Sydney in the 1990s
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2015
- Sydney As It Was
This video of Sydney dates from December 1993, and shows just how much a city can change in a generation. The Queen Victoria Building had only recently been restored in the late 1980s, but still has no awning, there are no aluminium multi-function SmartPoles, the now dismantled monorail had only been operating for five years, the award winning - and now demolished - Skygarden was setting new standards of inner city shopping centre design, the original Mid City Centre, built in the 1980s, was to be demolished in 2007, the Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre were major landmarks in Darling Harbour - both have now also been demolished - and none of the passers-by are peering into their smartphones, as these had yet to become ubiquitous.
Footage shot on Hi8 tape, later transferred to DVD format, and then converted to iMovie format, which explains the loss of image quality.
Best time of my life. Working in the city and living in the burbs with my parents. No real commitments, just my girl, workmates and not a care in the world. Now I feel old, out of place and lonely.
I think a lot of people do now.
I am pretty sure you are me. LOL
Blame it on the real estate lobby, the politicians and the globalist elite who sold us the lie that diversity is strength. What a bunch of horseshit. If a Korean wants to protect her people/culture it’s Ok. If an Aussie does? “Racist”. “Nazi”
The word is “saudade”, it is Portuguese but means not just feeling nostalgic, but *longing* for the past. I started feeling this way recently when going through childhood photos (from 1991 to 2000 were my favourite years, I had next to no anxiety, I was close with my family, I had best friends, and everything felt calm. I compare the scenes above to a weekend in Sydney CBD now, and there are thousands more people, and not as many looking up at the world around them. I’m sure I am romanticising it (there had to be unhappy people in the 90’s), but things seemed easier then. X
Yeah mate I feel the same. I started working for roses only when they first opened in Sydney. I spent my while life running the streets and now I can't stand it. No good vibes anymore. Depressing.
You go there now and you don’t even see an Australian.
Is it just me or did everyone look stress free and smiling just to be alive
Thank you for the great memories
Glad you said that. I used to live in Sydney back in those days, I was late teens and early 20s. Have always wondered whether It was simply my younger years, or living there that I always recall as being a great time in my life. Have not been able to recreate the feeling, the sense of freedom, excitement and exploration that I felt in those days.
@@sarumokidesu
Yes I experience that Offen here, I love N.S.W Australia 🌏🖤🥰😘 being a woman here has a sense of freedom. I am blessed to have a great life most days 💖
Lots of love from Australia 🌏🖤🥰
@@vickib1433 Would love to go back there one day. Thank you for such a lovely message. Love from England too.
@@sarumokidesu
England half of my family are from there, looking forward to visiting soon 😘
@Zero Down 🤣
Working in I.T. in the 80's and 90's in Sydney as a young single guy was the absolute best time of my life.... The social life was amazing!
Some of the best times of my life, Sydney had a great nightlife. From 91-94 I used to go to Neo Pharos nightclub on a wed, kings head tavern on a fri, some rave on a sat and a recovery on a sun. I don’t know how I did it looking back . I feel sorry for the kids today stuck to their phones.
white doves, blue caps and kelly splits. thats how ya dunnit, same here!
@@bassjace your not wrong there 😂. If only we had a time machine. When I hear of kids taking 5-10 jack’n jills nowadays I just smh.
How refreshing to see people walking around without there face buried in a mobile phone ,
Yes agree. And all smartly dressed not looking like they just got out of bed !
First thing i noticed .. people actually watching where they’re going, no phones!
Before Sydney imported 3 million chinese.
And now that Labor's back in it's only going to get worse.
And Indians.
RIP Sydney. We miss you.
Matthew Lowe Sydney still exists what are you talking about oh btw don’t woooosh me
@@westbourne I think he is talking about the vibe and atmosphere Sydney used to be back in the days.
Of course, this is all a personal preference.
@@westbourne you mean chinese city of sydney
@@samschlossberg476 Yep while it will always be home I'm glad I left in 2015. Take out the Harbour and you'd swear blind you were in Shanghai or Beijing. Sydney CBD has become one big Chinese ghetto. Hurstville in the southern suburbs is even worse.
@@peterkehoe1984 I grew up on the North Shore. It is the same thing there now.
Sydney at its absolute peak. Australia boomers had such a great and cushy life. 17% mortgages yes, but they paid nothing for their houses. Free uni, affordable housing and jobs for life. Aussie boomers had it good.
The young adults in the 90's were Gen X mate.
If Sydney stayed as it was in the 90s, it would be probably the top city to live in the world.
Unfortunately mass immigration has destroyed it
I agree, it has certainly gone downhill.
So says every generation. It's all relative.
exactly its all just subjective, but when we look at facts 90's sydney is objectively worse then today, higher crime, aids epidemic, and corruption all of which are much better in modern day sydney@@rawdonwaller
@@rawdonwaller its truly spot the aussie now in the cbd. bring back the 80s n Cabramatta rock
Back when Sydney was a great Australian town. Worked to live not lived to work.
This footage is so precious, sydney in its peak.
Why was this its peak? Actually I agree with you in general that life in the West was best around 1988 to 1996, with 1993 right in the middle of that period.
London is like that, always interesting but you feel lonely after about 2 hours if you're by yourself. Trying to make friends is very difficult unless you're either very rich or very attractive (or both).
I noticed from about 1995 Sydney started to become more aggressive, violent, expensive, pretentious, overcrowded and increased social problems in general. I think 1988 was the peak for Sydney, living standards were high, housing was gaining value but still affordable, plenty of jobs, infrastructure was good. Also 1988 was the bicentennial year and there were huge celebrations in Sydney, new monuments and plaques, restored streetscapes and parks. The city really looked beautiful and there was a sense of hope and optimism. Back then it really felt like Australia was the greatest place on earth to live, we had it all. Then came greed, corruption, cultural marxism and DIEversity. Today Sydney is a mess.
Father Bertolucci unfortunately I must agree with you.
@@blokeabouttown2490
Depends what parts of Sydney we're talking in regards to being violent or with social problems. There are many areas that were more 'grungy' and crime-ridden 30 years ago that have become gentrified since. The big problem I see is that people who work in Sydney should be able to afford to live in the city they work in, without being pushed to the satellite suburbs or even the Central Coast/ Blue Mountains/ Illawarra and have to commute for at least 2 hours combined 5 days a week just to go sit at a desk. Where's the collective identity in that, or in working in a city where you don't recognise the population?
And in this new world, long days without familiar and friendly faces. The heart burns with anger, this is not the expected life. It is not the Australian life so desired.
I wish the 1990's never ended!
I think a lot of people would agree with you. I wanted to visit Australia in the 1990s when I was a teenager but it didn't happen. I finally got over there (from England) in August last year at the age of 36 but it was never going to be the same as going when I was a younger. I visited Sydney and Melbourne for about 4 days each. Interesting how people seemed to be more serious and reserved in Melbourne compared to Sydney where they appeared to be slightly more optimistic. Probably the weather!
Sydney in the 1980s and 1990s was less crowded, more optimistic, less high rise apartments full of opportunistic immigrants and a lot cheaper.
And the 80’s
@tobagotb10 I would have imagined it would have been pretty friendly in 1986... I was only born the year before that so can't relate much.
@@blokeabouttown2490 and no smart phones...
Nobody on their mobile phones! What a time to be alive.
You could party 24/7 , there was something open any time of any day of the week...great memories
It was a great party town. Venues open 24/7 from Broadway to Circular Quay to Kings Cross. What a time!!
I first visited Sydney in 2003 and loved it. Came back in 2012 and was really disappointed. I bet it's even worse now. Sad really.
What disappointed you?
@@joshpritchard5333 It was way more crowded, expensive, hectic, unfriendly and especially less free to a degree I didn't like it anymore.
@@bastianfromkwhbsn8498 first and only time i ever visited Sydney was in 2012 and I didn't like it for the same reasons you said, and partially because my parents didn't let me do anything I considered fun as a 7 year old. I don't know if I want to go back there
I lived in Sydney for 20 years and came back to visit in 2015 the traffic is so insane. But love to visit the Harbour and Chinatown.
I was 18 years old and working in the newly built Park lane hotel. Sydney was at its best in 1993. The old Woolworths logo before they became the fresh food people, the cafeteria upstairs, merivale where the yuppies hung out, monorail and centre point pre renovations, was truly the best city in the world. Here we still see some big hair and shoulder pads, you could have a chat to random people. It was quite a friendly city. Now its a cold, total capitalist takeover place with no soul. If this video is toward the end of 1993, I had my 19th birthday in a cafe called "cascade" in town hall arcade. I remember the service was impeccable, we ordered "coffee" not like today's choices of latte, mocha, soy choices etc and I remember them bringing me an ashtray because I lit up my cigarette and this was indoors mind you.
I always loved that old woolworths logo... even as a kid.
Friend got his first job in what's now Pullman Sydney Hyde Park when it was new, early 80s. He was bursting with pride to work there.
I prefer now. I think smoking 🚬 inside was just so totally wrong. Imagine the children having to endure that? I never smoked but back then when I was a child very hard to avoid I tried it once but it felt so horrible that I vowed never to do it again. The Vegan alternative options is absolutely wonderful compared to the past. I miss the monorail 🚝 but I most of the time stayed in Perth.
I was 16 years old in 1993. Sydney in the 90s they were the glory days.
Hobbico, looking in the window, Movie cinemas Greater Union, Hoyt's. The comic book stores, land beyond beyond. I crave the 90's.
The 90’s was a good time, with the exception of the early 90’s recession, jobs were relatively easy to get, and there was a good nightlife in Sydney.
I worked at Grace Bros and my boyfriend worked at Gowings around this time in the 90's. The old Woolworths building with the cafeteria on the top floor - I can still smell that place 😂
My first impression is people interact and talk more. Before the days of phones and everyone having aversion to each other
Timezone, next to Brashs. Ah the memories
You ruined everything lol
And then walking a few meters up on the same side going to see a film at Greater Union... The good ol days
I worked in that neighbourhood at the time. Good days.
Except when the Lebs would roll you for your sneakers
So glad people were keen to lug around a camera back then so we could have access to this!
Oh wow! This takes me back. The nostalgia I feel as I watch this. I just can't describe it. People back then were much more friendly, no-one got offended over everything and could take a joke. People weren't so anti-social. You could chat to a total stranger and people actually smiled at you. No mobile phones to distract and people were living the moment. Jobs were easier to get. I could go on, but the more I think about it, the more I feel broken inside. The 80's and 90's era is unforgettable. There will never be great times like this ever again.
Totally agree with you Bella.
Start of the early 2000s racial matters were a topic and new laws were taking in place house prices were going up
I miss the Australia that I grew up in back in the 80s adn 90s. Agreed. People and culture were so much better then! It was just normal...now we are in ABNORMAL times.
I miss it tooo, to see past visions is surreal
Amazing to see this. A big thank you to the person who filmed this - so interesting. This is still so strong in my memory of how it used to be. I was in my 20s then.
I think Sydney was more magical in the 90s. Maybe it was because i was a kid then, but there seemed to be more interesting shops in the 90s.
You realize that's exactly what children of 2020s are going to say 30 yrs from now?
@@hayekianman Yes, because life in Australia is degrading. If it was improving people will not be longing for the past as much. Over population, too much too soon and the wrong type of people destroys the culture, values and total way of life. Back then most things were Australian made, future was bright with employment, affordable and improving cost of living. Now, with wages stagnant the last 11-15 years, de-industrialisation with loss of car industry, footware and textiles industry, train industry etc. the future of Australia and Australians are not as bright. Hence going back to the your point people will be longing for today when it deteriorates tomorrow.
@@crxdelsolsir nobody likes change. adapt or perish
@@hayekianman No doubt adaptation is a neccessity, but as an observation it is unfortunately to adapt to negative changes.
Yes, I'm older but I remember days in 1993 when I was 18 when I started visiting the city by myself. There were so many things to do and look at even alone. Great record stores, clothes, nerdy gaming shops, book shops, bizarre antique stores, great movies on George Street. The city felt so exciting and lively.
Sydney was great in the 1990’s, but after the Olympics it’s all been downhill.
And the loser was....Sydeneee
I remember how beautiful that buliding was and working in the city
Watching old footages from years ago, is like watching your life experience from your afterlife Z. Reviewing your life experience
Not an Aussie in sight now, it looks like Mumbai
Nah Shanghai mate. The city's full of Chinese.
Oh I miss how Sydney use to be back in the 90’s. Also hearing the monorail noises again on this brings back memories. Darling Harbour is just an ugly mess now. To many high rise buildings and overcrowded.
You think the 90's were great? Should been there in the 70's! :-)
Sydney has never shook off the Rum Corps attitude.
Want to build s nuclear fuel dump in the CBD? Pay the right assholes and its a done deal.
This year they knocked down an entire historic city block for a train station - with of course two 40 story tower blocks on top. Imagine who is making a dollar out of that.....
And its within a tennis ball throw of Town hall. They could have knocked down Woolworths and built it there - but the council already own that. Better to compulsory purchase an knock down a bit of history.
@@shanewright2772 nah, more culture in the 90s.
@@jade5615 Well, if by culture you mean panhandling junkies, ethnic no-go zones and Souths winning the spoon every year, then it's 90's all the way!
Too*
I’m 51 & the 90s in Australia were awesome - sadly what once was has been lost forever - I left Australia in 1989 & have lived in America ever since
Why did you leave?
Were you drunk when you wrote that illogical nonsense?
I come back to this video every year makes me wish I could go back in time🥺
Me too. Sometimes I wonder can we ever get those times back
Maybe it's because I was just a kid and had moved from Tasmania but I remember the joy and excitement even now watching this video😊 Sydney's heart has grown cold
So many memories. I had an XY Falcon (remember those?) used to park it in the parking station there, catch the Monorail into the city, do some shopping, have a good feed. I remember getting my first mobile phone around this time (or might have been 94?) it was not really a brick. I think it was a Nokia? Anyway, it was an "on call" work phone, it wasn't mine. I was going to UTS at the time, the first time I brought it into a lecture everyone wanted to see it!
Massive thank you to the person who filmed and posted this. I now have evidence of a memory that i've had for the longest time. Good times. Nostaliga hits hard :(
Flash forward 2020, oh how time flies, Sydney is soo different now
This is Sydney as I remember it. I left in 95 and haven’t been back properly since. I refuse to believe it’s any different today.
It's better in many ways, if you can ignore mini Singapore in downtown George Street
Thank you for such a great video. Brings back great memories ❤️
2020 and just seeing the monorail go around Sydney is such a blessing. Thankyou for such videos.
Loved seeing the Monorail and the views from it too.
I lived there in the mid 90s and mostly enjoyed it. When I went back to visit in 2019 it seemed like an absolute dump
NSW Labor flooding the place with Asians for 18 years certainly helped turn it into a dump.
Great retrospective on the monorail
Not too long after this and Bob Carr would declare that Sydney was already full. Now the place is far too crowded due to successive governments ignoring anything but property prices and stamp duty. Bring in the people! Bang them into Sydney! And that’s to suggest that there haven’t been some nice developments in some areas but getting around the place makes us all so parochial in Sydney. Shame.
More metros and high rise should fix this problem quick smart
NOTE: no one texting or talking to themselves on mobile phones.
I guess quite a lot of business people would have had mobile phones in the financial area.
crazy shrimp lady amazing
Andy JS they didn’t come out in Australia until about 1999 and they were bricks even then
Queen Mummy Mobile phones were available in Australia long before 1999. They were available in the late 80s, they were big and expensive and were mostly used by stock brokers, lawyers and bankers. By the early 1990s tradies, builders and certain technicians were using them. I knew a guy who had one around 1991, he was a photocopier repair technician. The phone was huge, and he wore it on a shoulder strap like a large handbag. I got my first mobile in 1997 and it was a big, thick Nokia, the network was rubbish back then and calls would drop out all the time.
And yet you commented on a YT video which totally represents cultural technology change. Probs did it via mobile too haha
I miss hearing the music in the shops and corridors like that.😯
Back when white australia still ruled the country, t was a beautiful time to be alive in Australia
Nowadays it would called noise pollution, but it's great hearing store staff on a microphone trying to lure patrons in their stores..
How wonderful, this whole video was just my life, teen years, adventures, mistakes but what a place in the 90's.
This is an awesome video!!!
Being new to Sydney, and have walked over the Pyrmont Bridge in Darling Harbour so many times,
it's utterly surprising for me to note that there was a monorail system which passed right through the same bridge!
Superb!👌🏻
You know, once I walked from North Sydney to Warringah Mall (from Girlfriends house), it literally took me nine hours all through the night. We do silly things when we are young!
I spent most of the 90s in Sydney and loved living there. It was a very free and open city.
Lots of brothels too
First time I went to Sydney was in 1993. Seeing this footage is amazing, kinda takes my breath away.
I worked 50m away & loved it. I was there the day of the reopening & when the mono rail was first opened & took a loop on it too.
Between 1992 and 1994 I visited Sydney four or five times so this really brings back some memories.
Ahh yes, back when busy footpaths were full of people walking with intent, staying to the left and no zombies to dodge.
When I was a kid in the 90s, my family worked in the city so I got the chance to hop on the monorails often, almost weekly. Never got bored after so many times but my mum wasn't enjoying the run rides as much as I was!
Wish I can go back in time and re-experience those memories again. Sydney has changed so much over the years and it will keep changing.
Happiest and best days......RIP AMALA XO
Great "blast from the past". Thanks for sharing. This brings back so many happy memories for me. I don't know the politics of it as I now no longer live in Sydney however, I have no idea why the monorail was removed from Sydney. I used to ride it so often. Thanks again! DM.
Me too. Was always a fun ride, though the back section behind Darling Harbour was always dull.
I get all nostalgic for sentimentality
This was Sydney at its finest. You could go out three or four nights a week to multiple events and not see a single sniffer dog. Police were not armed to the teeth harassing punters just for having a beer on the beach. People were still smoking weed on the streets. Music festivals were taking off and Reclaim The Streets was kicking off big time. Sydney was a giant party before the lockout laws.
One would tend to think the Olympics ruined it long before lockout laws.
Still smoking weed? That's not Sydney at it's "finest"...
@@shanewright2772 Mate I think you nailed it. The Olympics ruined Sydney.
@@stevvvvveperry And now they are ruining Brisbane!
@@shanewright2772 I moved from Sydney to Brisbane. Might have to move to Perth next lol
Glad I got to ride the monorail before Gladys ripped it all down. The CBD was a place you were excited to visit because it offered an experience you could not get elsewhere. Shame its just feels cold and boring these days…. To me anyway
It was one of the greatest city’s in the world bringing back some great memories would of died for this country !! Some of the best leaders ran this place from 1969 -1998 wow
Yeah if you removed Paul Keating and Johnny Howard this country would have flourished.
They should have listened to Pauline Hanson instead of arresting her, she absolutely nail it in today's prediction of 2021.
The QVB. How close were we to losing this to the wreckers in the 70s?. A beautiful piece of restored history, as elegant as you could hope for. Thanks for posting this video 👍👍
Thanks for the upload
This is brilliant. Thank you so much for uploading. You wouldn't happen to have a complete video of the musical clock on Skygarden seen at 2:38 would you?
I miss the 90s😭
first visited Sydney as a tourist in1994. Married on a boat on the harbour on Australia day of 1997
this is when I arrived in Sydney. Somebody told me, 'you never know your luck in a big city'. the were right. I somehow feel like we are losing something in Sydney and Its not as good as it was.
It's not as white as it was, but it's still pretty good
Well that was like a time machine!! How crazy and cool.
I’m searching for myself in the crowds ❤️
Great footage 👍🏻. I love Sydney ❤
I was working I Delaney Pottery in Mrrrickville in 1969 I was 19 it was the best time of my life ,,life was easy people were good food was cheap petrol was crazy low price ladies were nice ,,I use go to the cross Friday night hawe few fight drink heaps of beer ,,I love Sydney and Untill 1999 I stop ginng it was dying slow death folks I bleed Blue any hints cheers 🍺🍺🍺🙏❤️👍👍😃😁😇💪💪🦘🦘🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🥲🥲🥲
And... people are actually TALKING to each other..😯
hey, thanks a lot. the sky garden was a bit of a secret hideaway right up top at that round window - a little bar at the end - a cold Moosehead beer and some time out to write and be alone from the noise below. Does anyone remember the tavern from the 80s below also? - the CenterPoint tavern I think...? Great, I mean fantastic meals and cozy dining, very wholesome, and a low-light piano bar where Seth played the tunes and shared his marshmallows. It was a fine way to spend time with friends. Many precious and happy memories. Lovely.
It was a much better, freer place back then
Within seconds seeing Gowings and the ABC Shop, the memories that flooded back.
God the monorail felt so futuristic. I hate visiting the city these days, it's regressed so much.
4:40 Dire Straits - Heavy Fuel (On The Night version). Man I wish I could've grown up in this Sydney. I was born well after the 90s unfortunately.
Thank you for this
This is great old video footage that is a TIMEMACHINE!
Aw the monorail. I arrived Australia in 2007 and had rode monorail for a few times. Where time goes😮
the monorail... so sad its gone i never got to try it :(
Looked so good I remember going on excursions at school to the city.
Me too
8:51 3 years later I would be working in that building for British Telecom. Great times, and a great city but I'm glad to have moved away and only go back for visits now.
I remember Darling Harbour as a bit of a dump in the 90's, it always seemed to be dead and a bit dodgy but it was where you might wander about if you were bored on a Saturday afternoon. Now that shopping centre is full of expensive shops and restaurants, king st wharf etc are there and its always quite busy especially on a Saturday afternoon.
When Darling Harbour first opened in 1988 for the bicentenary it was very nice with good shops and a great atmosphere. Harbourside Shopping Centre had a nice open area under the large perspex arches where there was a sculpture with a waterfall. That was then all changed as they put in an ugly and crowded food court that is no different from any mundane suburban shopping centre. Most of the shops became over priced places catering to tourists with bad taste. That's why it went to shit in the 90s. The Cockle Bay side was much nicer with it's restaurants.
When Aussie were free
@@Rodney_1984 fucking ay 🇦🇺👍
Feeling a little nostalgic for 90s and 00s Sydney and goodness how I miss the monorail.
Da good ole days thanks mate👍
Always great to go back
WOW now this takes me back to before the world went really stupid note no mobile phones and the monorail was still running. Was funny seeing the monorail going through the City Centre building (7:37) I worked for a short time there supervising the guards and running the security control room in 2008-09. Haven’t been back to Sydney since the monorail got pulled down.
no smartphone, everything is still cheap, music is still smart, brother is still beside me, sister is still beside me, boyfriend or girlfriend is still in a serious relationship, still many friend, and Mom and Dad are still very beside me... I miss those days, but those days have disappeared, replaced by a gloomy and boring future.
😣😣😞😞😢
Walking tours in the 90’s this guy was before his time 😂. Haha strange how how footage from back them can be so relevant now.
This video brought back a lot of nostalgia for me i enjoyed watching.
Wow..even more bookstores..You would hardly see ANY anymore.😬😭
Very thank you
all the office workers are out getting fresh air, shopping or going to coffee shops - having left their bulky computers behind at the offices
At 2:45...A huge sign on the building that says CHRISTMAS
..😳
You don't see hardly any Christmas signs now.
It offends the wokie folkies 🙄
The Hobbyco sign in 2:14 that hobby shop is still there today after all these years.
I think this video is from the mid city centre era. Prior to that it was downstairs under the old BBC Hardware on George st, And before that again in the stand arcade where jb hifi is now!
The 1990s in Sydney is now very much a blur to me, but I am glad to see that this is not because of my fading memory - it was actually a blur.
At 5:17 the Hemmes family turned this Merivale clothing shop back into a pub and restaurant which was hugely successful .
That's what is now the Angel Hotel on Angel Pl/Pitt St isn't it? It looks very, very familiar.
I miss the monorail. It made it much easier to get around the CBD and it was cool to ride on.
2:25 SEIKOマーチングバンド時計（汎用）
Superb era loved disco city records and the old hilton night club and the observatory for tea