MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
203 
ARCHITECTURE OF NEW SOUTH 
WALES. 
A stranger visiting this colony cannot 
fail to be struck with the resemblance 
which the streets and houses bear to those 
of second-rate English towns. In the 
villas in the neighbourhood of the city 
he will observe that verandahs are more 
common than at home, and that the ex¬ 
terior window shutters (called jalousies on 
the continent) are far more frequent than 
he has been accustomed to see in England. 
In many respects Sydney houses will not 
compare with the English residences ; the 
rooms are smaller and less lofty, and the 
arrangements for ventilation are very im¬ 
perfect. 
It must be evident that the wide differ¬ 
ence in the climate of the two countries 
would render desirable some modification 
of the English type of house. Our archi¬ 
tects do not seem to have had sufficient cou¬ 
rage to strike out a new path, and design 
a style of residence adapted to the climate. 
In one respect the Sydney architects and 
builders are decidedly original —that is, in 
constructing houses, the walls of which arc 
not rectangular. There are hundreds of 
dwellings in Sydney and some of the most 
considerable public buildings that possess 
this unfortunate peculiarity. We need 
only mention the Treasury, the Commer¬ 
cial Bank, the new Oriental Bank, the 
Union Bank, and the Herald office, in 
support of our assertion. 
Our street architecture is marred by 
the irregularities caused by old buildings 
which project on the present line of tho¬ 
roughfare, and by the squalid liuts which 
in many parts are attached to fine build¬ 
ings and occupy valuable situations. These 
defects time only will rectify,- but it is 
impossible to avoid wishing that, in the 
infancy of the colony some comprehensive 
and forecasting mind -had not laid down 
a regular plan for the formation of the 
streets and thoroughfares, and that Go¬ 
vernment did not reserve the water front¬ 
age for public use. 
Perhaps there is no spot more favoured 
in the world by nature for the establish¬ 
ment of a noble city. The numerous 
indentations of the harbour might have 
been lined with wide quays ; the abun¬ 
dant supply of excellent stone and the 
durable quality of our timber might have 
imparted uniformity and grandeur to our 
No. 10, Blarcli, 1858. 
streets; but, instead of these attractive 
qualities,We behold narrow and crooked 
streets, irregularly-built houses, and we 
are prevented from obtaining access to 
the sea-shore except at very limited por¬ 
tions, by the rights of private property. 
There is one feature in the modem build¬ 
ings of Sydney which we contemplate with 
alarm : it is the rapid spread of American 
pine used for the floors and interior fit— 
tin A; of the houses. We all know what 
destructive fires take place in American 
cities, and easily account for the devasta¬ 
tion caused by them, when we consider the 
timber of which the houses are constructed. 
Hitherto Sydney has enjoyed a fortu¬ 
nate exemption from fire may un¬ 
doubtedly be ascribed to the difficulty 
with wdiich the native timber is ignited. 
It is much to be regretted that motives of 
economy should be allowed to induce 
builders to expose not only their own 
property, but that of their neighbours, to 
destruction. We are very far from advo¬ 
cating a protectionist policy, and calling 
for a duty on imported timber ; hut we do 
think that some restriction might he im¬ 
posed either by the municipality or the 
Government, in the employment of this 
timber in hazardous situations or in public 
works, more especially as the superior 
economy of the native hard-w r ood is de¬ 
monstrable when time is taken as an ele¬ 
ment in the calculation. 
But we have wandered from the theme 
with which we set out. We simply wished 
to express our opinion that the present style 
of architecture in Sydney, however -well 
it may be adapted for the latitude of Eng¬ 
land is not suited for this climate. We 
want more verandahs, loftier rooms, larger 
windows, and better ventilation, drain¬ 
age and water supply. The Kegistrar- 
General tells us that Sydney is shewn by 
the tables of mortality to be a very un¬ 
healthy place ; and the Health Officer 
traces much of the disease to the improper 
construction of the houses. 
It is extremely important, then, that 
some new plans should be tried, and we 
believe that a large amount of fame and 
profit would reward the architect who 
should devise some elegant and practicable 
plaus for the construction of more salu¬ 
brious dwellings adapted to the climate 
of New South Wales. 
