The story of this place
Starting in 1843, convicts from Hyde Park Barracks were set to work hand-chipping a road through massive sandstone cliffs to connect The Rocks with Millers Point. The work proved so difficult that they abandoned it. Sydney City Council finally took over in 1859, blasting through the stubborn rock with explosives in what was called a 'mammoth undertaking' that wasn't fully completed until 1868. The cut stands as testament to the brutal reality of colonial engineering: when human strength failed against stone, they turned to gunpowder.