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1788
The Cadigal called it Tallawoladah, and the colony called it a slum
The Rocks was established soon after the colony was founded in 1788. The Cadigal people called it Tallawoladah. The first buildings were of wattle and daub with thatched roofs, and later of local sandstone, which gave the area its name. From early on it had a reputation as a slum and as the convicts' side of town. After November 1790 many of its inhabitants were also Aboriginal.
Church Hill
Convicts burned down the first church in 1798
Governor Arthur Phillip made church attendance on Sunday compulsory for all convicts, until they rebelled and burned down the area's first church in 1798. On 1 October 1800, the incoming Governor Philip Gidley King had the foundation stone laid for St Philip's Church, which he proclaimed one of Australia's first two parishes in 1802.
1900
Plague and a new bridge threatened the old buildings
By the early 20th century many historic buildings were in serious decay. When bubonic plague broke out in 1900, the state government took over areas around The Rocks and Darling Harbour to demolish and rebuild them. More than 3,800 houses, buildings and wharves were inspected and hundreds demolished before World War I stopped the plans. In the 1920s several hundred more buildings were demolished for the Harbour Bridge.
The green ban
Residents and a union stopped the demolition
In 1971 a group of residents formed the Rocks Residents Group to oppose plans to demolish most of the original buildings and rebuild them as high-density housing. They asked the Builders Labourers Federation for a green ban, which the union imposed by 1973. Demonstrations followed, with many arrests. The ban stayed in place until 1975 and succeeded, as the surviving buildings show.
Today
About 100 stalls fill the market every weekend
Today The Rocks is a tourist precinct, very popular because of its closeness to Circular Quay and its views of the Harbour Bridge. The Rocks Market operates each weekend, with around 100 stalls. At the 2021 census 629 people were living there.
Day 1, afternoon
It comes after Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Then Sydney Harbour Bridge.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article The Rocks, New South Wales, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.