Circular Quay, Bennelong Apartments

A water taxi zooms past the Bennelong Apartments, located on Bennelong Point at East Circular Quay. The apartments were completed in 2003 and earned the nicknamed 'The Toaster' during construction due to their uninspiring design, likened to a kitchen appliance. The site was once home to wool and bond stores which were replaced by office buildings in the 1950s. The current apartment development was surrounded by a lot of controversy during planning and construction. Firstly because Sydneysiders preferred the views of Royal Botanic Gardens created when the office buildings were demolished and secondly because the new development blocked views of the Opera House from the ferry wharves and railway station at the quay. Some of the controversy has somewhat dissipated in recent years with the opening of the boutiques, shops, cinema, bars, indoor and outdoor restaurants, the colonnade and broad walkway along the shore from the quay to the opera house.

Linked to: Watery Wednesday

Circular Quay, railway station and ferry wharves

A view of Circular Quay Railway Station and the Circular Quay Ferry Wharves. Circular Quay is a major Sydney transport hub, with a large ferry, rail and bus interchange. The railway station, built in 1956, is on the City Circle line servicing a number of City Rail services. The ferry wharves are a terminal for Sydney Ferries services. The Cahill Expressway runs above the railway platforms, linking the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Eastern Distributor.

 Linked to: My World Tuesday

Circular Quay, Overseas Passenger Terminal

The Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, where many cruise ships dock in Sydney Harbour.

East Circular Quay

The view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Bennelong Apartments from the ferry wharves at Circular Quay.

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The Rocks, Earth Hour

Earth Hour is an annual event to to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Participants are asked to support the cause by switching off lights and electrical equipment for one hour at 8.30pm on the last Saturday of March. Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 with approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses taking part. In 2008, Earth Hour involved 370 cities and towns around the world, including Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, Dublin, Atlanta and Bangkok. In 2009, Earth Hour went global with millions of people in over 4,000 towns and municipalities in 88 countries taking part. It also involved landmarks across the world switching their lights off from the Opera House in Sydney to the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Times Square in New York. Tonight, the diners at this restaurant at the The Rocks will enjoy their dinner by candlelight, but this decorative illuminated tree will have its lights switched off.

Campbells Cove, Sydney Opera House

The view from Campbells Cove to the Sydney Opera House, as a water taxi crosses Circular Quay and a helicopter flies in the distance.

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The Rocks, sculpture

This sculpture of Robert Campbell adorns the wall of the Customs Officers Stairs at The Rocks. It was created by Dennis Adams in 1978. Robert Campbell was a pioneering merchant in Sydney who built the private Campbell's wharf and warehouses in this area. The other sculpture at this location is a war memorial created by Lyndon Dadswell, a lieutenant who created sculptures of his war time experience serving with the Australian infantry in the Middle East.

The Rocks, Campbells Cove

The view across Campbells Cove towards Campbells Wharf and the former warehouses at The Rocks.

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The Rocks, waterfront warehouses

Campbell's Stores is a row of heritage-listed sandstone warehouses at The Rocks which have been converted into restaurants. They overlook Campbells Cove, with views across Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House. 

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Fairfield, The Crescent Park

The Crescent Park is located in the western suburb of Fairfield. It part of the commercial centre, beside the railway station. A clock and the magnificent International Monument that I featured yesterday are found in this park.

Fairfield, International Monument

The International Monument sits it Crescent Park, in the western suburb of Fairfield. The Fairfield National Society, which created the monument, was formed in 1968 by migrants from 16 nations. The group which later became the Fairfield Multicultural Society, were committed to a harmonious and coherent society, proud to be Australian yet enthusiastic to share and embrace cultural difference. Today is Harmony Day, part of the Diverse Australia Program that celebrates the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity. It is celebrated annually on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Rocks, St Patrick's Day

These Irish businesses on George Street at the Rocks celebrated St Patrick's Day this week. The Irish Design Shop (top) was decorated in Irish colours. The shop is in a former Victorian terrace house with the Tara Tea Room located behind it. The Mercantile Hotel (bottom) is an Irish pub which was overflowing with patrons and beer. The Mercantile Hotel, established in 1915 and built in the Federation Free Style, is on the national heritage register for its historical significance to the area.

Greenacre, private school

The Malek Fahd Islamic School is a private school in the western suburb of Greenacre. The mosque (top) features an impressive minaret and dome. The modern school buildings (bottom) also feature some distinctly Middle Eastern architectural designs. Established in 1989, Malek Fahd is now the largest islamic school in Australia with over 1700 students attending its primary school and high school. I'm continuing my series of photos for Harmony Day, which is coming up this Sunday.

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Redfern, Gadigal Information Service

The Gadigal Information Service and Koori Radio are located in this office building in the inner city suburb of Redfern. The Gadigal Information Service was established in 1993 and became an incorporated Aboriginal association to provide a community based media, arts and information service for the Indigenous community in Sydney. Koori Radio 2LND 93.7FM is Sydney's only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander full-time community radio station. The indigenous art design on the louvred exterior is based on the 1968 play The Cherry Pickers by indigenous playwright Kevin Gilbert. This was originally the site of the Black Theatre, the first Aboriginal theatre in Sydney.

Haymarket, Golden Water Mouth

Golden Water Mouth is a sculpture and fountain located at the entrance of Chinatown, in the inner city suburb of Haymarket. The artwork was created by Lin Li in 1999. The Australian and Chinese cultures are signified by the combination of materials creating a Yin-Yang harmony. The five natural elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth have been incorporated in the design, to encourage positive energy and good fortune. The artist found this dead two centuries old Yellow Box Eucalyptus in Condoblin, New South Wales, near the Lachlan River. This is where many Chinese went during the Gold Rush and later settled alongside the river and grew vegetables for trade.

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South Hurstville, Community Wall

This Community Wall is located beside King Georges Road in the southern suburb of South Hurstville. The project was a partnership between Kogarah City Council and Woniora Road School to encourage people to embrace diversity, tolerance and difference. Students from the school designed a mural that celebrates Australia's multicultural society, using a collection of flags which acknowledge the culturally diverse composition of the St George area. Harmony Day is celebrated on 21st March each year in Australia, 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. I'll be featuring some more muticultural subjects this week, leading up to Harmony Day.

Linked to: My World Tuesday

Darlinghurst, art

I stumbled across this sculpture recently in a courtyard behind an office building that contains the Darlinghurst Post Office. The building is located at 1 Oxford Street, on the border of the inner city suburbs of Surry Hills and Darlinghurst. The artwork is called Naissance Bronze by Arthur Sherman. The plaque reads: A symbolic representation of Australia, the sculpture from a distance appears as a burst of energy, its surface texture capturing the quality of lava, its foundation the kangaroo. Other figures representative of Australia evolve out of the kangaroo in marsupial fashion. The Aboriginal and White race are interlocked yet pulling apart at the top of the work. As in Aboriginal x-ray painting, the bones and muscles of the kangaroo, Aborigine and Captain Cook are exposed, merging with the roots of a Moreton Bay Fig Tree.

Millers Point, Sydney Harbour Bridge

This view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset is from Observatory Hill, above the terrace houses at Millers Point.

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Tennyson Point

 Tennyson Point is a northwestern suburb, located on the northern shore of the Parramatta River. The suburb was named after the Tennyson Estate in this area which was subdivided in 1887 and itself was named after the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign.

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Brighton-Le-Sands, boardwalk and pavilion

This boardwalk beside the beach at Botany Bay, is in the southern suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands. It was a beautiful day for a walk or a bike ride along the bay, to take advantage of the blue sky. Le Sands Pavilion contains restaurants, a kiosk cafe and the bathers pavilion.

Linked to: Skywatch Friday

Surry Hills, Sydney Mansions (Theme Day: The Tenin Technique)

Sydney Mansions is a block of flats located on Goulburn Street, in the inner city suburb of Surry Hills. This building is a redeveloped warehouse of the iconic Mark Foy's department store. Their stores were located in nearby Oxford Street and Liverpool Street which is now The Downing Centre.

Linked to: Theme Day.

Circular Quay, Overseas Passenger Terminal

This cruise ship was docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay yesterday. We're in peak cruise season for Sydney at the moment, with many cruise ships docked around Sydney Harbour in recent days including the Albatros seen here at Circular Quay, Queen Mary 2 at Wolloomooloo on Monday and Dawn Princess at Barangaroo on the weekend.

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Alexandria, Alan Davidson Oval

With summer coming to an end and autumn just begun, this Cricket match played on Alan Davidson Oval last weekend will be one of the last of the season. The oval, named after a famous Australian cricketer Alan Davidson, is located on the edge of Sydney Park in the inner city suburb of Alexandria. It is used for cricket in the spring and summer is also used for Australian Rules Football in autumn and winter.

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South Hurstville, Friendship Park

This small reserve in South Hurstville was recently transformed into the Ma'anshan Friendship Park. It celebrates the Friendship City Relationship between Kogarah City Council and Ma'anshan Municipality, a city in eastern China. The statue is of Li Bai, often called the 'Immortal Poet', one of China's most important poets whose contribution to Chinese literatre influenced many later poets. It was donated by the Ma'anshan Municipality as a token of friendship to Kogarah City Council in 2009.

Pyrmont, Waterfront Park

The scenic walkway through Waterfront Park at Pyrmont looking towards Anzac Bridge and out across Johnstons Bay.

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Pyrmont, wharf

The new wharf in Johnstons Bay at Pyrmont, beside what will soon be known as Pirrama Park. This shot is looking up towards Harris Street and Elizabeth Piazza, which runs along the foreshore. The block of redeveloped flats on the right is The Elizabeth, which was once the office block for CSR Limited. This shot is in the opposite direction to the garden of poles that are remnants of the old wharf that I featured last weekend.

Linked to: Weekend Reflections.

Anzac Bridge sunset

I was driving close to the Anzac Bridge last weekend and noticed that the clouds and sun were putting on a bit of a show. I managed to walk half way across the bridge and was in time to capture this great shot at sunset.

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Pyrmont, warehouse

The inner west suburb of Pyrmont was once an industrial waterfront with wharves, factories and warehouses. In recent years many of the old structures have been redeveloped into residential and commercial complexes. This old warehouse at Wharf 17 of Jones Bay Wharf at Pyrmont has been converted into office space. It is currently the Sydney headquarters for the Seven Network, one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Sydney Tower and the city skyline can be seen in the background, located on the opposite side of Darling Harbour.

Pyrmont, bays and harbours

This scenic view is from the clifftop at Giba Park, in the inner west suburb of Pyrmont. Below the cliff is Pyrmont Point Park, where Johnstons Bay meets Jones Bay and Darling Harbour. Nearby are Pyrmont Bay, White Bay, Blackwattle Bay, Rozelle Bay Walsh Bay and Cockle Bay. They are all part of Port Jackson or Sydney Harbour. Across the water, Balmain East is on the left and Barangaroo is on the right.

Linked to: Watery Wednesday

Pyrmont, Distillery Hill

The inner west suburb of Pyrmont is undergoing gentrification with the site of an old sugar refinery and rum distillery being redeveloped into apartments, shops, restaurants and parkland. The apartment buildings on Distillery Hill have some colourful features that really stand out on the skyline and look great against a bright blue sky. The building with the yellow trim is called The Distillery, behind it is a building with green and brown trim called Refinery Apartments. Can you see the bloke on the pool deck of The Distillery just having a bit of a look around?

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Pyrmont, Giba Park (Theme Day: Passageway)

This passageway in the sandstone wall connects Pyrmont Point Park with Giba Park at the top of the cliff, in the inner west suburb of Pyrmont.

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