The Devonshire Street Tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel located beneath the southern end of

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

connecting the suburb of

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

with Railway Square in the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

History

Devonshire Street Pedestrian Tunnel in the 1970s

Opened in 1906 joining as a pedestrian continuation of Devonshire Street in the east to Lee Street in the west, it cut through what was the Devonshire Street Cemetery. In the early 1970s, the tunnel was refurbished with

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

panels and

fluorescent lights A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, to produce ultraviolet and make a phosphor ...

and extended to the west under Railway Square. In 1985 murals of trains and railway infrastructure were painted on the walls of the tunnel.

Route

At its eastern end, the tunnel begins at a

head house A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station. Markets In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...

descending from

Chalmers Street Chalmers Street is a one way street in Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business dis ...

to a vestibule from which both Central station and the tunnel can be accessed. The tunnel continues west from the vestibule under the tracks and platforms of the station, and opens onto Henry Deane Plaza, a depressed urban square opposite Railway Square filled with shops and restaurants.Home
Henry Deane Plaza The tunnel extension begins at a portal at the opposite end of Henry Deane Plaza, continuing under Lee Street, Railway Square, and George Street, each of these points at which it can be accessed by stairs and escalators. The tunnel extension then continues under the

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

Marcus Clark Building. The Marcus Clark Building was formerly owned by Marcus Clark & Co., a nine-storey department store was constructed in 1913 at 827–837 George Street, Railway Square. Marcus Clark & Co. originally served as a furniture showroom and an extension of the flagship store located at the corner of Pitt and George Streets. This building was remodelled in 1928 to become the company’s main store. The store ceased operations in 1965, and the building was acquired by the Sydney Institute of Technology the following year, in 1966. The tunnel extension finally opens up at a portal behind the International Institute of Business and Information Technology at 841 George Street, connecting it to The Goods Line, providing an off-street connection between Central station and

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

References

External links

{{Sydney landmarks, state=collapsed George Street, Sydney Pedestrian tunnels Surry Hills, New South Wales Sydney central business district Tunnels completed in 1906 Tunnels in Sydney 1906 establishments in Australia