UrbanGrowth NSW held a Bays Precinct Discovery Day on Sunday April 12 on the shorelines of Blackwattle, Rozelle and White Bay. It was very light on for information about what is planned for the area but the weather was good and the water was sparkling. The best bits were the White Bay power station, the Sydney Heritage Fleet yards and the remnants of maritime industry still located in Rozelle Bay – the firms that build and repair the wharves and shore up the piles and generally keep the everyday micro-infrastructure of the harbour in good nick. Just a touch of the old ‘working harbour.’
Word on the street is that the government is pressuring these firms to move out so that all can be bland and pristine and hollow. Hopefully enough of us will press back for retention of these places that give interest and complexity to the place. Most of the industry has gone, but enough is enough.
And one more thing. The old Glebe Island Bridge was not featured at all, even though it would have been easy enough to do this. Everyone knows the government wants to get rid of it. And I have yet to speak to anyone who doesn’t think this would be a travesty. It was a world’s first state of the art when it was built in 1903 and even ignoring its heritage values, it’s current potential to become part of the traffic network for walkers and cyclists is enormous.
When the bridge was built it was of such significance that it was featured in this 1904 Supplement to The Scientific American.
The Glebe Society has a Save The Glebe Island Bridge website with information and links.