Flashback: In the 1890s, destitute Sydneysiders built a “tin town” in Mosman.

By KATHRYN BARTON

The idyllic lifestyle promoted by property developers during the 1880s saw Sydneysiders flock to the lower north shore, creating a momentum of buying and building that would transform the sleepy suburbs of Mosman and Cremorne.

In the first four years of the decade, the average land price in Sydney exploded by more than 80 per cent, with affordable home loans creating an enormous bubble, which peaked in 1888.

The inevitable crash came in 1891 – and with it, thousands nationwide were left homeless.

In Sydney, harbourside suburbs like Mosman saw desperate families set up shanty towns as a last resort. Rudimentary structures made from flattened out kerosene tins and salvaged rubbish sprung up along the shoreline, providing a temporary home for those who had lost their jobs and could no longer afford to pay rent.

Known as Tin Towns, the camps grew into micro suburbs where, it has been said, a sense of community was formed.

This photo, taken circa 1910, shows Mosman’s Tin Town, though the exact spot remains elusive. The view looks towards Quakers Hat Bay, possibly from Cremorne. The postcard is likely to be the only pictorial record, given a thorough search of Trove and various history sites did not provide any clues.

It’s somewhat difficult to equate the flippant caption with the real struggles these residents must have faced – not just being at the mercy of the elements and with very few amenities, but emotionally, psychologically and – clearly – financially. To suggest otherwise, perhaps, shows a societal contempt for the Tin Towners, and to label such desperation as a choice, and lump these souls together with those in artists’ camps of the era, was, at best, elitist.

Tin Towns became synonymous with the Great Depression, which began in 1929. However, many ‘towns’ were constructed decades before – during the Depression of 1890s – and possibly more so during and after WWI when traumatised and/or maimed men began arriving home, perhaps finding it difficult to return to everyday life.

Either way, be it by choice or necessity, Mosman’s Tin Town – like many other little-known vignettes of history – adds even more colour to a vivid suburb.

GOT A NEWS TIP? GET IN TOUCH!

Email: [email protected]