Newcombe St, Paddington

The project

Location: 1 Newcombe Street, Paddington, Sydney on Gadigal Country

Artefact was commissioned by Johnstaff on behalf of the Uniting Church to unearth the history that lay under the former carpark and investigate the archaeological potential of the site.

An archaeological excavation to recover any lost history, and artefacts or relics was required in preparation for a $13m development into mixed residential and retail property.

Heritage solution

1 Newcombe Street was formerly a late 19th Century coach builders site and early 20th Century open-air cinema.

4 test trenches were excavated and found to contain a rough-cut stone well and several glass, metal and ceramic artefacts, all demonstrating human presence on the site for well over 100 years.

Ceramic ointment jars (pictured) were discovered. Notable examples include ‘Josephson’s Australian Ointment for All Sores’ and ‘Holloway’s cure for Gout and Rheumatism’, both dating to the late 19th Century.

Several pieces of leather, ceramic vessels and metal frame remnants from purses and bags (pictured) were also found during excavation, giving insight into the lives of workers from the coach building on site at the time.

Excavations at Newcombe St were carried out over one week by the Artefact team. The methodology the team employed meant we were able to meet the client’s allocated time-frame and budget.

The recovered artefacts were documented and logged securely as a record of the history and industry of the site.