How a clever reno restored this Sydney heritage spot to its former glory
Since the time when Bounty mutiny survivor William Bligh was Governor, the Rum Rebellion was being fomented and a skilled convict labourer cost three shillings a day, families have lived along a ramshackle laneway up from the harbour’s edge.
And now a series of old terraced homes on Long’s Lane at The Rocks, dating as far back as 1806, and only saved from demolition by a community campaign, are finally being restored back to their former heritage glory.
Dr Wayne Johnson, archaeologist with the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, at the renovated terraces.Credit: Nick Moir
“It’s wonderful to see as this precinct contains a really interesting piece of our history,” said Dr Wayne Johnson, an archaeologist with the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, who’s been studying the area for the past two decades. “We know it’s been here since 1806 and it’s been featured on early plans of Sydney, with people living there back then.
“At first, it was convicts, then later it became known as ‘Maori Lane’ because a lot of Maori whalers lived there, and then in the Gold Rush days, sailors would jump ship and stay there before going to the goldfields. We know of one hiding under the floorboards of a house until he was caught and sent back.”
The 18 old houses and shops were originally earmarked to be demolished in the 1960s and replaced by high-rise commercial towers. The proposal stirred such a backlash from locals, however, that the Government backed down. The 1980s saw another scheme for an 800-bed hotel that never, eventually, went ahead.
But now the properties are having their heritage features carefully restored, while their interiors are adapted for modern living, ready to be put up for private sale.
A historical view of Long’s Lane.Credit: Wentworth Capital
Architect Tim Greer of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer said many of the houses, dating from 1806 to the mid-1880s, were so solid and well built, standing on the harbour’s sandstone bedrock, they’d lasted well.
“I think the joy of restoring them was realising that, a very long time ago, this used to be a thriving residential neighbourhood sitting on the eastern slope of the harbour,” he said. “And now people will go back to live in them, and have families and continue its tradition, which is really exciting.
