Jacksons Landing’s Ever-Changing History
(NewDesignWorld Press Release Center) -- The vibrant Vivas Lend Lease community at Jacksons Landing in Sydney providing luxury apartments and homes has a proud and fascinating history. Located at Pyrmont Point on the edge of Sydney’s inner-ring, the development epitomises how far the local area has advanced since the late 1700s when purchased by John Macarthur for a gallon of rum.
The area played a pivotal role in Sydney life in the 19th century as a shipping port, sandstone quarry, sugar refinery, slaughter house, iron works, rail interchange and industrial hub, and at its peak was home to 30,000. But by the early 1990s residents had dwindled to 3,000, most industry had relocated and the area had become an eyesore.
Today - thanks to the combined efforts of the government and private enterprise - Pyrmont Point is a thriving urban village with its own shops, restaurants, cafes, supermarket, arts and craft outlets, medical and essential services, library and cultural centre.
Originally the point was inhabited by the Cadigal Aborigines who named it ‘Pirrama’ – meaning ‘rocking stone’. They used its high ground to spot prey, fished from its fertile waters and chipped oysters from the rocky shoreline.
In 1795 the point entered British legal records as a land grant of 55 acres to soldier Thomas Jones. He sold it to a sergeant who in turn sold it to then captain John Macarthur for £10 of rum. The headland was named ‘Pyrmont’ in 1806 after a fashionable spa town in northern Germany.
Slipways, wharves, sheds and workshops of Thomas Crowne’s Elizabeth Bay shipyard and Goodlet and Smith’s timberyards crammed the bay from 1839. In 1875 the seven metre-deep Pyrmont Public Baths were established as one of the few public sanctuaries amidst the noise and pollution of the industrial peninsula.
In 1878 CSR opened an imposing nine-storey sugar refinery, complete with power house and a 46 metre chimney. A coal-powered boiler station added in 1935 still looms high above the Refinery plaza today.
From 1853 to 1931 the cliffs of Pyrmont were quarried for ‘Sydney Yellowblock’, the world’s finest sandstone. ‘Hell Hole’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Purgatory’ were the nicknames given by stonemasons to three of the quarries.
‘Paradise’ quarry was within Jacksons Landing, and you can see a tribute to these early days in the estate’s park in John Street where three large sandstone blocks bear the names ‘Hell Hole’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Purgatory’.
Yellowblock is believed to be compacted quartz and silt left over from a massive flood when Gondwanaland was still in Antarctica. It is extremely valuable because it is rare, durable and easy to carve.
In the 1890’s samples of Sydney Yellowblock were entered in international exhibitions and judged to be the finest sandstone in the world.
Government House, Sydney Town Hall, Sydney University, Sydney Hospital, the QVB, Central Railway, St Mary’s Cathedral, the Australian Museum and the Great Synagogue are some of the magnificent 19th Century public buildings constructed of sandstone from Pyrmont.
Supplies dried up long ago. But, thanks to Vivas Lend Lease and the Department of Public Works, this rich vein of sandstone, known as ‘yellow gold’, was able to be saved and used in the conservation of Sydney’s major sandstone icons.
By the 1950s Pyrmont Point had fallen into decline. Heavy industries closed, leaving monolithic factories to rust. For nearly 40 years it remained neglected - a relic of a bygone era.
The City West Development Corporation was founded in 1992 with a charter to renew the precinct by combining residential with retail and commercial activity.
Vivas Lend Lease led the revival when it acquired the CSR site in 1996 and began planning Jacksons Landing in sympathy with its heritage and character. Such an extraordinary evolution deserves to be cherished and remembered, hence the constant reminders dotted about the waterfront village including interpretative installations, warehouse conversions and building names significant to the history of the site.
Homage to history is reflected in buildings such as ‘Stonecutters’ the soon to be released ‘Sugar Dock’, ‘Quarry’, ‘Distillery’, ‘McCaffrey’s Stables’ and ‘Knox on Bowman’ (in honour of entrepreneur Sir Edward Knox, who founded CSR in 1855).
‘McCaffery’s Stables’ was built in 1920 to house horses and related transport equipment at the then CSR. C.J. McCaffery was the first cartage company contracted to transport sugar from the refinery to ships in the port and throughout Sydney. The stables were home to as many as 126 horses, and originally comprised a harness-makers’ workshop, blacksmith, paint shop and feed loft.
Jacksons Landing adapted the historic stables into four terraces on three levels, sympathetically blending the old with the new to give Sydneysiders a refreshing alternative to standard accommodation.
The original structure was well built with fine brickwork and fenestration, strong vertical lines and eye-catching angles that are a feature of the reborn design. Steel frames and trusses at the sides of the building represent wings once affixed to the stables, and define the entry portico into the terraces.
Inside is a palette of materials “in the raw”. There’s oregon roof trusses, ironbark columns, recycled blackbutt flooring with extra wide boards, tongue-and-grove ceilings, exposed metal air-conditioning ducts, blackened steel handrails, industrial hanging lights, and steel-framed windows faithful to the original 1920’s detailing.
The first half of a 1.2-ha waterfront park has opened at Jacksons Landing on the site of the former Cane-ite factory which was used by CSR for the production and storage of fibre board known as Cane-ite, a by-product in the crushing of sugar cane. Three enormous steel cane-ite spheres were salvaged by Vivas Lend Lease from the factory, and will be used as historical interpretive elements in the park, along with 20 creative sculptures charting the evolution of the Pyrmont peninsula.
Designed as a series of landscaped terraces tumbling down to the waters’ edge, the park is part of Sydney’s overall vision to have public walkways on the harbour’s edge extending from Annandale in the west all the way to Woolloomooloo in the east.
Today more than 2,000 people live in Jacksons Landing which, at 11.7-hectares, is one of Australia’s largest waterfront developments. It boasts 700 metres of prime Sydney Harbour frontage, just around from Darling Harbour and Circular Quay, close to such cosmopolitan hotspots as Ultimo, Broadway and Haymarket.
Jacksons Landing takes full advantage of its position by providing water views to many of its dwellings, and offers residents a five-lane heated indoor swimming pool, fully equipped gymnasium, two tennis courts, a community clubhouse and landscaped parklands. Several of the individual buildings have their own private pools and gymnasiums.
Jacksons Landing holds broad appeal for people of all ages, cultures and interests, and entices couples, families, professionals, retirees, singles and celebrities.
“It has attracted people who like the idea of living close to the water, parkland and entertainment facilities, who often utilise a variety of transport options to get to and from work,” said Vivas Lend Lease Sales and Marketing Director, Des Surleff.
“There is a sense of community here, and it has real character and a heart – just like a rural village. Residents band together here and host social functions, form sporting clubs, and share a sense of community pride.”
For parents of young children the location is ideal, with the Sydney Day Nursery at Pyrmont licensed to care for babies and infants. For older students, the International School, UTS and Sydney University are not far away.
Mr Surleff considers the village’s pet-friendliness to be a big attraction.
“Our encouragement of pets, combined with ample open parkland and special dog waste disposal units, sets Jacksons Landing apart from most other inner city developments.”
Enhancing the community feel, Jacksons Landing produces a monthly newsletter for residents, and provides an internal community website listing upcoming events, news and happenings.
“Jacksons Landing exudes a close-knit, friendly atmosphere which improves people’s feelings of security and comfort,” said Mr Surleff. “There is a great level of enthusiasm and involvement among residents in activities, functions and launches.”
Jacksons Landing has been taking shape for the past ten years, and is now almost 85% complete. When finalised, it will comprise 1,350 luxury apartments, terraces, heritage warehouse conversions and town-homes.
To achieve architectural diversity and integrity of design, different architects have been selected to design the range of accommodation. This eclectic combination of terrace houses, boutique buildings and cutting edge high-rise edifices gives Jacksons Landing the look and feel of a suburb that has grown organically rather than from a homogeneous palette.
Each stage of Jacksons Landing undergoes meticulous planning and research with residents and others, with nothing left to chance.
“Pyrmont Point is one of Sydney’s ‘dress circle’ suburbs, providing elevated views of the city’s greatest attribute - its harbour. And when you compare this peninsular to other exclusive points around town - Potts Point, Cremorne Point and Milsons Point - the value-for-money here is outstanding,” said Mr Surleff.
“Our dwellings and designs are brand new and better value than many other waterfront areas, yet the views are just as spectacular, the infrastructure is better and it’s closer to the CBD.”
Andrea Patterson
Andrea Patterson Freelance
andr3aaaa@gmail.com
8612 6888
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