Things Past Part 1: Glassons Foundry

I love this fading sign from a former era, and the patchwork of bricks forming the wall. This is in the Wolli Creek / Tempe House development area. The contrast is stark. Geographers call this kind of development "brownfields" (as opposed to "greenfields", where there has been nothing previously.)

I have mixed feelings about it. High rise development brings more traffic, and light industrial areas are forced to move further afield, meaning working class jobs are kept "out of sight" and further and further from the centre of the city. Affordable housing in the immediate area is replaced by apartments for white-collar workers (average prices for these boxes are $400 000 and upwards for 2 bedrooms). Still, more homes are needed for an expanding population, and there must be limits to the sprawl of big cities, surely? This area is close to established public transport as well. Maybe I'm just fuelled by a misplaced sense of nostalgia?

No, this tricycle isn't on the pavement, and I haven't tilted the camera; it's actually suspended on the wall of a factory called AFCO All Metal Work. It's the same building outside which yesterday's chair was positioned. So, imagine looking up at it - do you feel a little dizzy?

Have a seat!

This chair sits outside a furniture factory/direct sale outlet on the Princes Highway at Arncliffe. But there was certainly nowhere for your intrepid blogger to sit!

Brickpit chimneys, Sydney Park

Over the last two days I've showed a couple of different aspects of Sydney Park at St Peters, in the inner southern suburbs of Sydney.
This park is less than 20 years old. The site was used for clay extraction for making bricks, and then rubbish disposal. These are the brick pit chimneys (which are just visible on the skyline in yesterday's picture.)

Holroyd Gardens 2

Holroyd Gardens is a new housing estate, built on the site of a former brick and tile making works, consisting of a shale pit (now a beautiful park), and a large complex of manufacturing buildings. The remains of the brickworks have been incorporated into the development and are a great example of urban industrial archaeology being married with the need to accommodate more housing. Please have a look at more of the the site photos at Sydney Daily Photo Extra.

Holroyd Gardens

What was this machinery used for? Answer tomorrow!

Children's bike track, Sydney Park

This is a great place for young children to practice their developing bicycling skills in a safe road traffic education area.

The chimneys in the background are also a feature of Sydney Park - they are remnants of the former brickworks on the site.