Hyde Park, cannon

This historic cannon sits among the flower beds along College Street, on the north-eastern corner of Hyde Park. It was cast at Carron Works in Scotland in 1808 and bears the royal cypher of George III. It was originally part of the fortifications at Bennelong Point but when Fort Macquarie was replaced by a tram terminus in 1905 it was moved to this new location opposite St Mary's Cathedral.

Queen's Square, Queen Victoria

This statue of Queen Victoria is located in Queens Square, north of Hyde Park at the intersection of Macquarie Street and St James Road. It was unveiled in 1888 and stands on the western side of Macquarie Street facing the statue of her husband Prince Albert on the eastern side.

Frazer Fountain, St Marys Road

The Frazer Fountain is a drinking fountain which is located on a traffic island at the intersection of St Marys Road and Prince Albert Road. It is no longer in use so is merely a decorative monument now. It sits directly behind St Mary's Cathedral and is close to the southern entrance of The Domain.

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Sydney skyline, Earth Hour

This view of Sydney's skyline from the Royal Botanic Gardens was taken at twilight. Earth Hour is an annual international event that is held by World Wildlife Fund on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. It was pioneered by WWF Australia in Sydney in 2007 and then 35 countries and over 400 cities participated in 2008. This year there will be 74 countries participating and many people plan to be involved across Australia with many special candle-lit events planned at restaurants, cafes and bars around Sydney tonight at 8.30pm.

Arncliffe Railway Station, sunrise

Arncliffe railway station is on the T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line. With Daylight Saving extended to the end of March now, this gave me opportunities to witness some beautiful sunrises on the way to work. This is the railway station a couple of days ago, just before 7am. You can see what the station looks like in the afternoon here. Tomorrow night, an international event called Earth Hour at 8.30pm raises awareness of the need to take action on climate change. More about that tomorrow.

Linked to: Skywatch Friday

Phillip Bay, Yarra Bay House

Yarra Bay House is located on Yarra bay, in the suburb of Phillip Bay. It was built in 1903 to house the workers of the Cable Station at La Perouse. After the Cable Station became obsolete in 1917, it became home to various government departments including the Director of Public Instruction (later the Education Department) and the Department of Youth and Community Services. The title was given to the local Aboriginal Land Council in 1985. This building with an Aboriginal flag painted on one of the walls, needs some restoration.

Yarra Bay

Yarra Bay is one of the smaller bays of Botany Bay and is part of the eastern suburb of Phillip Bay. Yarra Bay Sailing Club is the only building down near the beach and Yarra Bay House is a historic house up on the hill behind the bay.

Linked to: Watery Wednesday

Wentworthville, St Andrews Presbyterian Church

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is a beautiful sandstone church along McKern Street, in the western suburb of Wentworthville. This heritage listed church was designed by David Lennox in the Victorian Gothic architectural style. It was originally constructed in the 1840s along Church Street in Parramatta but was relocated stone by stone to the present site in 1928.

Lidcombe, Russian Orthodox Church

The Holy Annunciation - Assumption Russian Orthodox Church is located along Vaughan Street, in the western suburb of Lidcombe.

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Eveleigh, CarriageWorks

CarriageWorks is a multi-venue arts centre dedicated to the development and presentation of contemporary arts. CarriageWorks is housed in the old Eveleigh railway yards and features theatre spaces, gallery and exhibition spaces, rehearsal rooms, a scenery workshop and office space. The inner city suburbs of Redfern, Eveleigh and Darlington have a high indigenous population and Yaama Dhinawan is a training, community and function centre located on the Carriage Works site. According to the 2006 Census, 2.4% of the Australian population reported having Aboriginal or Indigenous ancestry. I didn't have many photos with an indigenous theme that I could use for my Harmony Day theme this week, so I need to rectify that soon.

Wiley Park, Cao Dai temple

The Vietnamese Cao Dai Temple is an impressive structure on King Georges Road at Wiley Park. Cao Dai literally means 'high place' and figuratively means 'the highest place where God reigns'. According to the 2006 Census, the top five countries of birth of residents not born in Australia were United Kingdom 23.5%, New Zealand 8.8%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.5% and Vietnam 3.6%. Harmony Day is celebrated on 21st March each year, on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is part of the Diverse Australia Program and celebrates the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity. The key message of Harmony Day is 'Everyone Belongs' and it's all about community participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Harmony Day events began in Australia in 1999, involving schools and community groups and have been growing bigger each year with many events held across Australia.

Auburn, Gallipoli Mosque

The Auburn Gallipoli Mosque dominates the skyline in the western suburb of Auburn. The project was initiated and largely funded by the Turkish community and construction took 13 years between 1986 and 1999. The Gallipoli name of the mosque reflects the shared legacy of the Australian society and the Turkish community behind the construction of it. The name "Gallipoli" is derived from the Greek "Kallipolis" meaning "Beautiful City". Australia has many people with Middle Eastern heritage, both Muslim and Christian, with the majority from Lebanon. According to the 2006 Census, 1.7% of the population in Australia has a religious affiliation with Islam, compared to 63.9% Christian, 18.7% no religion and 2.1% Buddhist. I thought this was an apprpriate photo for both the Skywatch theme today and my Harmony Day theme that I have featured this week. Harmony Day, which is celebrated tomorrow and every year on the 21st of March, celebrates cultural diversity and the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia.

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Chinatown

Sydney's Chinatown is located in the southern part of the city at Haymarket. Chinese gates are located on both ends of the Dixon Street pedestrian mall along with a decorative pergola and decorative street lights. Many Chinese restaurants and businesses can be found in this area. Continuing the Harmony Day theme, most Chinese immigrants to Australia arrived in the last couple of decades but many Australians have traced some Chinese ancestry, dating all the way back to the Australian Gold Rush days in the 1800s. Most Chinese immigrants came from either mainland China or the former British colony of Hong Kong but many have also come via a third country such as Malaysia, Singapore, Phillipines or Vietnam. In the 2006 Census, 3.4% of Australians reported having Chinese ancestry.

Belmore, All Saints Greek Orthodox Church

All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in the south-western suburb of Belmore, is one of many Greek churches throughout Sydney. In 1964, the Greek Orthodox community puchased All Saints Anglican Church nearby and retained the All Saints name. The community quickly outgrew the little church and completed this new church building in 1972, which also houses spaces for classrooms and community activities. Continuing the Harmony Day theme this week, there are many people of Greek heritage in Australia. Greek migration to Australia peaked in the late 1950s and early 1960s and today there are many who identify themsleves as second and third generation Greek Australians. In the 2006 census, the top languages spoken at home after English only 83%, were Italian 1.8%, Greek 1.4%, Cantonese 1.3% and Arabic 1.3%. There are many Greeks living in Sydney with large communities in the eastern, southern and south-western suburbs.

Tempe, Irish pub

The old Riverview Hotel at Tempe is now known as the The Harp Irish Pub and claims to be a traditional Irish Pub. Today is St Patricks Day, which is a day of celebration for people with Irish heritage. It also fits in well with my multicultural Harmony Day theme this week. The Irish have migrated to Australia since the early days of European colonisation and in the 2006 census, 9.1% of Australians reported having Irish heritage.

Leichhardt, Italian Forum

The Italian Forum is in the inner-west suburb of Leichhardt, which features a large Italian community. This plaza emulates the style of an Italian village, with the courtyard as the town piazza providing outdoor dining for the restaurants and cafes (above). The entrance to the Italian Forum (left) is on Norton Street, which is known as Sydney's Little Italy. The Leichhardt Public Library (below) is also located here, along with a number of shops and boutiques on the upper levels, overlooked by residential apartments.

Harmony Day, which is celebrated on 21st March each year, celebrates cultural diversity and the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia. To commemorate this, over the next week I'm going to share some photos of culturally diverse places and buildings in Sydney. Italians migrated to Australia in large numbers after World War 2 and many originally settled in the inner west suburbs of Sydney such as Leichhardt.

Sydney Football Stadium

The Sydney Football Stadium also known as Aussie Stadium, is located in the eastern suburb of Moore Park It is used for many major sport matches and cultural events such as rock concerts. It is the home ground to a number of professional teams in the different football codes popular in Australia, including the Sydney Roosters in NRL rugby league, New South Wales Waratahs in Super 14 rugby union and Sydney FC in A-League soccer. The Sydney Swans in the AFL Australian Rules Football play their home ground matches next door at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It is also the venue for many semi-finals and preliminary finals in these competitions and hosts many international matches.

Kogarah, Jubilee Stadium

This view of Jubilee Stadium is from Park Street, in the southern suburb of Kogarah. It's Autumn and the rubgy league football season has just begun. I thought I'd share a couple of landmarks associated with my NRL football team, the St George Illawarra Dragons St George Dragons have a long tradition in the competition since 1921. They merged with a newer team, the Illawarra Steelers back in 1998. Their Sydney homeground stadium is here at Jubilee Oval, which features a Walk of Fame at the entrance.

Beverley Park, golf course (Skywatch Friday)

The storm clouds were lurking about, but the golfers were enjoying the sunshine while it lasted at Beverley Park Golf Course.
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Moore Park tennis courts

The Moore Park Tennis Courts are located on the corner of Cleveland Street and Anzac Parade, in the eastern suburb of Moore Park. This facilities building is built in the Federation architectural style.

Moore Park, Kippax Lake (Watery Wednesday)

This fountain and sculpture in the middle of Kippax Lake at Moore Park was dedicated to Australian sportswomen in 1967. It was designed by Diana Hunt and constructed in metal on a concrete base. Kippax Lake was named after William Kippax, a Sydney City Council Alderman.

 Linked to: Watery Wednesday

Moore Park, gateway

The Moore Park Gate along Moore Park Road, is simply two sandstone columns which are all that remain of the walls and fence that once surrounded the park.

Moore Park rotunda

 This rotunda offers some shade in the middle of Moore Park.

Darlinghurst, Oxford Square, drinking fountain

 This canopied water fountain is located in Oxford Square, in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. It was one of eight highly ornamental drinking fountains brought to Sydney from Glasgow in 1870.

Darlinghurst, Taylor Square

This fountain above is located in Taylor Square, in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst,  view of Oxford Street looking east can be seen below. The city hosts one of its biggest events tonight, the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The parade route runs from the city beside Hyde Park, along Oxford Street past Taylor Square at Darlinghurst and then down Flinders Street to Moore Park.

Sydney Tower

Viewed from Hyde Park, this palm tree soars into the sky but is actually dwarfed by Sydney Tower, which is Sydney's tallest building.

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Botanic Gardens, Governor Phillip Fountain

The Governor Phillip Fountain is a magnificent sculpture and fountain in the Royal Botanic Gardens, close to Macquarie Street. Created by the Italian sculptor Achille Simonetti, it honours Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. The fountain was unveiled during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations (60 years) of the reign of Queen Victoria in 1897.

Botanic Gardens, Huntsman and Dogs

This statue in the Botanic Gardens is called 'Huntsman and Dogs' by French sculptor A. Jacquemart. It was cast by the Val d’Osne Company c. 1879 in ‘imitation bronze’ which is an iron casting on which copper has been deposited by electrolysis.

Botanic Gardens, Choragic Monument

This sandstone monument in the Royal Botanic Gardens is a replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was created by Walter McGill, sculptor for James Martin, Premier of New South Wales, and was erected in the grounds of his residence in Macleay Street, Potts Point in 1870. When that site was acquired by the Commonwealth Government for the installation of a graving dock, it was moved to the Botanic Gardens with a commemoration ceremony held in 1943. The original Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens was erected by the choregos Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus, to commemorate the award of first prize in 335/334 BC to a performance he had sponsored. The choregos was the sponsor who paid for and supervised the training of the dramatic dance-chorus.

Royal Botanic Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens sit on the eastern edge of the city, beside Farm Cove. The gardens feature plants and horticultural education centres. The parkland is used for recreation, sport and entertainment. There are many monuments and statues throughout the gardens. This is the main pond looking towards the Choragic Monument.

Botanic Gardens, Pyramid Glasshouse (Theme Day: Glass)

The Pyramid Glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Gardens houses a display of tropical plants. The glasshouse opened in 1972 and is part of the Sydney Tropical Centre which also features a glass Arc. An underground foyer links the Pyramid to the Arc.

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