It has been described as a varicose vein, yet Australia’s oldest inter-settlement road has never been considered inconsequential. ‘Everything Must Go’ is a series of documentary photographs, which explores the decline of small businesses through the microcosm of a stretch of Parramatta Road in Sydney’s inner west.
Running 23km from east to west, Parramatta Road was once a bustling thoroughfare, densely lined with a multitude of thriving businesses. This ‘Battler’s Road’ was once the primary route for Sydney’s food supply. Many Australian industries such as wool and flour mills, biscuit makers and car manufacturers began in premises along Parramatta Road, many of these buildings becoming landmarks in their own right.
Today, a disproportionate number of shops stand empty in a strange limbo. Not worth restoring and not worth selling, they slowly decay. While clearways, shopping centres and modern expressways have undoubtedly had an impact, Parramatta Road’s decline is especially poignant in the wake of the recent Global Financial Crisis.
All that remains are the traces…everything must go.
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