Traffic, what traffic?

Recently, we were allowed to make a copy of this nice photo from 1918, which will appeal to tram enthusiasts. It shows ‘A busy day at Manly Pier’. In the photo are several Manly Tramways employees – from left to right, J Welfare, G May, J Gibbons, C Knowles, R Dobson, and J Dewhurst. On the left of the photo, an O class tram, no 885, sits in the Eustace Street depot. The tall white block of flats are the Savings Bank Flats, erected in 1915, with the Government Savings Bank on the ground floor. Adjacent to them is Rushbrook Flats – it’s not clear what the business on the ground floor of these flats is. Adjacent to Rushbrook is Mansion Flats, built probably late 1917 or early 1918, with Mrs G A Colquhoun’s Esplanade Café on the ground floor. A good place to have a café, ready to catch visitors off the ferry, or people waiting for a tram to arrive. The small building to the left of the photo is probably the NSW Tramway Office. To the right of the Savings Bank Flats is the small premises of P Carew, Estate Agent. To its right is the Pier Hotel. The ABC Bank beyond, at the foot of the Corso.
The Savings Bank Flats survived into the 1980s, but were demolished not long after the Hotel Manly came down. The Grande Esplanade apartments are now on the site. It would be good to know their architect was, as they are some of the earliest apartments built in Manly.