Vision of the past

City Road Gates and Gatekeeper's Lodge C1920

Where it all started

Early Master Plans

Post-war expansion

Regaining the vision

When its doors were first opened to residents of New South Wales in 1850, the University of Sydney was accommodated within the CBD in buildings now occupied by Sydney Grammar School.

In 1855, the Government gave the University a small parcel of land at Grose Farm. Architect Edmund Blacket prepared the first plans for the University's original building - the Quadrangle. As one of the country's best examples of Gothic Revival architecture, the Quadrangle was planned and developed over a number of years. By 1862, the Great Tower, now a focal point of the University had been completed.

The south-west corner of the Quadrangle, designed by Government Architect Walter Liberty Vernon, was completed in 1909. The University's own Professor of Architecture, Leslie Wilkinson, designed the northern and western wings added in the 1920s along with the Zoology, Physics and Edward Ford buildings.

The University's early sandstone buildings were located along a prominent ridge to make the most of views across to the city. Plans for the campus were prepared by architects including Walter Burley Griffin. While his plan was considered an 'admirable harmonious plan' it was considered impractical and expensive and never implemented, although it did influence later work.

Perhaps the most influential of all the plans for the physical development of the campus was Professor Wilkinson's 1920 Master Plan. It built along the earlier vision of sight lines and planning axes, placing a strong sense of order on the existing fabric that is still evident today. These reference points and sight lines also linked the campus to its surroundings particularly Victoria Park and the cityscape beyond. From the outside looking in, the idea was to create a quality façade that would be the University's 'face' to the wider community.

In the 1800s, bequests established new professorships, research flourished and, in response to this growth, the Government provided finance for the Medical School building. A bequest from Thomas Fisher drew additional funding from the State for a library in the south-west corner of the Quadrangle. The original reading room of this library became McLaurin Hall after the Fisher library was opened in the 1960s.

Much of the building work from the 1920s to the 1940s was in a Mediterranean style which Professor Wilkinson thought more appropriate to Australian conditions than the earlier Gothic styles. Such buildings include the Physics building (below) and the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

World War II had an enormous impact on the University. Several hastily built 'transient' buildings (right) were constructed to cope with the influx of veterans under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. The post-war years marked the beginning of a new phase of expansion in student numbers, curriculum and facilities.

In the late 1950s, an increase in Government funding paved the way for a building program and the University extended the campus across City Road, gradually acquiring most of the suburb of Darlington.

Rapid expansion continued into the 1960s and 1970s and the campus was reorganised into precincts. The City Road footbridge linked the two sides of campus and created a major thoroughfare along Eastern Avenue. The plethora of buildings constructed during this period include Carslaw (left), Chemistry, Bosch, Stephen Roberts Theatre, Merewether, Peter Nicol Russell and many of the Engineering buildings.

During this time, the city views were largely blocked out and the grander vision for the campus was lost.

Since the late 1970s, the University of Sydney has acquired a number of satellite campuses - Rozelle, Cumberland and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. On the Camperdown and Darlington campuses it has been a time of modifying existing buildings for different purposes.

Campus 2010 aims to protect and recapture the University's rich architectural heritage. With reference to Wilkinson's master plan of the 1920s, Campus 2010 will restore the vistas and sight lines and create complimentary landscaping that links and highlights the buildings on campus.

Creating a united campus will happen through visual and physical linkages between the Camperdown and Darlington campuses. Traditional and modern architecture will be integrated through the Public Domain project.