Friday, September 12th, to Saturday, September 13th, 2025 – Falling in Love Again With Sydney

 

Sydney Harbor From Taronga Zoo

Following my week in Dubbo and the Warrumbungles, I flew to Murwillumbah, near the New South Wales/Queensland border. I spent four days visiting family in the area, but I did no photography there, as I had documented it pretty well a year ago* (see link below if you missed it). I imagine all of you can tell from the photo above, where I went next! Indeed, it was my birth city – Sydney. And what a different city it is now! I have not been in Sydney's Central Business District (CBD) since 2014 and many of the high rises and buildings were not even there 11 years ago.

Forbes and Wilson Street, Woollooloomoo 

I met up with a friend from Fernandina Beach, Frances Peters, who will be my travel partner for close to a month now. We stayed in Woollomooloo, which was close to the opera house, Botanic Gardens and The Rocks. I was very aware that it was also just around the corner from the Naval Dockyard at Garden Island, where my father had worked as an engineer for many years. When I was growing up it was a working class neighborhood, connected to the wharves and dockworkers. Now it has gentrified – warehouses have been turned into apartments and is has gained an energetic vibe with many restaurants and hotels. It was a great location to stay – close to the water and gardens, with plush Pott's Point just up the (steep) hill behind it.

Archibald Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park

Unfortunately, my stay began with a chipped tooth which took me to a dentist on our first morning. It was early, but it gave me a beautiful walk through Hyde Park to Elizabeth Street. I loved the curving and gracious paths, the lush and soothing greenery, fountains, old buildings and memorials in the beautiful golden sandstone found here.  

Archibald Memorial Fountain & St. Mary's Basilica and Cathedral, Hyde Park, Sydney

The Archibald Memorial Fountain was built to commemorate the French and Australian cooperation during World War 1. It was created in France, in 1926 and was unveiled here in 1932. The backdrop of St. Mary's Basilica and Cathedral, was first envisioned in 1820 by one of the first priests to stay in Australia, Father John Therry, who imagined twin spires of golden stone dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, rising above the city. Construction began in 1866, but the priest's vision was not fully realized until the towers were added in 2000, following several former iterations of the building. I thought it was quite lovely and the outing re-awakened my deep affection for this lovely, energetic city.

Circular Quay, Sydney

Once the tooth was taken care of (successfully, it seems), we set off for Circular Quay (pronounced 'key'), and The Rocks – an area which seems to carry the heartbeat of Sydney with ferries coming and going, the central train station and a buzz of tourists, like us, enjoying the bridge, the opera house and The Rocks (known as Tallawoladah by the Indigenous Peoples who lived here prior to the arrival of European settlers).

OMG, Not Another Set of Steps!

As you can see, the area is well named, as it is built on steep rock. We climbed many steps and groaned when we saw the next set of them – one after another! You can see above, the very worn bottom steps which are original, and the sandstone building on the right still shows the marks of the convict stonemasons who built it.

Jack Mundey Sculpture, Nurses Walk, The Rocks

It helps a little when an artist hides the reality of the climb ahead with an installation. These steps are decorated with a portrait of a union leader in the area, Jack Mundey, which was created in 2013 by Portuguese artist Alexandre “Vhils” Farto in 2013. The artist applied stucco, into which he 'scratched' the image. Jack was honored for his role in saving The Rocks from being swallowed up in new development in the 1970's. He worked with residents to advocate for saving this neighborhood, even to the point of being arrested for his efforts. The artist says that the way the composition is split between the two walls that flank the stairway suggests that 'Mundey's ideas should enter people's minds, just like people can “enter” his mind there'.

Cadman's Cottage

Sydney Cove is the area of Sydney that Governor Phillip chose to settle on January 26^th, 1788. Thus it is the day that most Australians use to celebrate Australia Day (like July 4^th) whereas the the descendants of the Cadigal and other first nations people observe 'Invasion Day'. A common theme that we have seen on signs and posters acknowledging 'Country' is the statement that 'Australia was, is and always will be, Aboriginal land'.

In 1788, The Rocks, on the west side of Sydney Cove was the area where the convicts and lower class people lived, while the officials and wealthier people lived on the eastern Bennelong Point side, where the opera house is today. Even today, the eastern suburbs are where the wealthiest Sydney-siders live. Cadman's Cottage represents the type of 'rags-to-riches' story that drew people to chance the long journey from Europe (six months at sea) seeking opportunity. John Cadman was sentenced to death in England in 1797 for stealing a horse, but this was commuted to transportation to Australia instead. By his death in 1848, Cadman had been pardoned, he had been a coxswain of lumber boats, was appointed Superintendent of Government Boats and had owned The Steam Packet Inn for four years.  

'First Impressions' Sandstone Relief Sculpture by Bud Dumas, Unveiled 1979.

This memorial on Playfair Street is a three sided sculpture honoring convicts, soldiers, and settlers who made up the original inhabitants in The Rocks. It is unusual in that the artist carved into the sandstone to form the images.
My ancestor, John Anthony, could have been the convict depicted here, as he probably walked through these streets in 1925, as an 18 year-old. He had arrived on the Minstrel as a result of being convicted in the Gloucester Assizes for burglary. According to a family historian he stole port wine and lavender water, for which he became obliged to give the British Government seven years of his life in Australia. He went on to produce very successful – and as far as I know- law abiding heirs!

Avery Terrace

Now, the area is trendy, crowded with restaurants, bars, coffee shops and merchandise for the many visitors who pass through daily. It is a wonderful place to wander – as long as you don't mind steps!

Under The Sydney Harbor Bridge

Fran and I wandered past the Hyatt to get under the Harbor Bridge.

Australian Aboriginal Flag, Alongside the Australian Flag on Sydney Harbor Bridge

There an Aboriginal flag flying permanently on the Sydney Harbor Bridge today, alongside the Australian flag. It replaced the New South Wales flag in 2022 in response to advocacy from First Nations leaders. The government had decided to add a third flagpole to mount the new flag, but the AUD$25 million estimate for it, became a reason for them to change plans and re-locate the NSW flag to the CBD instead. The black on the Aboriginal flag represents the Aboriginal people, the red below represents the earth and the color of ochre, and the yellow circle represents the sun. We saw many groups of people climbing the 1,332 steps of the bridge, on tours led by aboriginal guides, who share how the area might have been, when the Gadigal and Cammeraygal peoples lived on opposite shores of this harbor.  (The Burrawa Aboriginal Climb Experience, in case your knees are better than ours!) 

Sydney CBD Looms Over All

All the while, one is reminded that this little area later became wharves and warehouses, like Wolloomooloo had been, which you can see in the foreground above, while the ever growing CBD hovers in the background as if poised to 'pounce' if it ever became possible.

Susannah Place, Gloucester Street (Note the Soap Savers, Third From Left)

We enjoyed a tour of a small museum called Susannah Place (at the top of all the steps!) which was a typical tenement with four homes. Built in 1844, it remained occupied until 1990. It became a heritage site in the 1980's and now free tours conduct visitors through two of the buildings, providing details of the way in which people lived through the century-and-a-half of its functional life.

Backyards of Susannah Place

Once again (after the Dubbo museum), I discovered that the earlier experiences of my life are now museum worthy. They showed us 'soap savers' that we used in place of detergent for dishes. It is a little wire mesh basket that one swished vigorously in hot water to develop suds. I don't think we used detergent until I was teen. There was also a 'copper' in the laundry, which was an older version of the modern copper my mother had used before we finally got washing machines. One of them was heated by briquettes, I'm not sure how she heated the other. (It was a tough life for her.) They talked about how happy the tenants were here, as they had flushing toilets, rather than the more common 'dunny' that required the dunny, or night-soil man, to empty the pans on a regular basis. I remember school friends who still had dunnys.

Fine Backdrop For Wedding Photography: Harrington Street

This was an area which appeared to be suited to wedding photographers. We saw several couples being posed in these lovely surroundings.

Old Warehouses in The Rocks, With Opera House in Foreground

While we had enjoyed our wander through the very historic area on the west of Sydney Cove, there was no denying the presence of the eastern side with the sails of the Sydney Opera House dominating the skyline on Bennelong Point. Construction of this iconic building began in 1959 and was completed in 1973. The process had been arduous and controversial for its cost overruns, which led to much public disapproval over the process. Thankfully the plan endured and many enjoy this magnificent structure today.

Sunset at Bennelong Point - East Side of Sydney Cove

It was even more beautiful in the setting sunlight. Fran and I enjoyed a marvelous meal at a restaurant on the opera terrace, called Midden, followed by a performance of La Boheme in the Joan Sutherland Theatre. It is music I loved, the staging was 1920's themed, the tenor, Kang Wang was excellent. Overall I found it to be a decent production, but not great. I always feel reassured when the applause from the rest of the audience matches my levels of enthusiasm and Kang Wang was the only one who roused hearty accolades from the audience. 

It had been superb to experience it in this building.

The 'Sails' of the Sydney Opera House

Seeing it lit up as we left was magical........

Sydney CBD from Bennelong Point

….and the city ahead of us shimmered in spite of the late hour. 

Heading Home

In spite of spending quite a few hours here, there were still more corners we could have explored, but it was time to head home for a good rest!

Next, we'll head over to Taronga Park Zoo, Botanic Gardens and Chinatown.

*There were two entries: the first one was at http:worldlywanderer.blogspot.com/2024/07/wednesday-july-17th-to-sunday-July-28^th.html?m=1, in case you're curious and missed it before.