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Thursday October 18, 2007 (Day 2 afternoon)
The Rocks
The Rocks became established shortly after the colony's formation in 1788.
The original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone, from which the
area derives its name. From the earliest history of the settlement, the area
had a reputation as a slum, often frequented by visiting sailors and
prostitutes. During the late 1800s, the area was dominated by a gang known as
the Rocks Push. It maintained this rough reputation until approximately the
1970s.By the early twentieth century, many of the
area's historic buildings were in serious decay.
In 1900, bubonic plague broke out, and the state government resumed areas
around The Rocks and Darling
Harbour,
with the intention of demolishing them and rebuilding them. Part of the area
was demolished, but redevelopment plans were stalled by the outbreak of World
War I. During the 1920s, several hundred buildings were demolished during the
construction of the Sydney
Harbour Bridge. However, the outbreak of World
War II once again stalled many of the redevelopment plans, and it was not
until the 1960s that serious attempts to demolish much of the area were
revived.
In 1968, the state government gave control of The Rocks to the Sydney Cove
Redevelopment Authority, with the intention of demolishing all the original
buildings, re-developing them as high-density residential dwellings. In
February 1971, a group of local residents formed the Rocks Residents Group to
oppose the plans. They felt that the new dwellings would result in increased
rents, which would force out the traditional residents of the area. The
residents' group requested a Green ban from the Builder's Labourers
Federation, who had become increasingly active in preventing controversial
developments over the previous four years. By 1973, the union had imposed the
ban, and after discussions with the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority, a
'People's Plan' was developed. By October 1973, it appeared that the
redevelopment would proceed as originally planned, using non-union labor. For
two weeks, demonstrations by local residents and unionists followed, with
numerous arrests being made. Liberal Premier Robert Askin
was in the midst of an election campaign, and used the protests as a means of
conveying his law and order message to voters. However, the green ban stayed
in place until 1975, when the state union leadership was overthrown, and was
ultimately successful, as can be seen in the buildings that survive today.
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