“I walked under the train station and I knew something was wrong about that place,” he said. “I thought, this isn’t good.”

As a professional photographer with Australian Consolidated Press in his 20s, Tim would travel to and from the city on the Manly ferry every day, passing through the Quay and becoming fascinated by its history.

During the run-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, he tried to present his ideas for a revamp of the iconic gateway, but found it impossible to be heard by decision-makers.

Over the last 19 years Tim has lived between Sydney and Bellingen, but he’s not relinquished the dream of improving Circular Quay.

And he’s spotted another opportunity to see it implemented, as the state government has set aside $200 million to upgrade the ageing ferry wharves, which date back to the 1940s.

Through Transport for NSW, they have also called for expressions of interest from private sector developers to redevelop and operate the entire precinct: ferry wharves, southern promenade, public transport interchange and First Fleet Park.

The Circular Quay Precinct Renewal project is estimated as being worth between $1 billion and $2 billion, and the tender documents mention “cultural placemaking” as an integral part of it, which is where Tim and his company SydneyWay come in.

He wants to use the Quay, the place where the First Fleet met the Gadigal people, to display the full spectrum of stories about Australian history, from narratives about Gadigal and NSW Indigenous heritage to accounts of European settlement, incorporating local, state and national themes, fauna and flora.

“There’s this whole empty space to tell the stories, down there where they need to be told,” Tim said. “It’s such a perfect spot to address Australia, the whole notion of who we are and how we started. And to find a way forward.”

The SydneyWay plan includes:

• Transforming unused parts of Quay infrastructure with vertical gardens, using native plants to cover the exterior columns, uprights and railway expressway girders;

• Using the 20 columns that support the railway as a “canvas” for Aboriginal and modern Australian art, including mosaics, mixed-medium pieces and digital video screens, all interchangeable and able to be updated;

• A Reconciliation Bridge, marking the place where modern Australia began;

• Cultural tours for schoolchildren, as well as interactive smartphone 'walkabout' apps to guide tourists and visitors around the historic story of the precinct.

“It would be like a gallery space, but outside, and we’re telling history where it happened,” Tim said.

On advice from the head of the Renew Circular Quay project, Tim will wait for the final two shortlisted development companies to be announced at the end of this year, and then approach them and see if they will take on the SydneyWay concept.

In the meantime, he’s crowdfunding the production of a professional proposal, which will need input from architects, artists, engineers and vertical garden companies. 

To find out more about the SydneyWay proposal, visit www.sydneyway.com.au, and to see how you can contribute to getting it off the ground, go to https://www.pozible.com/project/sydneyway-circular-quay-1