The way points of this bicycle route:
Take the ferry from Circular Quay to start this historical tour. Balmain was the oldest industrial suburb of Sydney complete with ship building, coal mining, stevedoring and related industries. To say nothing of politicians, artists and of course the notorious Balmain Nellie Boys. More later...
Look across at Goat Island. Imagine a big rectangle between Goat Island, Mort Bay and Balls Head. This is roughly the extent of the old Balmain coal mine - the energy source for all this industry and for bunkering operations. It was a gassy, watery affair and a great drain on the pockets and patience of its gullible English shareholders until closed after WWII
What a public school should look like!
Mort Bay was the site of Sydney's early shipbuilding and associated industries. You are facing the oldest dry dock in the early colony. Cameron St at the top of the park was where the forges and metal workers had their sites. Balmain subdivisions were for workers to build smalll, cheap dwellings and serve the industries around them.
Until around 1980 Mort Bay was the container terminal for our NZ trade. It was a 24 hour, noisey operation. Looking uptowards Ballast Point Rd you will see a 1960s red brick block of flats that has turned its back on the view because it was so noisy and unsightly.
The old Caltex oil terminal. Now being turned into a beautiful park at tax payers expense for the benefit of all Sydney-siders especially the 'nimby millionaires' of Balllast Point as they have been described!
Original home of the mighty Balmain Tigers. Host to many early sporting events of a cricket and league nature. She the Danger Shark sign. A dog was taken by a shark in Snail Bay in the 1980s. The council was quick to respond!
This is where the rich people live. It was also consideered as a possible site for a harbour crossing - not far from the north shore, see! But the idea didn't get that far. Lots of actors, writers, barristers, judges regularly prang their cars along here on the way home from work functions. It is very narrow!
Remember the coal mine. This was the site of the shaft that led to a decline that reached the mine via the northern shore of Mort Bay.
Loook across to Cockatoo Island. Until 1990 the site of a major defence repair dock for submarines and other vessels
This used to be the Monsanto chemical factory. It was why Packer bought the company, so he could develop the site. Go carefully down the hill!
We are now immediatly below Leichhardt Oval - home of the Mighty Tigers! (now Wests Tigers rather than Balmain Tigers)
Not a bad cafe if you like good coffee... and dogs
Check out the Balmain-ites going about their shopping. You will have heard of 'Balmain basket weavers', 'Balmain boys don't cry' etc etc - a rich cultural soup.
See that beautiful glass fronted house up there? That's where we aare stopping for lunch!
HP, the Father of Federation, lived in this rather nice house. UTS tried to buy it for their vice Chancellor but were howled down by the students!
Their smart new HQ
Hopee you enjoyed your tour!
