Governor Lachlan Macquarie directed that a fort be built between December 1817 to February 1821 at Bennelong Point under the direction of Francis Greenway. The fort was named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie was a square fort with circular bastions at each corner and a castellated square tower.
The battery consisted of fifteen pieces of ordnance: ten 24-pounders and five 6-pounders. Three sides of the fort abutted
Sydney Harbour.
Fort Macquarie 1870.
The two-storey tower in the middle of the fort, housed a guardroom and storehouse. The tower was 90 ft in circumference. A
powder magazine capable of storing 350 barrels of gunpowder was constructed underneath and the tower could provide accommodation for a small military detachment of 1 officer and 18 men, with stores for the battery.
A drawbridge, on the landward side, over a small channel leading to a
gate beneath the tower provided entry to the fort.
Fort Macquarie was demolished in 1901 to make way for new electric tramway sheds named Fort Macquarie Tram Depot
Before the Opera House, the Fort Macquarie Tram Depot occupied this site. It was a huge shed with brick walls, built like a gothic castle, with fabulous harbour
views and tram tracks everywhere.
Fort Macquarie Tram Sheds 1940's
Fort Macquarie Tram Sheds before it was demolished in 1958
Next, the Opera House was a wonderful fantasy from a 1950s Labor Government who thought the masses should become more cultured. Especially after they had just destroyed the largest tram network in the Southern Hemisphere, with transport experts now saying this was the worst transport planning decision in the history of Australia.
The Fort Macquarie Tram Depot or
Sydney Tram Depot was built on Bennelong Point in
Sydney in 1901, on the site of the old Fort Macquarie. The depot was constructed in the design of a fortress with castellated ramparts in homage to the previous building. The depot operated from 1902 to 1955 before being demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the
Sydney Opera House, the site's current occupant.
The depot consisted of a 12 road shed, with loop line laid around the outside.
The loop and sidings on the western side of the depot were an important lay-over point for trams serving many lines. This took pressure away from
Circular Quay during busy periods. Entry to the depot and loop line was controlled from a signal box located adjacent to the tracks. Nothing remains of the depot; the buildings were totally razed to make way for the Opera House.
Trams in Circular Quay, early 20th century
from Fort Macquarie (some of these
services also commenced at
Circular Quay and Millers Point) were: Fort Macquarie to Rozelle Drummoyne Gladesville and Ryde
Fort Macquarie to Forest Lodge, Balmain and Birchgrove
Fort Macquarie to Haberfield, Five Dock and Abbotsford
Fort Macquarie to Leichhardt
Fort Macquarie to Glebe Point
Fort Macquarie to West Kensington
Fort Macquarie to Rosebery
Circular Quay to Railway Colonnade
With the closing of Fort Macquarie depot on 1955-10-22 most of the
services were transferred to Dowling Street depot.
I was down in
Sydney last weekend and took these next two photo's in the area.
Port Macquarie Tram Sheds Plaque at Circular Quay
The Opera House