Upstairs Workshop backlight The contrast is typical of

The contrast is typical of a city that has been quietly rebuilding in places while much of its post-war fabric continues to deteriorate

Steel shelving lines the storeroom of the Northcote Shoe Factory

lifting water to the North Shore suburbs via a network of reservoirs at Chatswood

Machinery like this moved grain through the mill's gravity-fed system

the complex operated for 96 years before closing in May 1999

Upstairs Workshop backlight The contrast is typical ofWorkbenches and forgotten tools sit under a layer of dust in the upstairs workshop of the Northcote Shoe Factory, light pushing through grimy windows to fall across what was left behind. The building on the corner of Arthurton Road and Helen Street was purpose built in 1926, replacing two earlier premises on Eastment Street where the operation began. By the 1970s the factory was trading as Purnell Shoe Company. Part of the Northcote Shoe Factory