• Shops and flats, Avalon, 1940
• Sun office, 1933
• Drawings for the Trocadero Dance Hall, 1935
• Various life saving clubs in The North Shore

E. Lindsay-Thompson lived at lindfield. His work was maily in the Eastern suburbs, North Shore and the Palm Beach areas. In the 1950s he became a lecturer at the University of Sydney and worked in collaboration with Leslie Wilkinson. Professor Wilkinson was Australia's first Professor of Architecture at University of N.S.W.

The Architect's original plans however, illustrate a number of features and details, namely:

• The turret was originally "optional", but was later re-drawn to a less expensive design and was topped by a flagpole
• The name, MACQUARIE HOTEL was clearly emblazoned on both frontages in large capitals, still there in the 1929 when the Prince of Wales passed by this hotel in a procession.
• The arched openings under the turret were clear balcony openings, later with canvas blinds, leading from bedrooms
• Both frontages featured marble to at least waist height and brass footplates on bar entrance doors, a brass rail on the corner, and wooden architraving and leadlighting to the acommodation entrance
• The central stairwell [stair 1] was designed to incorporate a left within the well cavity to all floors
• "Fibro cement" was designed to be used in the stairwell [stair 1]
• The bar wrapped around both sides of the interior and was incorporated into a "bottle dept". It has since been severely altered
• The prismatic lights in the footpath are original
• The awning had an ornate tulip style scroll at each end, since gone
• The first floor drawing room had "patent sliding and folding doors" with a fire place
• There were five bedrooms on the first floor
• There were ten bedrooms on the second floor as part of the hotel serviced by one bathroom, and another three bedrooms serviced by an additional bathroom as part of the upstairs shop area, separated by an adjoining wall
• The cellar contained lavatories and a store room and was able to receive stores via an entrance in the footpath in Goulburn Street

A perusal of council's files shows there have been several other periods of reconstruction to the hotel.

These have occurred:

• In 1933 when there were alterations to the awning & tiling of the street facades
• In 1956 when renewal of several toilet units occurred
• In 1973 when the awning was again altered and "cut back"
• In 1983 extensive general alterations to the ground and first floors were carried out

The present owner purchased the property in 1996. Extensive alterations were carried out in the upper two floors with the construction of bathrooms for all accommodation rooms. The public lounge was upgraded following the introduction of poker machines into hotels.

In 2000, the adjoining property in Wentworth Avewnue was purchased and incorpoarated into the rest of the hotel. The gaming room was relocated into this area, and a coffee shop incorporated into the street front, with beautification of the shop frontage.

In 2004, after considerable discussion with the City of Sydney Council, particularly concerning Heritage Issues, the hotel was considerably upgraded. This included renewing of the prismatic glass tiles on the outside of the building, and in the inside installation of an elevator in the centre of the main stairwell. Also a brewery was installed into the unused basement area, and the bathrooms were totally upgraded. A refurbishing was also done of the public bar area, pool table area, and restaurant on the first floor.

IN SUMMARY:

The site has been occupied by a hotel since at least 1888, and has been known as the Macquarie Hotel since 1908, an unbroken name apart from one year in 1995, when it was known as the Read Raters (Darwin All Sports) Hotel.

The new Macquarie Hotel was first mentioned in Sands' Commercial Directory by name at its Goulburn Street address in 1912. The proprietor was again Mr W H Brown. By 1917 the site was known at its Wentworth Avenue address.

Proprietorship and ownership of the current site has changed hands, and from 1913-16 Mr F Arthur Long was proprietor. After him William Chalker was the owner from 1921 and then Mr J W Berret [or Bennet] from 1932.

A number of significant interior changes have denuded the hotel of more than 90% of its original interior features. Reconfigurations, wall removals, introduction of intrusive air-conditioning ducts, loss of the original bar etc have altered the interior landscape so as to make it all but unrecognisable to E. Lindsay-Thompson, the original Architect. Some remnants only remain, eg some brown wall tiles in the lobby, some stained glass and timber fretwork.The exterior of the hotel has also not escaped severe alterations.

The exterior of the hotel has also not escaped severe alterations. On the ground floor all the brass footplates, rail, marble, curved plate glass, doors, leadlight have been removed. In its place is smoked glass and new marbling. The original entrance to the accommodation has been removed and the two original shops fronts in Goulburn Street and one in Wentworth Avenue have been incorporated into the rest of the site.

The prismatic glass tiles in the footpath remain. The awning is not original. The red brickwork, a distinctive, architectural feature of the period is now completely painted. However, it is fair to say the facade is essentially intact, ie. most of the main features are recognisable, although not in their original form. Both the external and internal appearance represent a number of stages of development. The current fabric is a matrix of layers of development representing various changes in architectural fashion and the changing social strata of clients over 89 years of development.

ARCHIVAL RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN

• Archives Office of NSW, The Rocks, Sydney
• Land Titles Office NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney
• National Trust of Australia (NSW) Archives, Observatory Hill, Sydney
• State Reference Library of NSW, Macquarie Steet, Sydney
• Mitchell and Dixson Libraries, Sydney
• City of Sydney Council Archives, Kent Street, Sydney
• Heritage Office Library, NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, Parrammatta
• Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Potts Point
• Art Deco Society of NSW, Surry Hills
• Sydney Council Library, Town Hall Plaza, Sydney
• Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra

HERITAGE GRADING OF SIGNIFICANT ELEMENTS

SCHEDULE OF SIGNIFICANT FABRIC

The New South Wales Heritage Office has set down guidelines for the grading of items of significance. The grading guidelines define and explain levels of significance as follows -

INTRODUCTION

The above criteria, in the context of the Macquarie Hotel, have the following applications -

• Exceptional: relates to the external image of the hotel as it is presented to society
• High: applies to an original element in its original position
• Moderate: refers to an original element no longer in its original position
• Little: is used in relation to an element that has been subject to subsequent alteration
• Intrusive: applies to an introduced element that detracts from the hotel's significance

The purpose of the grading is to enable decisions on the future conservation and developments of the place to be based on the understanding of its significance. The schedules below identify components and finishes which contribute to the overall significance of the building against the criteria of the NSW Heritage Office cited above.