Bohemian Sydney Through Brian Bird’s Lens

From the late 19th century to the early 1970s, there was a distinctive bohemian subculture in Sydney. Alternative thinkers gathered in private houses, clubs and coffee houses. Some of the best known bohemian hangouts were Kings Cross and the area around Rowe Street (demolished in the 1970s to make way for the MLC Centre).

One of these Rowe Street cafes, the Lincoln Coffee Lounge, is considered the birthplace of the “Sydney Push” movement in its early days, just after the war. A popular meeting place for artists and writers, it comprised a mixture of university students, lecturers, Bohemians & Libertarians.

These fascinating photos from State Library of New South Wales were taken by Brian Bird that show Bohemian life in Sydney around 1948 and 1951.

‘Johnno’ Robert Johnson; unknown from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Anne Barrett from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Dick Gooding (on right of door) from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Dick Gooding, journalist from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Ede Cohen (usually on cash register); or Martin Edie from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Jean Grenet, Frenchman; Mrs Barry from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Jim Southwell (collecting plates); Zdenek Weiss, Czech student (on right) from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

John Barry, proprietor (standing at rear) from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Margaret Meagher, nurse at Sydney Hospital, from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Martin Haberman from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Piers Bourke (at rear, to right of corner); ‘Johnno’ Robert Johnson, student (to left of corner); Michael Hourihan, in safari suit (near doorway) from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Piers Bourke; John Barry from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Two men from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, 1948-1951

Mary (Georgiadis) in Lincoln Inn, Greek girl in coffee shop, from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, July 1950

Dick Preston, radio, film-maker from Lincoln Coffee Lounge & Cafe, Rowe Street, Sydney, April 1951