Abstract
The Rocks is the historic neighbourhood on the western side of Sydney Cove. It rises steeply behind George Street and the shores of west Circular Quay to the heights of Observatory Hill. It was named The Rocks by convicts who made homes there from 1788, but has a much older name, Tallawoladah, given by the first owners of this country, the Cadigal people. Tallawoladah, the rocky headland of Warrane (Sydney Cove), had massive outcrops of rugged sandstone, and was covered with dry sclerophyll forest of pink-trunked angophora, blackbutt, red bloodwood and Sydney peppermint. The Cadigal probably burnt the bushland here to keep the country open. Archaeological evidence shows that they lit cooking fires high on the slopes, and shared meals of barbecued fish and shellfish. Perhaps they used the highest places for ceremonies and rituals. Down below, Cadigal women fished the waters of Warrane in bark canoes.
Highlights
After the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Tallawoladah became the convicts' side of the town
The 1820s and 1830s were marked by the expansion and consolidation of trade, as the houses, stores and wharves of merchants and ship-owners expanded right around Dawes Point to Millers Point and Cockle Bay ( Darling Harbour).[6]
In 1843, convict gangs were put to work on a cut right through the ridge at the heart of The Rocks, extending Argyle Street to connect Sydney Cove with the booming area of Darling Harbour
Summary
The Rocks is the historic neighbourhood on the western side of Sydney Cove It rises steeply behind George Street and the shores of west Circular Quay to the heights of Observatory Hill. It was named The Rocks by convicts who made homes there from 1788, but has a much older name, Tallawoladah, given by the first owners of this country, the Cadigal people. They built traditional vernacular houses, first of wattle and daub, with thatched roofs, later of weatherboards or rubble stone, roofed with timber shingles They fenced off gardens and yards, established trades and businesses, built bread ovens and forges, opened shops and pubs, and raised families. The dynamic Mary Reibey, who arrived as a convict in 1791, started out from a small house in The Rocks, amassed a fortune from trade and shipping, built a number of fine houses in Sydney and raised a large family.[4]
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