A Postcard in my collection. An Oceanic Series litho postcard. Mint. Sydney, Bridge St/Macquarie St c1905. A triangular park, Macquarie Place, was the first formally laid out Park in Australia. It was created in 1810 as the first English style common square in the colony. Bridge St is to the right and Loftus St, which runs down to Circular Quay, is behind the Park.in this view. The Obelisk in the centre of the park marks the point from which all road mileages and towns are measured, while the statue in the foreground is of Sir Thomas Mort, an important colonial industrialist and philanthropist. Loo at the lovely horse bus in the image. Once rather prolific on the streets of Sydney, the coming of the tramways all but killed of their trade or they were pushed away from the competing tramways and into the suburbs. I am not too familiar with Sydneys Horse Buses, so I went to an expert who has done extensive study on the Sydney horse buses. He writes: The Crown Street bus line was one of the last running in the city area. It was operated by the Thomas and later John Stewart with a fleet of about 17 vehicles but apparently only three in use at any time. They eventually sold their business in 1912. The bus itself dates from the 1890s and is a standard American type turtle-back roofed bus with a knifeboard seat on the roof arch originally accessed by a rug ladder on the back. In the late 1890s as the industry declined due to tram competition it was made easier to climb and staircases were added to allow women to travel upstairs; hence the decency boards. Some, like this bus, offloaded passengers towards the centre of the road and were considered dangerous. It is possible that this bus was an ex-Sydney Tramway and & Omnibus Co vehicle as the paint style is similar.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 12:24:57 +0000
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