Between a rock and hard place: Pyrmont relic set for destruction

BY GEORGIA CLARK
In Pyrmont, locals are rallying against the demolition of a relic of the suburb’s colonial history. The destruction of a 19th century home and carpark is imminent, as property developers undertake an archaeological survey on the 2,300 metre land on Harris and Mount St and its yellow stone sandstone remnants in preparation for its excavation.

The development received the green light from the City of Sydney Council for demolition late last year, and is set to be converted into 14 new residential dwellings at a cost of $39,050,000.

Local Pyrmont worker, Paul Gye, has been outspoken about his opposition to the development. He says that the yellow stone massif on the site is “one of the last intact portions [in] Pyrmont” and is calling on City of Sydney Councillors to carefully inspect the area to reconsider its destruction.

“The site includes remains relevant to some well-known names in Sydney history, such as the Saunders family, who quarried Pyrmont stone and shipped it over for some of Sydney’s most beautiful buildings,” he said.

But the developer TWT Property Group Pty Ltd says the design, executed by Tzannes Architects, reinstates the historic terrace streetscape and includes a palate with sandstone excavated from the site to reflect the area’s heritage.

The General Manager of TWT, Stephen Fitzpatrick, said they are “proud to be part of this process of learning about the heritage of the site,” saying that Tzannes Architects are well known for respecting heritage and that the artefacts will be mostly repurposed.

“Where possible, recyclable sandstone will be reused on front and back façades of the Harris Street terraces and the ground level of Mount Street terraces. The archaeologist has proposed to TWT that artefacts discovered during excavation be donated to a teaching University with a focus on archaeology… alternatively, TWT may use the artefacts as display items within the development. There were no existing building or structures that could have been preserved,” he said.

But another community member, Elizabeth Elenius from Pyrmont Action Group, said that while she didn’t oppose the initial DA, the discovery of remnants of the 19th century building was a game changer.

“With this discovery I now believe that the remnants must be preserved. I can’t speak for the whole community but Pyrmont Action would like preservation of the early Pyrmont village remnants, some of which date back to the 1850s,” she said.

Conditions of the DA not only require excavation to immediately stop if any archaeological items are found, but also requires a Geotechnical Report, which requires sandstone of suitable quality to be recycled. A City of Sydney spokesperson said the DA made sufficient provisions to protect the heritage of the site.

“The applicant’s Heritage Impact Statement considers the modifications made to the proposed development to be minor in relation to the heritage fabric. The applicant is seeking to retain existing heritage items. The heritage listed terrace on the site at 63 Harris Street is being retained, the sandstone wall adjoining the Pyrmont Community Centre is being repaired and restored, and all archaeological work is being carried out in accordance with NSW Heritage Council requirements,” they said.

But Mr Gye expressed concern that the archaeological report, which will include full details of the site’s significance, won’t be available until after demolition of the site.

“As this site will shortly be entirely erased, and deeply scoured out – to the extent it will accommodate three basement levels – it seems unconscionable that the City of Sydney’s elected representatives remain unaware of the beauty, complexity and rich story that resides there and which relates so directly to the story of Sydney,” he said.

A City of Sydney spokesperson said that section 96 applications to modify the approved development proposal are open until the 25th May. But Mr Gye says allowance should have been made for reconsideration of the development following the archaeological survey.

“It’s the last intact, accessible remnant of the globally-renowned Pyrmont sandstone massif, which preserves both its original natural form – including rock pools and watercourses – as well as the quarrymens’ markings of its exploitation.

“Secondly, it bears the extensive residue of early residential, Victorian Pyrmont – the sandstone village across the water that provided the genesis of the ‘City of Villages’ and its iconic, sandstone heritage,” he said.

But Mr Gye says the site should not have been conceptualized as “derelict” based on the conclusions of the Heritage Impact Statement and the Archaeological Assessment, which he says were based largely on previous archeological surveys conducted by other consultants and not provided to the public.

“The development application was premised on the baseless assumption that the site had effectively become barren waste ground unlikely to yield anything of significance,” he said.

While the usual DA process was undertaken, Mr Gye says that the site’s history warranted more consideration.

“While the DA process was undertaken correctly, it was resolved too flippantly and without all the information available about the site… the site flew under the heritage radar in private hands and never attracted any kind of consideration for heritage listing.

“The heritage impact statement provided by the developer in the DA was woefully inadequate,” he said.

But according to Mr Fitzpatrick, an extensive public consultation process was undertaken.

“Community information and feedback sessions were conducted in two sessions in June 2016, the sessions were promoted to 70 neighbouring residences and business as well as local community groups,” he said.

Mr Gye argues that the site’s history may be better preserved if used for public purposes, such as a “community facility with educational functions … which preserves the remains in situ.”

“The City of Sydney rightfully bemoans the loss of public institutions such as the Powerhouse Museum – yet it is overlooking a golden opportunity to create one here that is relevant to both the local community and the entire city,” he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick argues however that the most appropriate use of the land is as residential dwellings, which he says were “repeatedly praised by the City of Sydney for [their] architectural and urban design sensitivity.”