Nice attempt at a gotcha moment (again), but no, I was correct.
Towards the end of the 19th century and throughout the beginning of the 20th century, advances in building technology and design coupled with rising urban land values meant that high rise buildings became an attractive proposition in Sydney.
[12] Considered to be Sydney's first high-rise office building, Culwulla Chambers, was completed in 1912 and stood at a height of 50 metres (160 ft). Designed by
Spain, Cosh and Minnett (with
Rupert Minnett), the building consisted of 14 floors and cost £100,000 to build, equivalent of approximately $1 million in today's money.
[13] This new wave of construction of taller buildings consequently raised concerns over fire risks, namely the inadequate firefighting resources of the period that failed to reach such heights.
[14] The fire in the 8 storey
Anthony Hordern & Sons building in 1901, which resulted in the death of five people, was notably one of the first cases to raise such concerns.
[15] In 1907, Alfred Webb, then the Superintendent of the
Sydney Metropolitan Fire Brigade, described how it was "a suicidal policy to allow buildings of 100 feet to go up. Our extension ladders rise to a height of 80 feet, and it might be possible to add another 10 feet to them; but the effectiveness of their working is materially decreased as the height is added to."
Additionally, public backlash against increased heights also became apparent during this period, primarily stemming from sentiments that taller buildings did not match the aesthetic of Sydney's streetscape and that they would become a source of increased overcrowding and congestion.[12] As a result, the Height of Buildings Act was passed in 1912, which limited all new buildings to a height of 46 metres (151 feet). This restriction stunted the height of Sydney's buildings, lasting until 1957.[16][17]
Despite these height restrictions, 1939 saw the completion of the
AWA Tower, which finally surpassed the
General Post Office's title as Sydney's tallest after 48 years. At a height of 112 metres (367 feet), the AWA tower also became the city's first building to surpass a height of 100 metres (330 feet), and would go on to stay as the tallest until 1962.
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