Past the boardwalk there are two more original houses and then a large Crane, which marks the site of Stride’s Yard, another industrial site that survived until the 1980s.
Stride’s Yard and Crane (Interpretative sign)
Past the boardwalk there are two more original houses and then a large Crane, which marks the site of Stride’s Yard, another industrial site that survived until the 1980s. The Yard broke up coastal steamers to recycle metals. The Crane removed the engines. It was conserved by the City in 2010. A metal cutter used to reduce the material to recyclable chunks still stands in a nearby private yard. The site was bought by the Department of Planning in 1985, mostly for parkland. All the houses, which preceded the existence of Strides and were used by them as offices, were restored, including the Gothic Revival Florence Villa (1883), and Drayton Lodge(Ambrose Thornley Snr, 1878) which both address the water.
The Retreat (1854) is a stone Georgian cottage that addresses the street, thus indicating the change in taste over the mid-Victorian decades. The stone coachhouse wing is above the waterfront walk, and the original small swimming pool is the indentation on your left. Strides exemplifies the changes of use, from residential to industrial, then back to residential and recreational as waterfront industry declined.