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Street sellers - flowers, fruits and nuts
Since 1842, the council has been responsible for the regulation and licensing of barrowmen, porters and hawkers. The street and footpath were a place for trade and conversation. Barrowmen sold everything from fruit and vegetables, coffee, sweets and nuts to flowers, fish and prawns. Fruit and flower barrows were licenced by the council and each given a number, a practice that continued throughout the 20th century.
There was ongoing opposition to existence of fruit, vegetable and nut stalls in the city from the outset. This was due to a number of factors, not least because they occupied public space on the footpaths and roadways and were considered an impediment to both foot and motor traffic. The competition for public space increased after World War 1 as motor traffic began to increase. In the 1920s, the council set aside some barrows and stalls specifically for returned soldiers, especially limbless or maimed servicemen.
Street flower sellers used to line Sydney footpaths plying their wares from baskets. But from 1904, the council started enforcing by-laws more strictly, claiming they were creating an obstruction and encouraging them to move to Martin Place. The presence of the General Post Office on one side and Challis House on the other, with its constant stream of people of all classes, made it a lucrative spot for trade. Stalls proliferated and the area was laden with the blooms' perfumes. In 1911, the City Architect was directed to design new flower stalls, to replace the ad hoc jumble of jam tins and packing cases, and create the atmosphere of a flower market.
Included below are plans for stalls and carts designed by City Architect Robert Brodrick and his deputy James Merriman in 1925 to regulate the street and improve presentation and hygiene standards.
This collection contains a small selection of archives relating to flower, fruit and nut barrows and stalls in the City of Sydney area.
To find even more items relating to flower, fruit and nut stalls in the City of Sydney area, try the search tool.
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