Friday 7 January 2011

Hyde Park Obelisk

The Hyde Park Obelisk is an obelisk located on the western edge of Hyde Park. This monument, which was unveiled in 1857 by the Lord Mayor, George Thornton, was originally used as a sewerage vent, so was jokingly referred to as Thorton's Scent Bottle. It was built at the junction of Elizabeth Street and Bathurst Street because the sewage system was at its highest point here, although it is no longer used as a vent to avoid the risks of contamination. The monument is 22 metres high, including the 6.5 metre high square sandstone base and a filigreed bronze pyramid vent at the top. This obelisk was modelled on Cleopatra's Needle, on the banks of London's Thames River.
 Linked to: Skywatch Friday

54 comments:

  1. I always like obelisks and this one has also a nice story as a former... scent bottle!

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  2. Yes, I love the idea of a former "personality"???? And that is a sizable scent bottle indeed! Always enjoy the history along with your intense, blue skies!! Terrific capture as always, Jim! Hope you have a great weekend!

    Sylvia

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  3. How very interesting. I like the witty term Thornton's scent bottle, just wait until a "Jeannie" slips out!

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  4. Lovely photo, but amazing and very unusual information!

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  5. funny nickname. i'd like take my photo there.

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  6. Very nice, very pretty! =)

    Happy SWF! =)

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  7. Lord Mayors of Sydney like to leave something substantial behind as a memento of their time in office. There are 'things' scattered all over the city. Things and names ...

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  8. Always good to see a monument of time. Makes me feel really small. The way you took it it looks a lot higher than 22 metres!

    BTW: Happy New Year!

    Terrence looks at the sky

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  9. How impressive a sight. Lifts certainly the look up to its top. Please have a good Friday.

    daily athens

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  10. Julie, I have a view of this monument every day from my office window. I'm going to keep an eye out for more 'things and names', around the city.

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  11. Hilarious story, Jim! So glad they don't do that any more.
    But I love love love that incredibly blue sky! It's just wonderful.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  12. Very interesting! A beautiful view of the sky, great capture!

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  13. Even the municipal 'scent bottle' is designed in an artistic fashion!
    Thy sky is incredibly blue.

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  14. I missed this sky so blue and so clear. Great capture!
    Winter sky

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  15. Ah... No wonder it looks so similar to the one I see in London!

    We also have a park called Hyde Park in London!!
    What a coincidence... Ha!

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  16. You Aussies have a great sense of humour! that is one humungous scent bottle (under a gorgeous blue sky!)

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  17. never been to sydney, but i will one day :)

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  18. I think that's the best looking vent you're shared with us yet! I love the 'scent bottle' joke :o)

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  19. A 22 meter sewer vent? The mind boggles!

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  20. So it is possible to make a silk purse from a sow's ear!!! Lovely obelisk.

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  21. London Caller, the early settlers were not very original with a lot of place names or monuments in the new colonies. They often seemed desperate to recreate their so much of their homeland and culture even when sometimes it seemed to make no sense.

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  22. What a gorgeous blue sky! Sure different from our grey, cloudy skies!
    Thanks for the info on the obelisk! Quite a history to it.
    Hope you had a great New year's.

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  23. The monument is so striking against the blue sky. You photographed it very well.

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  24. Fascinating story about the obelisk. And it is pointing towards that wonderful blue sky!

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  25. I love how you include the sroty behind your shots JBar. Love the gorgeous colour of the sky :)

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  26. Definitely makes me think immediately of the l'obelisque in the Place de la Concorde in Paris!

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  27. What a nice sewer vent!
    Thanks for the picture, and the information!

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  28. i like the blue...congrats
    http://graceolsson.com/blog/2011/01/dark-day-in-sweden/

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  29. I first thought it was London, but this Hydepark is in Sydney! Beautiful!

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  30. It doesn't get any bluer than that, does it? Pardon my forwardness, but obelisks always strike me as a particularly male thing. I appreciate their use as sewage vents, though. :-)

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  31. The pretty blue sky makes the obelisk looks stunning...

    Thanks for dropping by :)

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  32. Interesting to learn the story behind the "scent bottle"!

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  33. very interesting post and a nice blue sky..have a great year

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  34. Beautiful shot of that monument against the clear blue sky again.

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  35. Interesting monument with a beautiful blue sky background.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Yoshi

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  36. HAHAHAHA!!! Thorton's Scent Bottle!
    Trés amusant!

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  37. It was a sewage vent? How utterly anti-climactic. Poor obelisk, I bet it wishes it had a more august lineage LOL.

    -----------------------------------
    My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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  38. Ha ha ha..."Thornton's Scent Bottle." I'm sure the surrounding community appreciates that sewage smells no longer waft over them! Great capture!

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  39. great capture with an interesting story to tell, thanks for sharing with Sky Watch Friday

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  40. An awesome shot of that tower surrounded by the beautiful blue sky. Very nicely done.

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  41. Oh my goodness...that is a tall obelisk! It's beautiful...especially with that blue sky behind it! Just lovely!

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  42. What a beautiful monument. Love that clear blue sky.

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  43. Wow... look at our Earth... snowy here and blue skies, sunshine and leafy trees in Sydney!

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