Botanic Gardens, Vivid Sydney

The Wishing Well Fountain sits outside the Palace Garden Gate entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens on Macquarie Street. The blue illumination was part of Giving Gardens, a display of growing plants and light projections for the Vivid Sydney festival. Governor Lachlan Macquarie declared part of his Governors Domain a Botanic Garden in 1816 and put up a wall to protect it. The Royal Botanic Gardens and Mrs Macquaries Road through it, were developed under the direction of his wife Elizabeth Macquarie.

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Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Vivid Sydney, Macquarie Visions

Hyde Park Barracks Museum on Macquarie Street featured light projections as part of Macquarie Visions at this year's Vivid Sydney Festival. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Lachlan Macquarie’s tenure as Governor of New South Wales. Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth instilled a feeling of hope in the inhabitants of the new colony and along with it, the belief that an opportunity existed for a second chance at life. The theme of this display was 'Fair Go', featuring a fusion of historical photographs and modern images documenting themes of recognition, emancipation, achievement, humanity, hope, a helping hand and a vision for the future.

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Parliament House, Vivid Sydney

Parliament House on Macquarie Street featured light projections as part of Macquarie Visions at this year's Vivid Sydney Festival. The theme of the display was Advance Australia, which featured visionary projects in Australia's history such as Parliament House and the Rum Hospital, the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. It also featured the insights of notable Australians who narrated in projections and recordings, the stories of these projects that have advanced Australia.

Macquarie Street, Vivid Sydney

These blue lighthouses were installed throughout the city as part of the Macquarie Visions displays during the Vivid Sydney festival. Governor Lachlan Macquarie commissioned Australia’s first lighthouse in 1816 at South Head to guide ships to the new colony and emerging trading town of Sydney. He was so impressed with the design of what is now known as the Macquarie Lighthouse that he granted convict architect Francis Greenway his freedom. He went on to build many impressive Sydney buildings as Government Architect. This replica lighthouse (left) was located in Macquarie Street, close to the Hyde Park Barracks museum. The red illuminated traffic cones (right) provided a balance further down Macquarie Street, outside Parliament House.

Circular Quay, Vivid Sydney

The buildings around Circular Quay were recently lit up with an array of colours and patterns for the Vivid Sydney Festival.

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St Mary's Cathedral, Vivid Sydney, Macquarie Visions

St Mary's Cathedral featured light projections as part of Macquarie Visions at this year's Vivid Sydney festival. The theme of this light show was Designing A Nation, which explores Governor Lachlan Macquarie's role in the implementation of hundreds of major building projects in the colony including churches, schools, hospitals, roads, banks and agricultural developments. He also laid the foundation stone for St Mary's Cathedral. While this wasn't strictly a skywatch, this light show on the cathedral's steeples did look spectacular against a black sky.

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Macquarie Street, The Macquarie Arch

The Macquarie Arch (left) was installed at the end of Macquarie Street, as part of Macquarie Visions during the Vivid Sydney Festival. The illuminated arch symbolises the road over the Blue Mountains, which was one of Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s visions and a great achievement. St James Anglican Church, which is an example of the architectural work in the Macquarie period, can be seen here through the arch (right).

Hyde Park, Vivid Sydney

Vivid Sydney is a festival of light, music and ideas which ran from 27th May to 21st June. This is the second year that the city has held the festival that features large-scale light installations and projections, music performances and creative ideas summits. This year in Hyde Park, the Archibald Fountain and trees were bathed in a blue light. A daytime photo of the Archibald Fountain can be seen here.

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Darling Harbour, FIFA Fan Fest

The Sydney International FIFA Fan Fest has been set up at Darling Harbour for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Soccer matches are broadcast live on giant screens in Tumbalong Park and Cockle Bay. Because of the time difference, most matches are played late at night or early in the morning, Australia time. Last Saturday night the fans gathered at Darling Harbour to watch Australia play Ghana at midnight. Every time a goal is scored by any team, flames shoot up in the air beside the screens, to add to the celebration and excitement.

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Watsons Bay, war memorial

 This war memorial is the Lieutenant Gideon James Grieve Memorial which sits in Gap Park, on a clifftop at Watsons Bay. This Boer War monument, made of sandstone and marble, once supported the figure of Lieutenant Grieve, who was originally from Scotland, in highland dress uniform. It was also originally designed as a drinking fountain with a tap and a cup. Australians served in contingents from the six colonies in 1900, as part of the British Empire, and then as the Commonwealth of Australia from 1901 for the Boer War in South Africa. The inscription reads: To the memory of the late Lieutenant G. J. Grieve who fell fighting at the Battle of Paardeberg, South Africa 18 February 1900, aged 36.

Watsons Bay

The view across the bay from the eastern suburb of Watsons Bay towards Sydney Harbour at twilight. In the distance is the city skyline from Sydney Tower to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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Watsons Bay, baths

The golden sunset was reflected in the waters of the Watsons Bay Baths, in the eastern suburb of Watsons Bay. The sun then dropped behind the bushland in the northern suburb of Mosman, across Sydney Harbour, which can be seen here.

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Arncliffe, sewer vent

This tall sewer vent dominates the skyline at West Botany Street in the southern suburb of Arncliffe. It was constructed at the turn of the 20th century as part of the Western Outfall Sewer. By the late 1800s, the five outfall sewers which drained into Sydney Harbour had grossly polluted it. As replacements, the Southern Outfall Sewer was constructed in 1886 including an experimental sewage farm, followed by the Bondi Ocean Outfall Sewer in 1889 and the Western Suburbs Outfall Sewer in 1898. These outfalls still serve the city today, south of the harbour. Sewer vents introduce a flow of fresh air through sewers to reduce the production of noxious and corrosive gases by enabling their release.

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Petersham, shops

These two heritage buildings in Victorian styles are located on Parramatta Road, in the inner west suburb of Petersham, bordering Leichhardt. Both Brighton Hall and the building with the iron lacework balcony and corrugated bullnose awning have been restored and are now used as commercial space. Anyone that is familiar with Parramatta Road would know how lucky I was to find a rare quiet moment to take this shot unobstructed by traffic and only one parked van out the front.