Pyrmont Fire Station

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The colonists managed fire much less effectively than Gadigal and as cottages and hovels crowded in, they had to find ways to manage it. Businesses looked after their own property, but it was 1881 before Pyrmont residents formed a Volunteer Fire Brigade. 200 people gathered to christen a fire engine capable of “throwing a stream of water 180 feet” [c.60m]. (Sydney Morning Herald, 28 November 1881). The Brigade operated from premises in Union Street.

This was not nearly enough. When fire broke out in a CSR store room, fire-fighting steamers and men galloped from all Sydney’s fire stations. This was a reminder that the industries in Pyrmont - timber, sugar and wool - were all highly flammable. Despite the manifest need, the brigade dissolved in 1885.

In April 1902 another great fire destroyed a sawmill, defying all twelve Sydney fire brigades; but at last the government acted. Land was resumed from Matthew Harris at the corner of Gipps and Pyrmont Streets (Australian Star, 4 September 1902) and a new horse-drawn steamer was ordered.

But there was no sense of urgency. Fire broke out on 25 October 1903 at the popular Elder’s Hall. Steamers had to come from Redfern. They saved nearby buildings, but the hall was destroyed. And even though Lord Mayor Allen Taylor owned a timber company on Blackwattle Bay it took three more years for Council to permit a temporary fire station. It should have been a permanent structure, but…

Alderman A. J. Ralston thought that as so many of Pyrmont's buildings were of wood and iron the board's proposal to erect another wood and iron building was quite fitting. (Laughter.) He would object to such a building in [his own] Ward.

The recommendation was agreed to on division by 11 votes to 10. (Sydney Morning Herald 22 March 1905)

Ten volunteers in a revived brigade mustered in a new station, designed by government architect Walter Vernon, on 20 December 1906. They took pride in their skills, competed against other brigades, and won the fire drill shield in 1913 (The Sun, 22 June 1913), but it was the Metropolitan Fire Brigade who put out the blaze in a weatherboard carter’s depot and stables in Alma Street in 1909. (Evening News, 21 August 1909)

The brigade had to deal with major challenges such as a CSR sugar store destroyed in 1918 and the Goldsbrough Mort wool store in 1935.

Fire fighters did enjoy relaxed moments. They enjoyed the company of Dan, a fox terrier mascot.

Dan has his own place on the motor engine … between Captain Riddell and the driver, and the moment an alarm is given he promptly jumps upon the engine and impatiently waits for the command to go. (Sunday Times 19 July 1914.)

The station also served as an informal pub for a while. “It was a funny place, the fire brigade. Early in the piece that was a drinking house. The coppers used to drink in there. My uncle used to drink in there, the bloke next door used to drink in there on the quiet. They’d get a keg of beer, Sunday mornings and the sergeant said “Ýou bloody well won’t carry it up, I’ll carry it up” (he’s a Scotchman)… He carried the keg up, put it down, took his coat off and he said “I’m here for the day.” (Hugh Goodwin, Doors Were Always Open, 1997)

During the Second World War the station was renovated and extended to cope with war conditions; but when the war ended, the station was closed: new fire engines were garaged in a smaller range of stations and the Pyrmont Station became in effect a garage for Sydney fire brigades. This intermission ended in 1960 when the Board of Fire Commissioners acted to decentralise services, and Pyrmont – along with other suburban stations – reopened.

As the quality and performance of fire-fighting equipment has evolved, along with improvements to fire engines, the building is constantly under review and often under renovation. Major work began in 2007, and the fire station was re-opened in 2016. Happily, fire brigades, and especially the Museum of Fire ensure that great care is taken to preserve the heritage value of fire stations: the Museum of Fire created Pyrmont Fire Brigade Station No 38, a brief history, 1881-2016, the source of much information in this entry.

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