The Daily Telegraph Sydney revealed in layers By SIMON BENSON 22dec01 DEEP beneath the buildings of Broadway, a perfectly preserved tomb has been discovered which has unlocked a hidden history of Sydney.
Bulldozed in 1906 when bubonic plague and smallpox were discovered, the fractured remains of Sydney's most notorious slum have been protected intact from the day they were buried like a mini Pompeii. Now that history is beginning to be unearthed for the first time in a $1 million archeological dig by developers Australand, who want to build a $170 million apartment complex, dubbed Quadrant, on the site. Tales from the days of children playing in open sewers, the slaughterhouses of the area, early farming and rapid urbanisation have until now been virtually locked away in the crypt beneath 147-179 Broadway, Sydney. One of the largest archeological excavations ever in the city, experts claim it is only now opening a window into Sydney's often brutal beginnings as well as the roots of Sydney's ecological and social evolution. Buried beneath the 3m of fill are remnants of an ancient beach, stream and wilderness area that once played host to a lively indigenous community long before European occupation. Bones from the city's first slaughterhouses, a gold sovereign, shoes, crockery, coins and other household items belonging to some of Sydney's first urban residents have already been recovered – details of which will soon be released in the first report from Stage 1 of the project. With initial testing of the soil showing no residual traces of plague, volunteers are also being invited to join the dig – headed by archeologist Dana Mider. Australand plans to hold guided tours of the dig next month and much of what is recovered from the site will remain and form part of an exhibition. "We knew some of the history of the site but the more you dig the more you discover," said Australand's general marketing manager John Mortimer. Most people would know the site at Broadway as the battleground for a recent conflict between council, police and squatters who had occupied the buildings. It was also the home of the infamous live band venue the Phoenician Club which was closed down after 15-year-old Anna Wood died of an ecstasy overdose in 1995. But few would know that it was once the original shoreline of Blackwattle Bay, with beaches and a heavily wooded valley – home to the local Cadigal people. Its history is also written as one of Sydney's most notorious slums, which was eventually bulldozed and covered with 3m of fill. In 1906 it became the first suburb in Australia to be resumed for health reasons following an outbreak of bubonic plague, smallpox, typhoid and scarlet fever. "It gives us quite a story – from Aboriginal habitation and European settlements to the 20th century," NSW Heritage Office director Rosalind Strong said. "Sometimes people think archeology is about ancient Egypt or Peru but it can be as fascinating as excavations like this." © 2001 Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,3479591,00.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ from that date. This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
