History - The Changing Face of Luna Park
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Luna Park site history before 1935
Before the arrival of Europeans in N.S.W., the Aboriginal Cammeraygal,
lived along the Milsons Point foreshores and surrounding bushland.
From the beginning of Sydney's settlement the Milsons Point area
was a place for picnics and entertainment. In 1789 Governor Phillip
watched performances by aborigines who danced on this site in return
for rum, trinkets and cloth.
The first permanent settlement was established by 1806 when James
Milson farmed the area supplying vegetables, milk and spring water
to Sydney. He also quarried sandstone and built a house near the
site of the northeast pylon of the Harbour Bridge.
In the 1830's Billy Blue rowed passengers across the harbour. By
1837, the steep rocky slopes of the Luna Park site were inhabited
by a few watermen (boat operators) who ferried paying passengers.
In 1886 a cable tram service commenced operation between Milsons
Point wharf and Ridge Street North Sydney. Soon after Milsons Point
became the most popular point on the north side for a harbour crossing.
In 1890 the railway line was completed from Hornsby to St. Leonards
and then further extended to Milsons Point in 1893. The rocky slopes
were cut back extensively almost to water level as a ‘platform’
was created to make way for the railway line. The sandstone removed
was used as fill to widen and straighten the shoreline.
A bridge across the harbour had been considered for many years
before the Government announced a proposal for a high level bridge
in 1911. In 1915 a new railway station was opened further back on
the line in Lavender Bay, releasing the area now occupied by Luna
Park for the construction workshop site for a bridge. However it
was not until 1923 Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough, England
made a successful tender to design and construct the Harbour Bridge.
From 1924 – 1932 they occupied the Luna Park site plus all
the waterfront land adjacent to the bridge. They excavated more
of the cliff at Luna Park and used the fill to further widen and
straighten the shoreline, creating a flat site large enough for
two huge workshops. They also built a wharf with cranes suitable
for overseas vessels to dock and unload materials. Extending from
in front of Coney Island to the northern pylon of the Harbour Bridge,
the workshops were reputed to be the largest in the southern hemisphere.
After the bridge was completed the government, as promised, ensured
the demolition of all the buildings. The only structure to remain
was the wharf. NSW Government and North Sydney Council agreed that
the area should be developed as a recreational area as North Sydney
lacked such facilities. Tenders were called for its use for public
amusements. The tender was won by Hermann Phillips of Melbourne
who formed Luna Park (NSW) Pty Ltd and commenced a twenty year lease
on 11 May 1935.
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