The Domain, Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool

The Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool is a swimming pool in the Domain, located alongside Wolloomooloo Bay in Sydney Harbour. This is the oldest site featuring continuous bathing facilities in Sydney and once known as the Sydney Domain Baths. The baths were rebuilt in 1968 and renamed after Andrew Charlton, known as Boy Charlton, a world champion swimmer and Olympic gold medallist in 1924 and 1932. This pool is one of the places that Sydney's beautiful people come to swim and be seen by other beautiful people. The pool provides spectacular scenic views of Wolloomooloo Bay, Sydney Harbour, Potts Point, Garden Island dockyard and Wolloomooloo wharf.

Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

The Domain, Sydney Festival

This stage at the Domain is set up for various events during the Sydney Festival held annualy in January. It looks a bit quiet here on a weekday but on weekends the stage comes alive with performers and the place is absolutely buzzing with crowds attending free concert events such as Symphony in the Domain, Opera in the Domain and Jazz in the Domain.

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

The Opera House and Harbour Bridge are the two best recognised and most photographed landmarks in Sydney. I captured them here last week as I was walking along the foreshore of Sydney Harbour beside the Royal Botanic Gardens, near Mrs Macquaries Point. It was a beautiful sunny day with only a hint of clouds in the sky.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday

Woolloomooloo, wharf

The Wolloomooloo Wharf, also known as the Finger Wharf, was originally completed in 1915. Situated in Wolloomooloo Bay, it was a working wharf until the 1970s when container ports and airports reduced the need for wharves. In the 1990s it was redeveloped into a hotel, apartments, restaurants and a marina. Additional apartments built at the end of the wharf are some of the most expensive in Sydney. The name Woolloomooloo was adopted from an old homestead located here but there is some dispute about which Aboriginal word the name was derived from, Wallamullah meaning 'place of plenty' or Wallabahmullah meaning a 'young black kangaroo'.
Linked to: Weekend Reflections

Garden Island, dockyard

Garden Island, located in the eastern suburb of Potts Point, is the home port for the naval fleet based on the east coast of Australia. It is a major marine engineering and refit centre for the Royal Australian Navy and Thales Australia. The island has supported naval activities since 1788 and was originally used as a garden bed to grow food for ship crews. Land was reclaimed between Potts Point and Garden Island to expand the site for engineering facilities. This view is from Mrs Macquarie's Point, across Woolloomooloo Bay.

Click here to view all participants of Watery Wednesday

Ultimo, Australian Hotel

The Abercrombie Hotel which was formerly known as the Australian Hotel is on the corner of Broadway and Abercrombie Street, in the inner city suburb of Ultimo. This art deco pub is part of the huge Carlton and United Brewery redevelopement site in Chippendale. Many of the former brewery buildings on the six hectare site behind the pub have already been demolished and will be replaced by many new high rise apartment buildings. This pub is closing soon and will be incorporated in the new development. I thought the former Australian Hotel would be a perfect photo to show on Australia Day.

Glebe, Wentworth Park

The Wentworth Park Sporting Complex is located in the inner west suburb of Glebe. It is best known for the greyhound racing track that has been here since 1932. This view of the art deco clock tower and track looks back towards the city office buildings and Sydney Tower features prominently in the background.

Sydney skyline, Botanic Gardens

The view of part of the Sydney city skyline from the Royal Botanic Gardens, across Farm Cove.

Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

Family Court of Australia, Goulburn Street

The Family Court of Australia is a federal court that in Sydney is located in the Lionel Bowen Building on Goulburn Street. The buiding which was opened in 1994, is named after a former Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General, Lionel Bowen. This contemporary building is not particularly remarkable but it does feature a unique sculpture over the entrance that always catches my attention when I walk past.

Chifley Tower

Chifley Tower is located at 2 Chifley Square, bounded by Hunter, Phillip and Bent Streets. It contains an office tower and the Chifley Plaza retail area. Chifley Tower built in 1992, is the second tallest skyscraper in Sydney, at 241 metres when measured to the top of its spire. Forty One Restaurant located on level 41 and 185m above street level, provides spectacular views of the city and Sydney Harbour. The square and tower are named after Ben Chifley, a former Prime Minister of Australia.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday

Castlereagh Street, churches

These two churches sit side by side in Castlereagh Street. An old religion and a relatively new and sometimes controversial religion. The old sandstone St George's Presbyterian Church (top) was completed in 1860 and needs some restoration work, especially on some of the crumbling exterior sandstone features. Meanwhile the Church of Scientology building (bottom) next door is currently being renovated again and expanded.

Australian Museum, William Street

This fountain at Cook and Phillip Park is located in the square oppothe Australian Museum, along William Street. The two buildings seen here are extensions to the original museum. The Collections and Reseasite rch Building on the left was completed in 2008 and the Parkes-Farmer Wing on the right was completed in 1963. I featured a photo of the heritage listed, neo-classical Barnet Wing built in the 1880s in College Street here. The colourful banners along William Street were scattered throughout the city a few weeks ago for New Years Eve celebrations.
Linked to: Watery Wednesday.

Hyde Park, Sydney Festival

The Sydney Festival is Australia's largest annual cultural event. Held every January since 1977, the program features theatre, music, dance, visual arts and lectures. Many events on the program are free. The Famous Spiegeltent is a regular performance venue, which is part of Festival Gardens, set up in Hyde Park, on the corner of College Street and Park Street. Spiegeltents were created in the early 20th century as travelling pavilions used as concert venues, dance halls, bars and entertainment salons. It's desserted during the day but it comes alive at night.

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday

Banksia railway station, mural

The waiting room at Banksia railway station has recently been adorned by a mural of a Coastal Banksia by local artist Leonie M. Morrison.

Banksia, Gardiner Park

Gardiner Park in the southern suburb of Banksia features Cricket pitches and playing fields for Rugby League and Soccer. These pathways from entrances on Gardiner Avenue are more attractive than the park itself.
Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

Banksia, mural

The dreary wall outside Banksia railway station and behind the bus stop was recently brightened up with a burst of colour. The mural incorporates a flow of stainless steel Banksia leaves, a concept developed by Ruth Downes and Geoff Webster. Banksia, the plant and the suburb, are named after Joseph Banks, a naturalist along with Daniel Solander, on the expedition of the Endeavour led by James Cook. They explored the eastern coast of Australia in 1770 and landed at nearby Botany Bay. The first and last leaves are inscribed with the following quotes from their journals. "The great quantity of plants Mr Banks and Dr Solander found in this place occasioned my giving it the name Botany Bay" James Cook - May 1770. "Of Plants in general the countrey afforded a far larger variety than its barren appearance seemed to promise" Joseph Banks - August 1770.

Kogarah Bay, sunset

A break in the grey sky over Kogarah Bay provided some colour at sunset. This view towards the southern suburb of Carss Park is from the Bonney Street wharf at Sans Souci.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday

Broadway, Grace Brothers department store

These two buildings along Broadway, built in the Federation/Edwardian style of architecture, were the flagship buildings of the former Grace Brothers department store. Both feature distinctive, iconic clock towers and globes. The original five storey building on the left in Glebe was built in 1904 and the matching building on the right in Ultimo was completed in 1923. Changing retail patterns in the city, led to Grace Bros vacating the Broadway store in 1992 and the company was later taken over by the Myer department stores. These buildings were restored and redeveloped in 1998. The 1904 building became part of The Broadway Shopping Centre, a shopping mall with retail space, cinemas, restaurants and car park. The 1923 building is now UniLodge, student accommodation for the nearby University of Sydney. Broadway is the name of the road that runs from Railway Square to the University of Sydney and also creates a border between the suburbs of Ultimo and Chippendale, Glebe and Camperdown.

Camperdown, Lake Northam

Lake Northam is a small lake in Victoria Park, which is located in the inner city suburb of Camperdown. The clock towers and globes above the old Grace Brothers department store buildings (top) and the tower above Market City can be seen in the distance. We've had a lot of rain recently which has certainly made the parks and gardens a lot greener. You can see the difference between these photos which were taken on the weekend and the shot of the fountain from a few weeks ago here.

Click here to view all participants of Watery Wednesday

Chippendale, flats

The "Strickland Building" is a residential flats and retail building on the corner of Meagher Street and Balfour Street, in the inner city suburb of Chippendale. It is typical of the older style of flats seen in Chippendale. Most of the older residential buildings were restricted to three levels. A former corner shop on the ground floor of this building has been converted into an art gallery. It was designed by R. M. Broderick and built in the early 1900s in the Federation Arts and Crafts architectural style.

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday

Chippendale, pub

The Lansdowne Hotel is located on City Road close to the Broadway corner, opposite Victoria Park, in the inner city suburb of Chippendale. Nearby, on Broadway, the former English, Scottish and Australasian Bank built in 1930 is a bar, bistro and nightclub known as 202 Broadway.

Camperdown, monument

A monument sits in the middle of a fountain, in the middle of an island, in the middle of Lake Northam, in the middle of Victoria Park, in the inner city suburb of Camperdown. Erected in 1967, the monument is a replica of the yacht Barrenjoey, to honour William H. Northam and his crew who became gold medal winners in the 5.5 metre yachting event at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

Chippendale, St Benedicts Catholic Church

St Benedicts Catholic Church, completed in 1852, is located on the corner of Broadway and Abercrombie Street, in the inner city suburb of Chippendale. In 2005 the church and parish buildings, including the old St Benedicts Hall seen on the left behind the church, were restored and now form part of the Sydney campus of the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, New Year's Eve

The Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset on New Year's Eve, as the colours quickly drained away from the sky. The theme of the celebrations this year was 'Awaken the Spirit', which was projected on the pylons of the bridge in many languages.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday

Rose Bay, war memorial

This magnificent ornate gate in Lyne Park leads to the Rose Bay war memorial, in the eastern suburb of Rose Bay. The war memorial was dedicated on 21st April 1935 but commemorates World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War and Vietnam War. The gate came from an old mansion called Colebrook, which was located in a nearby suburb called Double Bay.

Click here to view all participants of Good Fences

Rose Bay, ferry wharf

Rose Bay ferry wharf provides access to the Eastern Suburbs ferry services around Sydney Harbour.

Click here to view all participants of Watery Wednesday

Rose Bay police station

Rose Bay police station is located on the corner of New South Head Road and Wunulla Road, in the eastern suburb of Rose Bay. It was originally the gatekeeper's lodge of Woollahra House, a mansion built in the nineteenth century. This building was built in 1871 and was designed in a Victorian Classical Revival style. The original octagonal structure was altered by the addition of two wings and a Spanish Mission style roof when the building became a police station in the 1930s.

Sydney skyline, Sydney Harbour

A view of the city skyline from the Opera House to Circular Quay and the Harbour Bridge, viewed from across Sydney Harbour at Kiribilli. This was New Year's Eve with the Lord Mayor's Party at the Opera House under pink light and the Harbour Bridge with blue decorations.

Click here to view all participants of Friday My Town

Sydney Harbour Bridge, New Year's Eve

The Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve was decorated with colourful projections on its pylons and a number of symbols in the centre. People were encouraged to wear something blue this New Year's Eve, representing the blue harbour and blue summer sky. The colour was also seen on the pylons and the spinning blue ring which transformed into a blue moon and then finally into a red and orange yin yang symbol.

Click here to view all participants of Scenic Sunday

Kiribilli, New Year's Eve celebrations

The New Year's Eve fireworks at nine o'clock are designed for families to enjoy. They were mostly over the harbour and city skyscrapers and offered only a preview of the fireworks on Sydney Harbour Bridge that are seen at midnight. The theme this year was "Awaken the Spirit".

Kirribilli, New Year's Eve celebrations

An estimated 1.5 million people crowded along the foreshore of Sydney Harbour last night to watched the fireworks to celebrate New Year's Eve. These images of the midnight fireworks were taken from the north shore suburb of Kiribilli.

Click here to view all participants of Skywatch Friday