Harbour west from Millers Point 1798. J. Heath, By water to Parramatta, with a distant view of the western mountains, taken from the Windmill-hill at Sydney.

Foot

Not only did generations of Aboriginal people traverse this peninsula on their (bare) feet: so did most of the new population. Pyrmont’s early industries employed large numbers for long hours, and r

Ships

It is impossible to overstate the symbolic as well as the real significance of shipping in Australia, a country ‘girt by sea’. British colonists arrived in world-class ships, and for many years re

Horses

Like other quarries, Saunders used Clydesdale horses to pull blocks of stone to building sites: it was common – if awe-inspiring – to see timber jinkers haul huge loads through the streets. In 18

Trains

The Sydney Railway Company (formed in 1848) built a freight terminal at Darling Harbour and opened the access rail line in 1855. Tied to the fate of Darling Harbour, the rail service struggled for cus

Trams

Between 1879 and the 1950s, trams carried most Sydney travellers. The first (1861-1866) was horse-drawn. In 1879 a steam tramway was initiated: electrification started in 1898. By the 1920s, the syste

Fleet of Morris Commercial Leader ton lorries for sugar cartage, 1939

Trucks

In 1937 CSR began to purchase motor vehicles, perhaps because horses found it difficult to gain a foothold on newly sealed roads. In any case the NSW Wide Tyre Ordinance of 1935 limited the loads that

Cars

The first motor vehicle landed in Sydney in 1900, and well-to-do families quickly embraced the chance to travel as whole families; but Pyrmont’s narrow streets and poor families were hardly affected