On 29th June 1831, Richard Phillips obtained a liquor licence for the Shipwright Arms on the north-east corner of Kent and Argyle streets. The next year, because of the support of the seafarers and the workers on Observatory Hill, he changed the name to The Sailor's Return. In 1838 Phillips sold the hotel to William Wells, a plasterer, who lived on the opposite corner in a two - storey colonial home he built in 1836 using sandstone blocks quarried from the area at the base of Observatory Hill. Wells continued to operate the pub opposite his home firstly as the Sailors Return, and in 1840 as the Quarryman's Arms.
The original picture of the steps leading up to the Sailor's Return was drawn by Elliot Johnson, c. 1900. He recorded on his drawing that the steps were 'now demolished'. The lithograph was produced by Sir William Johnson (1862-1932) c. 1912.
Source: The Sailor's Return Hotel - The Rocks; drawing Elliot Johnson c. 1900; lithograph Sir William Johnson; Courtesy State Library of Victoria
Where does the Kent-Argyle Streets address come from? The original picture of the steps leading up to the Sailor's Return Hotel is of the corner of Cumberland Place and Harrington Street! …
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https://archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/1709044