Chapter IV
BRIDGING ERAS: fROM WORKING WHARF TO HARBOURFRONT ICON
1925–1932
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Plans for a Sydney Harbour Bridge began construction in 1925 under engineer J.C.C. Bradfield. To accommodate the bridge, major changes occurred:
• Dawes Point Battery buildings were demolished, and cannons removed.
• A cable tramway and new infrastructure including a stone seawall, new buildings, wharves and slipways were constructed across the headland.
• Hickson Road was widened, reshaping the shoreline and removing earlier structures like the Marine Board boatsheds.
This extensive redevelopment reshaped the headland, including the very land where the Park Hyatt Sydney now stands, erasing traces of early colonial, military, and Aboriginal contact history. By 1932, all remnants of the original Dawes Point Battery were gone.
1932–1945
Dawes Point Reserve
The area became a park in 1932 with trees being planted at the headland throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1945, after the battery’s demolition, its cannons were returned from Taronga Zoo. Archaeological digs in 1995 uncovered the remains of the battery and its buildings, near the future site of Park Hyatt Sydney.
1950
New Water Police
In the 1950s, a new boathouse and office for the Water Police were built on the future site of Park Hyatt Sydney, where The Dining Room is currently located. Later, the Maritime Services Board remodelled the boatsheds and used Campbell’s Cove for their tender boats.
1986–1987
Circular Quay West Redevelopment
In 1986, the boat sheds and shoreline structures at Campbell’s Cove were demolished as part of a redevelopment project by the NSW Public Works Department. This aimed to open views of Sydney Cove, create a waterfront promenade, and accommodate tourism and leisure activities.
1987
Construction of Park Hyatt Sydney
To make way for Park Hyatt Sydney, construction began in 1987, following the demolition of two remaining boatsheds from 1918 and 1962, which were in poor condition. Various wharves and slipways along the cove were also removed.