Pictures of Old Sydney

Old photos of Sydney and it's suburbs.

[@seanlander9321]

What a shame the town planners destroyed such a beautiful city.

[@Dreamer10888]

The got rid of the trams a.. saddest part ever

[@lindagardener855]

Thank you for compiling this. I love old Sydney and suburbs.

[@terrybarrett2368]

Same with Perth

[@sadiasuleman1102]

What a beautiful town Sydney was

[@mspdu5536]

I still find it sad to see the magnificent architecture be replaced with the ugliness of what we see today, i don't believe our horse and cart ancestors build those yesteryear masterpieces.

[@Batman-wv5ng]

No respect for amazing architecture today ,it’s all ugly concrete boxes just money hungry evil people.

[@Nicklovesmw2]

I think ur gay !

[@darioburatovich2240]

​​@@Batman-wv5ng I think you are right, but it's the same in my native Buenos Aires. No respect, no culture.Just greed.

[@Batman-wv5ng]

@@darioburatovich2240 it’s all about money today no respect for anything.l am back home in Croatian for last 8 months 80% of people here are lies and crooks.

[@seanlander9321]

@@Batman-wv5ng That’s what Town Planners do, they have destroyed cultures all over the world.

[@dorothysullivan9151]

What a marvellous collection of photographs.

[@weallmatteraustralia]

Beautiful Collection of photos...Cried when I saw the Grantham was demolished just for a high rise...What a building that would still be today. The view of that Bridge and the money that came with it must have been more important than the Grand old Historic Building 😭😭😭

[@cindersmolloy6584]

Thank you, this brought back memories. Beautifully done.

[@horationelson57]

I have returned after 4 years; it's such a wonderful, engrossing compilation of my city that was once like an innocent, comely school-girl, but now looking quite haggard and spent (and riotously over-expensive) despite it's harbour and natural beauty.

[@haroldmclean3755]

I like seeing those old stone Buildings as I am a Heritage Restoration Stonemason and I have Worked on them, Some of them more than once lol 👍😀

[@annstar4306]

Wow , thats so interesting and well done for the work you have done ! A big fantastic to you , you would be full of stories on the subject etc . Hope you see my comment . Today is June 10th 2023. 🙋 Jen from Kendall NSW.

[@haroldmclean3755]

@@annstar4306 Hey there Jen 👍 Thankyou for your kind praise, Yes I have many interesting and entertaining Stories about those Grand and Beautiful Old Stone Buildings , Some of the Giant Architectural and Freestyle Carvings are Top Notch 👍😉 I hope that your keeping Warm up there in Kendall, I've got my Heater pumping away down here in Sydney , Its Cool lol 👍😉

[@tonymccarthy6713]

What a great nostalgic look a old Sydney. I grew up there in 40s 50s and 60s. Wonderful happy memories. Thank you. Very well done.

[@keef78]

Thanks so much for putting this up, I'm only 40 but it is just great to see how it was in the old days before my day, makes me wish I was back in a simpler time, where people spoke and their was community, I was on the tail end of that, I still remember as a child going next door with a cup to borrow a cup of sugar or milk and going to the shops and leaving your doors unlocked. Things have certainly changed, some for the better but a lot for the worse.

[@KJMudge]

Hi Peter , What a beautifully presented selection of historical photos of Central Sydney and it's surrounding suburbs. It was most enjoyable to watch and very educational. Thank you 😊

[@erictran5206]

Thank you Peter, it does give me a sense how Sydney look like before i was born.

[@horationelson57]

Delightful piano accompaniment. Thank you for uploading this marvelous piece of nostalgia.

[@G-ra-ha-m]

Lovely. Interesting to see the old museum, clearly hundreds of years old, Sydney must have been a wonderful sight when we first discovered it, probably overgrown and full of mud, but with these magnificent buildings ready to be re-purposed.

[@Antmac75]

It’s amazing isn’t it. In less than 100 years after being settled we had a thriving city called Sydney. All built without so called modern technology 😂

[@bigglesflysagain1749]

Ahhhhhh...The Trocadero......danced with my first REAL girlfriend on a Saturday arvo......Julie........she and I learned much, in the back seat of my Dad's Holden FE, parked in the dark, in Centennial Park. Sailed away on SS CANBERRA in 1964...quickie trips back in '68 and '78...Sydney was still a village, compared to today. Ya can't go Home ! Suburbs was soooo quiet and gentle and boring and safe and wonderful in the 40s....................................so now I believe I will have a cuppa and a BEX and go lie down ! THANX soooooooooooooooo much for the "mixed" memories!!

[@YesYesYoureRight]

Bex was two medications (drugs) it was mix or aspirin and Paracetamol, it was changed to one medication only in the early seventies. . Doing that in Centennial Park was a gay-men thing to do. Were any men watching you(s) both or didn't you notice? You were probably thought of as two blokes, no one much had anywhere to go for a bit of private intimacy, in those days. Everyone was so unliberated. But it was a safe village-city, there were no such thing as security guards (or NIGHT WATCHMEN) as that was called in those days. I was born in Enmore but now live in Westminster. Have A Nice Day.

[@BTW...]

@@YesYesYoureRight NO, You're WRONG - Bex, Vincent's APC and Veganin powders contained a mixture of Aspirin (420mg) - Phenacetin (420 mg) - Caffeine (160mg). They were addictive and caused kidney failure. This was discovered in the 60's yet not banned until 1977.

[@michaeljoshualewis538]

In the late 70s I bought bed off the ice cream man for my mother, I have on this channel about 25 uploads of Sydney now,the old buildings,it sure as gone downhill

[@Pendaws]

A lot of these scenes are forever in my mind, I saw a few of them live when a boy. Ah, to be young and innocent again.

[@aussieraver7182]

What did people do those days in Sydney? And what would people do at the Sydney CBD apart from working?

[@gregkhoury2559]

This is a beautiful and moving compilation. Superb. The picture at 11mins 14 seconds is actually the Great Restaurant on the 7th floor of David Jones Elizabeth St Store. The Queen was given a reception there on 3rd February 1954. It was a wonderful place. It’s not the Royal Theatre.

[@bencornelius1620]

Those convicts were some talented builders!!😲😲 Its almost like Sydney was found 🤔

[@daveg2104]

Sure, muddy flooder - aka people confused by basements, among many other things. lol One of the stupidest, most pointless conspiracy theories out there. Not to mention shitting on the hard work, ingenuity and deprivations suffered in the early years of the colony. There are some fairly meticulous accounts of the early days of Sydney (and drawings and paintings). If you were in any way interested in doing some actual research.

[@bencornelius1620]

@@daveg2104 haha ok Dave 😂😂👍🏾

[@daveg2104]

@@bencornelius1620 troll

[@bencornelius1620]

@@daveg2104 no Dave called me a troll 😫

[@daveg2104]

@@bencornelius1620 👍

[@PLANETIA01]

Thanks so much for posting these amazing pictures. It brings back memories and a little insight of familiar areas in Sydney that I have not seen before.

[@rosemarylynch7470]

Thank you so very much. You've brought back much of my childhood!

[@dansclassics]

Amazing; right back to horse and carriage times; great job.

[@albertweir5070]

thank you i remember some of the old buildings as a kid when i visited sydney in the late50s and early 60s.

[@tamascalderwood729]

Fantastic. Loved it. What a town, through all these years.

[@Nicklovesmw2]

Ever had sex in this town ? 😂💪🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@Random_cam.]

This was a great video. Ive only ever seen a couple of those pictures until now. I love Sydneys architecture and I love walking around there.

[@1935rmb]

Brings back memories for this Yank in Sydney, 1962. Stayed at the Peoples Palace I seem to remember. Then moved to Brighton le Sands. Nice country but returned to America after 1 year due to homesickness. Never returned..

[@emohruo7996]

Mate its changed I can tell you that

[@petersinclair3997]

Hope you can make it back, from someone, who has been to the States three times since then.

[@kaz1578]

Great video. Lots of photos I have never seen before and so many beautiful buildings lost to progress.

[@ayalarkin]

Thanks for compiling and posting. Fascinating.

[@GupshupCookingvlog]

Beautiful place 😍 thank you for great sharing have a good day take care 💖👌

[@Timothy2963]

At 12.08 in the slideshow you have the image as "Sydney Stock Exchange". It is in fact the Royal Wool Exchange, Sydney. You will see a statue in the foreground of Sir Thomas Sutcliffe Mort looking towards the Exchange. He was one of the most prominent founders of the Australian Wool Industry. When the building was demolished in the early 1960's (as was his wool store next to Custom's House in Circular Quay to make way for the ugly AMP building - ironic as he was one of the three founders of the AMP) his grandson Charles Mort wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald suggesting that his grandfather's statue be turned 180 deg to look away from the site.

[@Timothy2963]

At 13:52 you have it correct.

[@petersinclair3997]

Hope it’s not true, but heard the Alfred Street AMP building is under a preservation order. Though, Goldfields House is gone. Both lent balance to the Quay.

[@AJLangford]

Thank you. Ill show this to the residents of a large nursing home. Cheers!

[@peterbett7161]

That's great. I hope they enjoy it!

[@kiwaussiegirl]

Anthony Langford..... What a lovely idea ☺️

[@kiwaussiegirl]

Peter Bett... So many I've never seen before. Cheers, Peter.

[@JoLowden-oz9no]

Many thanks for sharing these pictures.

[@zelly8163]

Thank you so much. When I lived in Sydney I'd walk every where from Bondi Junction to Newtown from the Rocks to Gelbe Point Road trying to piece together Sydney's history wish I would have seen this collection back then. Yet, strangely it is exactly how I imagined it would have looked except for the Rocks which by the 1980's looked and felt nothing like its old photos. Thanks again.

[@12121149]

Luna Park "Just for Fun" and the Trocadero,spent many great times there, and all the rest,great memories,thanks.

[@stevecurry6066]

Very good Peter. Just one thing I noticed at the 5:49 mark, you have annotated George St. The picture shows Prouds Jewellery store which is in King St cornering Pitt St. Wonderful music as well.

[@masteryoda498]

Sydney was nicer back then, less crowded, no crime, simpler life.

[@SISTERHENDRICKS23]

No 3rd world imports & A*!a?s

[@markcampbell634]

Awesome collection

[@ianneill1400]

10.02 not Parramatta road but is Livingstone & cnr of New Canterbury Road!!

[@Steven_Rowe]

thankyou. Really love the old photos and the music. Always wish i could put old photos in a time machine and go back to the exact moment when the cameras​ shutter operated perhaps not maybe imagination is better than reality

[@peterbett7161]

Thanks for the feedback, Steven. I'm glad you enjoyed the compilation. Sydney seemed like quite a charming little city back then.

[@horationelson57]

Indeed it was charming. Now it resembles a burnt-out, old prostitute, like all large, western capital cities. It's called progress.

[@tsegulin]

Whoever shot this had a good eye and a great ethnographic sensibility. This would have been neither easy nor cheap in colour 16mm in 1940. Do you know if this was shot on Kodachrome or Ektachrome? Was it restored for colour? The transfer seems pretty good really. I grew up in Sydney and recognize much of the places in the film that have long since gone. Wonderful to see the old pontoons at the Manly harbour side beach. I used to play at Bobbin Head as a kid. Whoever recognized the value of this and took the care and expense to digitize it has my eternal gratitude. The Australian National Film and Sound Archive should fund a full digital restoration. This is a true piece of history. Thanks Peter!

[@tedcullen7480]

FABULOUS. Thanks for putting it together. I'm posting it on Facebook

[@peterbett7161]

Thanks Ted. Hope your Facebook friends enjoy it.

[@worldseyes2022]

Thanks for sharing, some buildings are still there, lovely Sydney,

[@petersmith9771]

Thank you very much for sharing these times

[@FlyxPat]

10:31 Short S-23 Empire-Class Flying Boat

[@paulb562]

ancient Greek architecture what is doing in Australia ,,. The bridge. is very interesting. 1922. ? bridge construction in Australia. we see in the 1960s. don't forget West gate bridge , arivadetchi,

[@stevenhancock9429]

Love the collection. I work where the Anthony Horderns building was, in a 50 story building that replaced it. A correction, at 5:56 is corner of George and Hay with Palace Hotel on left..

[@paullewis2413]

I vaguely remember Anthony Horderns shame it wasn’t preserved. I think the greatest loss to Sydney was the Hotel Australia the nation’s most famous and historic. I can just remember the restaurant with large windows overlooking Martin Place.

[@bert23337]

@@paullewis2413 Blame MLC for that. At least they haven't torn down 44 Martin Place across the road........yet

[@cardinalpuffpuff547]

Shows, sadly, the city centre before it become so dark with the streets overshadowed by the tower blocks.

[@MoreLocations]

This is amazing beautiful ❤👍🏻

[@tonyswietochowski2282]

Great pictures. Shame they got rid of the trams.

[@bustechvst3865]

its back

[@paulwinfield5527]

Outstanding presentation great photos.

[@ThePerson1959]

I enjoyed looking at these old pictures or Sydney but I had to keep jumping on the pause to look at the detail. Just a touch to fast moving to next pics but lovely pics and really enjoyed seeing them all.

[@judycolmer7937]

Wonderful Photos.

[@cherylpurdue888]

Central station changed,they have done it all up, looks good🙂🌺

[@wellardsmith3629]

Incredible. Thanks so much.

[@joeblogs4701]

From a population of almost zero British folk in 1800, they, in only 90 years, were supposed to have built all of those multi-storied buildings by 1900. Impossible. You need a major manpower workforce, and, a skilled one at that. Someone is not telling the truth.

[@MissMellyVee]

I really enjoyed this, fabulous collection of photographs :)

[@MissMellyVee]

@Henry Newton how lovely and kind of you … thank you ☺️

[@Pavanesound]

Thank you so much Mr. Bett. So interesting...

[@christianvaz-od2cq]

Wonderful !. But uncredibly destroyed...what a shame!.

[@pollybird7827]

That was absolutely amazing Thank you 🐦💜🍒

[@petersinclair3997]

Great theatres have been lost, but the banks seem to have survived.

[@kostadean2839]

interesting

[@MrCodeerror]

10:01, that photo was taken on the cnr of New Canterbury Rd and Livingston Rd Petersham.

[@mltoob]

At 10.02 it’s not Parramatta Rd, but cnr of Canterbury Rd and Livingstone Rd. The facade of the Beynon and Hayward building is still there today.

[@dvspeter]

10:03 is actually cnr Livingstone and New Canterbury Rds Petersham. That view basically hasn't changed.

[@umbertogalasso1280]

Your spot on the money I used to live around the corner

[@royburnell4169]

A great collection - I really enjoyed it.

[@juliesmith5567]

What a loverly lot of sights there were

[@aaronblake7947]

10.00 IS Cnr New Canterbury Rd & Livingstone Rd Petersham. ( Note Benyon & Hayward in Background. )NOT Parramatta Rd.

[@viviekazanili1077]

yes that right i lived at Petersham i noticed it as well i wonder what yr it was?

[@aaronblake7249]

Hi Vivie , Ive been Busy, I can confidently Say 1954, if you look above the awning of the Livingstone Hotel. there is a promo for THE Vagabond King. I checked with Petersham Town Hall Archives! Regards Aaron Blake.@@viviekazanili1077

[@06588275]

looking at this the only decent thing done to sydney in the last 100 years was the refurbishment of the qvb everything else a disaster demolishing beautidul buildings

[@petefoto3143]

Brilliant ... They should have kept those ornate buildings and modernize a different part of Sydney ... much like what they're trying to do with The Rocks; although somewhat too late.

[@gopinathanaugustinemunusam911]

Magnificent pictures

[@SSK9s]

AWESOME :) Thank you very very much.

[@bert23337]

At 3:43 the partially visible building on the right appears similar to the CBC bank building that now occupies the site at 343 George Street. At first glance I took it for the present building but then noticed the height. The building shown must have been torn down to build a similar but much taller building in the 20's. Sadly many buildings in Sydney have a life expectancy of no more than a few decades. Also different columns, Ionic on the present building.

[@Velishea]

Even stranger is that the post office building on George Street in early photo’s, has two, end pillars with arch, and only 3 inner arches with beautiful ornaments over them, now it has 5 ornamental arches, and the 2 pillars with arch). In other photos a little later (around 2 years) they did add another couple of storeys to the top. I’m just confused how they stretched it. All pictures I have saved, show they face George St (they all have the clock). I know the building well as I worked for a shipping company in the early 90’s I was 19 & had to get our mailing machine re - collaborated, and pay for future posting. Also they still had a man that operated the cage elevator in uniform. He must have been at least late 60’s, maybe 70+.

[@aaronblake7947]

4.05 Telephone Box @ end of Tram is Cnr Wallis St & Edgecliff rd, Woollahra.

[@robertthomson2159]

What a beaut.

[@stigonutube]

Glad to see parramatta rd "9.56" has not changed much since 1920s LOL

[@joshuataylor6087]

Sydney was so charming and quaint back then. What a shame they knocked it all down and replaced it with Surfers Paradise.

[@TheEarthHistorysConfusing]

Joshua Taylor wtf? Sydney and Queensland are two different states?.

[@stevecallachor]

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"..........l..........Joanne Mitchell, a world wide phenomenon!!! Stavros

[@bert23337]

The glorious state of Sydney!

[@roblox-vp1rq]

lovely pictures, it is fantastic to see a collection like this. Where do the years go?

[@umbertogalasso1280]

At 10:02 that is not Parramatta road it is the corner of New Canterbury road and Livingston road Petersham

[@JoshSamimi2024]

I love they got the music of Carnaval for piano, in there

[@valziexuglyforehead3916]

if anyone beliefs we got that much built 50 years after the first fleet you have to be joking.it would take 50 years to build some of those buildings.it would have took 50 years to just sought out the quarries for building on this scale

[@kimberly-mo5cp]

I thought the same thing.Also,why do we never see construction pics of these solid stone buildings even though they had cameras to photograph other stuff?

[@pessimisticpianist582]

@@kimberly-mo5cp If your interested in Australia's history, i would recommend you search " Mudflood Australia " ,might answer some of your questions

[@misst1741]

Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Fremantle, Ballarat, Bendigo, Warnambool - super busy convicts and their progeny..where did that work ethic or talent for architecture go?? They sure didn't pass it on - seems they couldn't knock it over fast enough. Baffling .... on a lighter note Woolies could learn a thing or two about cafeterias & merchandising from their predecessors.

[@pessimisticpianist582]

@@misst1741 Everything you say is true, a few thousand busy and largely sick convicts build all these huge amazing buildings? Garbage, at least some of them already existed.

[@SmellyStains]

I thought the 1st fleet was 1788. That would be more than 100 years before the oldest photo in this collection

[@ALITISA78]

12:18 A modern picture made back n white. You can see the sky scrapers, sky lights on the roofs oh and a Tv antenna lol. Sorry I notice everything.

[@peterbett7161]

Well spotted! Looks like a satellite TV antenna on one of the terraces.

[@Olbucko]

Aren't you just so so clever!, 50 years ago we did have sky scrapers, skylights, and TV antennas, and the Opera House was nearly finished. The dish was probably a microwave dish.

[@petertaylor3600]

They did say pictures of old Sydney. This can be photos shot of early buildings, taken much later. I can't see it mattering.

[@petertaylor3600]

Abnsolutely right, Olbucko. Well said.

[@keef78]

I first spotted the sky lights on the roofs, though this is titled old Sydney so by definitionit fits but is in contrast to the rest of the much older Sydney photos.

[@1BIGFROGGY]

5:50 is King Street not George Street! Prouds was on the corner of King and Pitt Streets.

[@bert23337]

Looking east along King Street. I think for well over a century Prouds were at that location opposite Kings Hotel. The location now has 'Tiffany & Co.' signs

[@aaronblake7249]

@ 5.50 King St / Pitt st Looking east! NOT George st, Building in front of tram still there.

[@elainesoni7847]

I wish they were arranged chronologically. I'm interested in the 1896-1903 period but it's difficult to follow.

[@mscorrell]

I received a large part of my education at the Windsor Castle Hotel, Paddo 9:40. Also visible is the fire engine used in tv ads.

[@elvisbartoli6687]

Fantastic

[@JoshSamimi2024]

Happy 90th birthday Sydney Harbour Bridge

[@MrFadicuz]

sydney the most beautiful country in the world

[@12121149]

Harry's cafe de Wheels, so many times the mates and the girlfriends, went there for the best pie and peas ever,just sayin'

[@casscumerford5886]

I still old and innocent---I 76---but feel 20---from smoking, and eating lots of sugar----- and lots of coffee----lot of dope when young but stopped after 10 yrs----I like gals----my name pete too but I changed it to cass when I became actor---cass easy for castin folk to remember----I typin a lot today cause I stayin inside cause of new corona virus---aint trustin NO ONE to come near me---my life too good right now

[@stigonutube]

i can relate to that in the 90s.

[@pitvondone]

I lived in Riverwood in 1990 and they still had the elektrik kable over the road.

[@zwarst]

Thanks really enjoyed that,

[@phillipjohnryan7074]

Just Thank you peter.

[@bert23337]

At 5:33 Blanchfields Hotel demolished to widen Goulburn Street

[@larrycoldwater1964]

When you look at these old photos of Sydney it makes you realise how much property developers and real estate agents really f**ked things up. Once you get away from the harbour, Sydney is a ugly place now.

[@philipbrailey]

If it’s in England, they keep it. If it’s in Australia they pull it down.

[@annehat4833]

We never built all that....who did ??

[@bert23337]

Another more advanced civilization

[@annehat4833]

@@bert23337 the advanced civilization you speak about are our forefathers....History they try to indoctrinate us with is a huge fabricated lie.....eg convicts....load of crap !..... if we want to find the truth we need to look into things from the ground up......look at the railways around the world......look at roads around the world (paved)....even in aus if you check out old pics they have been doctored as with the sky....shadows going in all direction in a single pic !

[@SISTERHENDRICKS23]

​@@bert23337💯

[@annehat4833]

@@bert23337 if you have a look at the david jones building....on top it says 1333 !....watched a couple of others....old pub 1365......another terrace 1515

[@aaronblake7249]

@ 5.57 HaySt / George St Looking East Both Buildings Still there NOW a Light Rail Stop.

[@rajivmurkejee7498]

I see that Sydney didn't like it's trams and closed them down but Melbourne has kept theirs . I think Melbourne has made the right decision but I guess Sydney people disagree and think Melbourne is old fashioned

[@keef78]

Nah I agree, Sydney made the worst move taking the trams out and clearly the gov regret it and are trying badly to resurrect them with the debacle that is the light rail system.

[@petertaylor3600]

They decided to close down the trams in the Sydney CID because the roads, which in the beginning were only tracks for herding cattle, etc., were too small to take the tramways in the end. The decision to remove them was the worst the council ever made, but at the time they wanted to clear the way for cars. Melbourne has always had more properly designed roads and room for the public transport system. That's more or less why, Rajiv.

[@TheEarthHistorysConfusing]

Peter Taylor I highly doubt this information as Sydney had the Biggest Tram System in the Southern Hemisphere and had definitely been layered out well planned with for thought in the cities and suburban communities included within this system. Sydney did exactly what every other country did around this time and it was a insurance claim in the end. Same with Brisbane both store sheds suddenly burning Down after the public said no to getting rid of trams and political issues eventually gave into the petroleum companies and scrapped all the trams. Several huge cities in USA had similar stories with trams being too big or not wide enough streets. If they drove herds of bullocks down Main Street then trams and trucks will. That’s my point they say oh they’re too big and so and so and they get rid of them to have now these days big trucks bigger then trams crawling around Sydney. It is all to do with petroleum and that’s what happened to Sydney trams.

[@trackdusty]

@@TheEarthHistorysConfusing Savvy.

[@TheEarthHistorysConfusing]

Dusty Camino ; Thanks

[@valziexuglyforehead3916]

great video

[@CoogeeMedia]

Great!

[@sketchessketches1074]

fantastic shots of the biggest Electric Tram set up in the world in 1823. wow those convict bob the builders were faster than a speeding bullet in 35 years since colonized 1788 !! luvyawork...sketch

[@sigmaoctantis1892]

Funny how that happened in 1823 when electrification of the Sydney tram network started in 1898. Are we talking alternate realities or something?

[@misst1741]

great pics...not much of it left now..butchered...pity current population influx aren't as handy with brick & trowel:))

[@cezrok5405]

A lot of these old buildings i think were made by an older more advanced civilisation i cant find any proper construction photos from around 1888 when supposedly a lot of these great buildings were built - how did they put in those massive marble one piece columns in the city ? Where was the quarry for them - there are no public records

[@TheEarthHistorysConfusing]

Cez rok Indeed you’re definitely correct!.