A short history of Sydney

Captain Cook arrived at Botany Bay in 1770, claiming this new land for the British crown. For some unaccountable reason, he named it New South Wales. (Cook had never been to Wales, but even so, he must have realized that Wales didn’t look anything like this.)

The British authorities weren’t impressed with what they heard about this new land, and decided to use it as a social refuse tip. In 1788, Captain Phillip arrived with the first consignment of convicts, and set up a penal colony at Sydney Cove (just west of the present Opera House, and still the hub of the harbour).

Sydney Cove soon became a going concern. The army officers consigned to the penal settlement had initially looked upon this posting as a kind of hot Siberia. This was not only the end of the world, but the end of all promotion too. In the time-honoured fashion they vented their spleen on the hapless lower ranks, who in turn passed this on (with interest) to the even more hapless convicts.

However, the officers soon found consolation. Here there was land, and to work this land they had an inexhaustible supply of virtual slave labour in the form of the convicts who just had to be paid enough rum to keep them quiet. Many officers made their fortune, carving out large farms for themselves.

In 1819 a way was found through the Blue Mountains, which had formerly pinned the colony to the narrow coastal strip. The opportunities for grabbing yet more land now became considerable as the interior was opened up.

Meanwhile, Sydney was becoming established as a trading port: ships put in with cargo from India and Africa, as well as from Europe. Under the liberal governorship of Lachlan Macquarie, an extensive construction programme was initiated. This included several fine Georgian buildings which remain standing to this day – most notably the Hyde Park Barracks on Macquarie Street. Many of these buildings were the work of the architect Francis Greenway. The multi-talented Greenway was in fact a convict, who had been deported to Australia for forgery – see opposite.

By the 1850s, Sydney had become an attractive, go-ahead city, with a population of 60,000. The first railway on the new continent was built between Sydney and Paramatta as early as 1855, just 25 years after Stephenson’s Rocket made history in England as the first steam train.

By now the great Australian gold rushes were in full swing. Thousands upon thousands began arriving from all over the world in search of the ‘mountain of gold’ they had heard about. Some made their fortune, but most were disappointed. However, many of these quickly saw the opportunities for a new life in this new land. By 1890, Sydney’s population had multiplied to almost half a million – making it as large as some of the minor European capitals. The pleasant, small city had become a sprawl of cheap and crowded suburban terraces. (Those that remain today are inevitably looked upon as local treasures, their Victorian balconies and iron railings lovingly preserved.)

The forger who built Sydney

Despite Governor Macquarie’s urgent requests, the authorities in London decided against sending any architects to Australia. A colony like New South Wales had no need for such extravagances. Fortunately, the criminal classes usually include people of all professions, and an architect soon turned up in the colony in the form of Francis Greenway.

Greenway had turned his calligraphic talents from architectural blueprints to forging more ambitious documents, thus earning himself a 14-year holiday at His Majesty’s expense. In 1814, Governor Macquarie set Greenway to work designing major buildings for the new Sydney. Many of the city’s finest early buildings are his work, the best of which is Hyde Park Barracks Museum. Macquarie also ordered Greenway to build some new Law Courts. Unfortunately, when the building was already half finished there was a change of plan, and Greenway was told to turn it into a church. This is now St James Church at Queens Square.

When Macquarie finished his term as governor and sailed back to England, Greenway was left without a protector. An irascible character who didn’t suffer fools gladly, he alienated several important people in Sydney, who got him the sack.

By now Greenway had been pardoned, so he went to live on the farm he had acquired outside Sydney. But his jealous enemies continued to pursue him. Greenway was charged with fraudulently gaining possession of his farm. Fortunately, he was able to show the authorities a document that showed that he was entitled to the property, and the charge was dropped. Only after he died was it discovered that this document was a forgery.

Later, Greenway was to achieve the ultimate accolade for a forger, a unique honour which no other country has bestowed upon a man in this profession. He appeared on the A$10 bill, his skilfully depicted portrait presenting a stimulating challenge to other members of his profession.

Australia almost went bankrupt in the 1890s, and this hit Sydney hard. The financial centre of Australia was by now Melbourne, which had benefited from the Central Victoria goldfields. But despite valiant ineptitude by the colonial authorities, complete financial disaster was averted. Australia was so rich in natural resources that even the British government couldn’t wreck the economy.

Despite this, Sydney’s arch-rival Melbourne was now the largest city on the continent, and became the capital of the new Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. But this was only a blip. By the First World War, Sydney was a city of a million people. It may not have been the capital, but there was no doubting now which was Australia’s major city – a state of affairs which has remained to this day.

Sydney’s importance as a commercial centre has continued to grow, especially now that ties with Britain have eased. Britain has become part of the EC, and Australia has turned to the Pacific. The United States, Japan and the tiger economies of the Pacific Rim are now its leading trading partners and rivals. This diversification of trade has been paralleled by a diversification of Sydney’s population. The ‘new Australians’ are immigrants from southern Europe (particularly from Italy and Greece) as well as from Asia – rather than British or Irish. These latest immigrants have played a big role in transforming what was once a rather uniform and insular social life. Commercially, ethnically and culturally, Sydney is now very much an international city.