Circa November 1927 - "Building Coogee Pier, NSW", Australia (restored version)
IMAGE INFO
- The photographer's viewpoint is looking south from the northern side of Coogee Beach.
- Although first plans for the pier were made by the developers in 1923 (during the post-war boom period), there were numerous planning & approval setbacks which delayed the actual start of construction until April 1926.
- I have re-dated this particular image to Circa November 1927 based on other construction progress photos & dated newspaper progress reports (available through Trove). The construction phase has progressed past the central widening seen in the previous images (where the bandstand will later be placed).
- Coogee Ocean Pier Co. had been granted a 28 year lease. The Pier was to extend 180 metres out across the middle of Coogee Beach & well into Coogee Bay. It was to boast space for 21,000 people, including a 1,400 seat theatre as well as numerous restaurants, shops & arcades.
- However, unlike the calmer waters at Brighton, the incessant pounding, powerful surf that regularly smashed into the pier with every south-easterly "blow" were unrelenting. Sadly for many Sydneysiders, Randwick Council & the Pier's management inevitably capitulated in the face of mounting & un-economical repair costs (repairs alone estimated at £4,000 in May 1933 (over $480,00 today).
- Indeed, by as far back as January 1930, the developers had already sunk £78,300 into the project - around $7,000,000 in todays money - unsuprisingly, they never made any profit during the short life of the project).
- Unsurprisingly then, with mounting financial losses over the period 1931-1933 the by-now-derelict pier remains were sold off for a relatively paltry £2,800 (around $230,000 today) & was finally demolished during the period December 1933-March 1934.
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SOURCE INFO
- One copy of a photoprint from the Hood Collection.
- The original was digitized by the State Library of New South Wales
- The digitized original was available from the SLNSW online collection (link unavailable).
******************************
CREDITS
- Sam Hood Collection for the original print.
- State Library of New South Wales for their valuable work in digitizing, archiving & making available online this rare historical content.
******************************
COPYRIGHT STATUS
- Per SLNSW advice:
Out of copyright: created before 1955.
Digital downloads may be used for research, review or study purposes.
- Regarding my own work in creating this unique cropped, restored & duo-toned version from the digitized original, I have applied "Attribution-Share Alike".
*******************************
PROCESS INFO
- I downloaded a copy of the digitized original (badly faded with uneven exposure).
- Using Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 8.0, I enlarged by approx. 250%, adjusted areas of uneven exposure, restored contrast & sharpness & used a dark sepia duo-tone curve for better tonal range.
Circa November 1927 - "Building Coogee Pier, NSW", Australia (restored version)
IMAGE INFO
- The photographer's viewpoint is looking south from the northern side of Coogee Beach.
- Although first plans for the pier were made by the developers in 1923 (during the post-war boom period), there were numerous planning & approval setbacks which delayed the actual start of construction until April 1926.
- I have re-dated this particular image to Circa November 1927 based on other construction progress photos & dated newspaper progress reports (available through Trove). The construction phase has progressed past the central widening seen in the previous images (where the bandstand will later be placed).
- Coogee Ocean Pier Co. had been granted a 28 year lease. The Pier was to extend 180 metres out across the middle of Coogee Beach & well into Coogee Bay. It was to boast space for 21,000 people, including a 1,400 seat theatre as well as numerous restaurants, shops & arcades.
- However, unlike the calmer waters at Brighton, the incessant pounding, powerful surf that regularly smashed into the pier with every south-easterly "blow" were unrelenting. Sadly for many Sydneysiders, Randwick Council & the Pier's management inevitably capitulated in the face of mounting & un-economical repair costs (repairs alone estimated at £4,000 in May 1933 (over $480,00 today).
- Indeed, by as far back as January 1930, the developers had already sunk £78,300 into the project - around $7,000,000 in todays money - unsuprisingly, they never made any profit during the short life of the project).
- Unsurprisingly then, with mounting financial losses over the period 1931-1933 the by-now-derelict pier remains were sold off for a relatively paltry £2,800 (around $230,000 today) & was finally demolished during the period December 1933-March 1934.
****************************
SOURCE INFO
- One copy of a photoprint from the Hood Collection.
- The original was digitized by the State Library of New South Wales
- The digitized original was available from the SLNSW online collection (link unavailable).
******************************
CREDITS
- Sam Hood Collection for the original print.
- State Library of New South Wales for their valuable work in digitizing, archiving & making available online this rare historical content.
******************************
COPYRIGHT STATUS
- Per SLNSW advice:
Out of copyright: created before 1955.
Digital downloads may be used for research, review or study purposes.
- Regarding my own work in creating this unique cropped, restored & duo-toned version from the digitized original, I have applied "Attribution-Share Alike".
*******************************
PROCESS INFO
- I downloaded a copy of the digitized original (badly faded with uneven exposure).
- Using Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 8.0, I enlarged by approx. 250%, adjusted areas of uneven exposure, restored contrast & sharpness & used a dark sepia duo-tone curve for better tonal range.