Then and Now photographs Volume 2

Then and Now Photographs: Volume 2. Sutherland Shire The following sets of photographs take historic images from the Sutherland Shire, south of Sydney, Australia, and compare them to a modern photograph taken from the same location. Many of the historic photos are from the Sutherland Shire Library and some are from the Howard Stanley Collection. More information on the history and archaeology of these places can be found at: https://sydney.academia.edu/GregJackson The Howard Stanley Collection: This is a collection of around 90 black and white photographs of the Royal National Park taken between 1885 and 1975. The originals are held at the Royal National Park office, Audley and a digital copy is held at the Sutherland Shire Library and the Sutherland Shire Historical Societies Museum in Venetia Street, Sylvania. Howard James Stanley was a career public servant starting as a junior clerk in the Police Department around 1930 and retiring as Assistant Director National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1971. This photographic album is an important source of information on how the park has evolved. The modern photographs were mostly taken by Pam Forbes and Greg Jackson.  Then and Now: Como Train Bridge From the Sutherland Shire Library Master File MF004852 photograph between 1901 and 1945 looking south. Note the double (gauntlet) tracks. The old Como railway bridge is a State Heritage listed former railway bridge now used for foot traffic and to support water mains. It is owned by Sydney Water. It was built from 1883 to 1885 and is a fine example of a single-track steel lattice girder bridge of the 1870s and 1880s. Como is the longest single track steel lattice girder bridge in NSW. The double tracks converged to a single "gauntlet track" on the bridge, which enabled trains to cross in either direction without chain points. It was one of only a few installations of this type in NSW. Its completion led to the opening up of what is now the Sutherland Shire. The old Como railway bridge was finally superseded in 1972 by a new double track, reinforced concrete bridge, built alongside the existing bridge. Photograph from the same location 2024  Then and Now: The Spillway at Audley, looking north The bridge over the spillway at the southern end of the causeway at Audley, Royal National Park, in about 1920. Photo from the Howard Stanley Collection, Image No. RNP059. The same view in 2021. A fish ladder runs under the road in the same location as the spillway to allow native fish access to the freshwater section of the upper Hacking River  Then and Now: Spillway at Audley and the road south The spillway at the southern end of the causeway and the road south (then called Lady Carrington Drive) in the Royal National Park. Photographed about 1920. Photo from the Howard Stanley Collection, Image No. RNP060 . The same scene 100 years later, in 2021. Then and Now: Lugarno Picnic Grounds and Tea Rooms (Now called Delardes Reserve, Illawong) The image below of Delardes reserve, then called Lugarno Picnic Grounds, was taken around 1910. It shows the picnic grounds, tea rooms and house of David Albone who owned the park. Mr Albone was also the ferry master and owned the general store on the hill above. The small boatshed on the riverbank west of the jetty was his personal boatshed. Although the dance hall and kiosk has long gone the stone wharf shown survives little altered but having lost its timbers and today is used by fisherman. This pleasure ground was a stop for the large paddle steamer Telephone on its route to and from the Parkesvale Pleasure Ground (opposite Picnic Point) from 1899 till about WW1. The photo below was taken from a similar location. The Lugarno picnic ground has become a public park in Griffin Parade Illawong called the ‘Albert Delardes Reserve’. The old kiosk has largely disappeared under a modern house. The photo below shows the only remains that I can find, a footing probably for a veranda, cut into the rock above Delardes Reserve south of Griffin Pde.  Then and Now: Lugarno Ferry looking south The hand powered Lugarno ferry operated from this location from about 1887 till 1973. The ferry was powered by hand till around 1928 when it was replaced by a diesel-powered ferry. The original ferry crossing, built by convicts in 1843, is located 300m downstream and is visible at low tide. Photo looking south from Lugarno towards Illawong. Lugarno Ferry looking south towards Illawong c1900. From the Sutherland Shire Library. The lack of vegetation on the riverbank is probably the result of commercial firewood gathering for the houses of Sydney. The same scene in the 1960’s taken from approximately the same spot. A settlement of over 20 houses had sprung up around the ferry landing. However, their land tenure was not secure, and they were demolished in the 1980’s. The same scene in 2024. Note the proliferation of mangroves. Photo P. Forbes  Then and Now: Lugarno Ferry looking north The hand powered Lugarno ferry operated from this location from about 1887 till 1973. The ferry was powered by hand till around 1928 when it was replaced by a diesel-powered ferry. The original ferry crossing, built by convicts in 1843, was located 300m downstream and is visible at low tide. Photo looking north from Illawong towards Lugarno. Lugarno Ferry looking north from Illawong towards Lugarno in 1922. From the Sutherland Shire Library The same scene in 2024 Photo P. Forbes  Then and Now: Pool Flat Picnic Area Audley Pool Flat downstream from the Audley causeway, Royal National Park, in 1939. With a wharf, shark proof net across the river, kiosk and change sheds. Sutherland Shire Library MF00327 The same scene in 2024.  Then and Now: Parkesvale Parkesvale was a large pleasure ground on the Georges River opposite Picnic Point. It operated from 1899 to around 1910 with up to 800 patrons dancing to a live band on a Saturday night. Parkesvale had no road access with visitors being ferried from Como railway station on the big ferry Telephone (shown below) which had a capacity of 350 persons. Parkesvale is a short walk north from Sandy Point. It was once privately owned but is now part of the Georges River National Park. Hand tinted postcard of Parkesvale c1905 with the large ferry Telephone and private craft at the wharf. Note the smoke from the service buildings on the hill above. The same scene today. Sand mining, 4x4 vehicles and trail bikes have taken a heavy toll. Remains of the service buildings at Parkesvale can be found in the bush above the river flat. Photo David Forbes  Then and Now: Schofield’s Boatshed Woronora J. Schofield’s Boatshed. Photographed from the low-level Woronora Bridge, looking south, between 1910 and 1930. Reproduction from Sutherland Shire Library Master File: MF003459 A photo taken from the current low-level Woronora Bridge in 2024. There is no sign of the boatshed but much of its rock wall appears to remain. Closer inspection reveals concrete wall footings and beamslots, from the boatshed, still to be seen up against the stone cliffs behind the green picnic shed. The creek, visible in the earlier photo, is now enclosed in a culvert.