Circular Quay Sea Wall

When constructed, the Circular Quay seawall was horseshoe-shaped with the circular end being at the south. It was of sandstone quarried from Cockatoo Island and Bennelong Point, and was built between 1837 and 1844, by convicts under Colonial Engineer George Barney. Its construction included reclamation of the estuary of the Tank Stream back to Bridge Street – an area of about 10 hectares, and converting the stream into a sewer.

From 1936, the appearance of Circular Quay was dramatically changed with the construction of a railway viaduct and station, and later the elevated Cahill Expressway above the viaduct. This involved ‘squaring off’ the southern end of the quay. A concrete deck supported on timber piles was constructed in the water cutting off the semi-circular section of the quay; it was connected to the existing hard-stand, with this work being completed around 1943. The caissons to support the Circular Quay railway and station were sunk into the harbour. The work necessitated construction of new ferry wharves. The station was opened on 20 January 1956 and the elevated Cahill Expressway was officially opened on 24 March 1958. It is assumed that the original seawall still exists under the 1936-1943 deck.