The story of this place
In January 1900, Arthur Payne, a 33-year-old van driver living in a tiny house on Ferry Lane, became 'ground zero' for Sydney's bubonic plague outbreak that claimed 103 lives over eight months. The government used the plague as justification to resume and demolish much of The Rocks, displacing hundreds of working-class families in a brutal urban renewal scheme. The locals fought back—organizing to save their community. Today The Rocks stands as their victory monument, a testament to the residents who refused to be erased.