Wayne Ryan's blog: The Hungry Mile

Sunday, 11 July 2010

The Hungry Mile

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f8, 1/160 sec

Click on photo for larger image view

This area what was known as Millers Point is now named Barangaroo, the name being officially gazetted in 2007. This newly named suburb contains the "Hungry Mile" an area of the docks that was also officially renamed in 2006 after strong lobbying from the Maritime Union of Australia. The name "Hungry Mile" is an acknowledgement of the site's historical significance to waterside workers. The Hungry Mile in the early 1930's and 40's was a place where the notorious ‘bull’ system prevailed, where employers pitted worker against worker, at times violently. For many labourers it was a despised, humiliating, demeaning experience. As historian Margot Beasley explains in her book Wharfies (1996): Under this system, men assembled in a public place to be chosen for the day’s work by foremen or stevedoring agents of the shipping companies. Favourites for work were the “bulls”, men of such physical strength they work longer or harder than others. Such a system also favoured compliant and docile workers and facilitated discrimination against militant or troublesome men who might agitate for improved conditions, ironically, that would benefit them all.

The Not So Hungry Mile

A stark contrast to the plight of struggling workers of yesterday is the 11 story building of today that was built as part of the redevelopment of the King Street district, at the darling Harbour end of the Hungry Mile. The Macquarie Bank building is encased in a steel structural support, known as a diagrid, which sits outside its glass walls. Macquarie Bank is the sole occupant of the $350M building and the bank's headquarters remain in Martin Place.