From a land with moderately fertile soil and waterways that provided food and habitat for the aborigines, other fauna and abundant birdlife industrial activity in the Homebush Bay area, beginning in the early 19th century, led to far-reaching environmental change.
The first modifications began with the set up of the saltworks on the Blaxland Estate. Over the next 180 years, the following industries occurred around Homebush Bay:
When emigrating to the colony, Blaxland brought out a superintendent from the Lymington Salt Works, one Mr Rutter, and a number of salt workers to construct ' a manufactory for salt.' a venture pressed on him by the British Ministry. They set about building an embankment over the Parramatta River tidal flats to contain the incoming waters, the area now occupied by the northern part of Blaxland Common. By 1827 eight tones of salt a week was supplied to Sydney. A Board of Survey reported in 1831 that the colonial salt "was of the best kind".
Map showing the area of the abandoned salt works in the north of
Newington Estate, west of Jamieson Street.
Blaxland also set up a factory in 1816-17 for the 'manufacture of blankets and tweed'. Most of the large estates established such cottage industries in the name of self sufficiency, but Newington apparently 'employed a great number of spinners and weavers' to make 'a kind of serge out of the wool, dyeing it with indigo' which 'a tailor turned into clothes for Blaxland's workmen and Chinese and women servants,' his daughter records long after the event. There were also enough deposits of calcium carbonate to warrant establishing lime kilns at the site. As well as being the saving grace of mortar, shovelled into the kilns the shells of discarded meals were incinerated to create quick lime used for dressing soils with a low calcium or lime content, the failing of most Sydney soils.
In the late 1840s, a Sydney firm, Scott and Jolley, purchased the timber rights for a portion of bush on the Newington Estate, erecting a steam saw bench on the banks of Duck River on Blaxland land. With the building of the Sydney to Parramatta railway in the 1850s the same firm won the contract to supply railway builders with sleepers and heavy sawn timber. Subsequently the Australian Timber Company was formed in 1855 to exploit the remaining stands of timber here. After the opening of the 'iron-way' in 1858 wood was required to fire the first railway locomotive, and there was also strong demand for fire-wood in the growing settlements of Parramatta and Sydney.
At the beginning of the 1900s, concerns that the public abattoir at Glebe Island was endangering the health of the general public were heightened following the outbreak of the plague in Sydney. A Parliamentary Standing Committee was appointed in 1902 to inquire into the proposal for a new abattoir. In 1906 the Committee recommended the establishment of an abattoir at Homebush. In March 1907, the Government resumed 367 hectares of the Homebush Estate, mainly for the establishment of the new State Abattoir. Construction began in 1910 and comprised the erection of 44 slaughterhouses, administration buildings, stabling, by-products treatment buildings, latrines, drafting yards and roadways.
State Abattoir administration building c.1913
The Abattoirs were officially opened in 1913 however processing did not commence fully for a further 12 months. By 1923 the Homebush Abattoir was the biggest of its kind in the Commonwealth and employed up to 1600 men. It had a killing capacity of 18000 to 20000 sheep, 1500 cattle, 2000 pigs and 1300 calves per day. By-products of the works included tallow, dripping, fertiliser, oil, sinews, hoofs, hair, glue pieces, bones and horns, all of which were sold at profit. In the 1930s, algal blooms were abundant in Homebush Bay because of the dumping of waste material from carcases. In the early 1950s Auburn Council erected a sign at the nearby Silverwater Baths - 'Danger - Polluted Water - Sharks.' The baths were near the Silverwater Bridge and sharks were attracted there by effluent released into the river by the State Abattoir.
State Abattoir complex in 1969
Maintenance of the facility was a constant problem for the Abattoir administrators and following the Second World War, the State opted to decentralise slaughterhouses and a number of new abattoirs were established in country areas. In the 1960s at the commencement of meat exports, the facilities were modernised. This modernisation program between 1965 and 1976 saw the fitting of new machinery into old buildings and the patching and repair of degraded structures. $27,000,000 was spent upgrading facilities, although it appeared to be badly directed and wasted as the management appeared to lack clear direction and forward planning. In 1979, the facilities were assessed and found to be near the end of their economic life and all renovation work was ceased. The constant repair of aged buildings was stopped and export licenses were relinquished in 1980. The economic viability of the Abattoir declined until it was inevitable that it should close. A review of the operations of the Abattoir was undertaken in the early 1980s and it was decided to redevelop surplus land for industrial use. The area to the east of the administration buildings was endorsed as an Advanced Technology park at the beginning of 1984, previously known as Australia Centre. The Abattoir officially closed in June 1988.
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Following cessation of the quarrying activity, the Brickpit developed in a freshwater wetland. When bidding for the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games a number of possible uses for the brickpit were put forward, however, once the Green and Golden Bell Frog was found, the site was developed as water storage and frog habitat.
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