The Rocks, Rawson Institute for Seamen

This view of the Rawson Institute for Seamen, formerly the Mariner's Church, at The Rocks is from Circuar Quay West. The original Mariners' Church building in George Street was designed by John Bibb in the Victorian Free Classical style in temple form and built in 1859. Alterations were designed by William Kent in Federation Free Classical style in 1909. A new chapel was built in the Inter-War Mediterranean or Romanesque style In 1927. The Bethel Union, which built the original church was involved in missionary activity among seamen. They leased the Mariners' Church to the Missions to Seamen in 1835, creating a mission for neglected seamen. The complex included accommodation, a hall for concerts and dining, smoking rooms, a library and a gymnasium. The two organisations combined functions and after Sir Henry Rawson instigated extensions which were carried out in 1910, the complex was renamed The Rawson Institute for Seamen. These days the complex is a gallery.

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The Rocks, police station

This building on the corner of George Street and Argyle Street at The Rocks became the police station in 1998. The Rocks local area command police station was a replacement for the small police station located opposite in George Street and another in Phillip Street. I took this photo a few months ago before construction work began for the extensions to The Museum of Contemporary Art next door on George Street extending behind this building to Argyle Street and leading down to Circular Quay.

Millers Point, bridges

The Windmill Street Bridge and the Munn Street Bridge over Hickson Road at Millers Point. The road was cut out of the sandstone cliff to provide a link between the wharves on Walsh Bay and those being built at Darling Harbour, requiring these bridges to be built in 1910.

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Millers Point, emergency response tug

The emergency response tug is one of two used by the Sydney Ports Corporation on Sydney Harbour. They are used for Incidents Response such as fire-fighting, oil spills, salvage and vessel assistance. The Tedd Noffs tug seen here is moored at the Operational Headquarters of the Sydney Ports Corporation at Millers Point. It's named after Reverand Tedd Noffs, an Australian humanitarian who pioneered initiatives for young people.

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Millers Point and Barangaroo

This view of the inner city suburbs of Millers Point and Barangaroo is from a ferry on Sydney Harbour. Moore's Wharf and the Operational Headquarters of the Sydney Ports Corporation in the foreground and the Palisade Hotel on the horizon are in Millers Point. The Harbour Control Tower and the city's former port facilities, which are soon to be redeveloped, were formerly part of Millers Point but are now part of a new suburb known as Barangaroo.

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Millers Point, Sydney Theatre Company

Sydney Theatre on Hickson Road at Millers Point is located opposite the Walsh Bay wharves.  It seats up to 896 people and is managed by the Sydney Theatre Company, which was established in 1978. The company also manages The Wharf Theatre located nearby at piers 6/7 and theatre productions at the Sydney Opera House. Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton joined the Sydney Theatre Company as Artistic Directors at the beginning of 2008.

Millers Point, Moore's Wharf

Moore’s Wharf on Walsh Bay at Millers Point was established in the 1830s by Henry Moore, the first Australian P&O agent. The sandstone warehouse built by William Long using convict labour and stone quarried on site. Moore bought the wharf and accompanying building from Long in 1837. The warehouse was originally located further west but in 1978 was moved, stone by stone, to its present location when it became the Operational Headquarters of the Sydney Ports Corporation. The vessels moored at Moore's Wharf are used by Sydney Ports Corporation on Sydney Harbour.
Linked to: Watery Wednesday

Millers Point, Towns Place Square

This small square (above) located at Towns Place in the inner city suburb of Millers Point sits between two new apartment developments. Towns Place at Walsh Bay was once the site of Robert Towns’s whaling and trading empire. The sandstone wall of the original bond store c.1860 was rebuilt in 2006 using stone salvaged from the cellar level wall uncovered during excavations for these new blocks of flats. Stone blocks from the old warehouse have also been formed into benches in the square, along the length of the wall (below).

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Millers Point, ablutions block

This heritage sandstone building located on the corner of Towns Place and Hickson Road at Millers Point houses a cafe. Back in the 1850s and 1860s this area around Walsh Bay was the site of Captain Robert Towns’s whaling and trading empire. This building was used as an ablutions block, where wharf labourers could clean up after their day's work.

Woolloomooloo, street art

This artwork features a rural scene in the middle of the inner city suburb of Woolloomooloo. It was created by Guerrilla Gardeners, a short-lived reality television, gardening makeover show. The premise of the show was to revitalise parts of the city that they feel had been neglected by local councils.This busy intersection is located  between the ramps of the Eastern Distributor, near a railway bridge for the Eastern Suburbs railway line. The artwork features a row of humorous road signs that provide a useful way of remembering how to spell the suburbs name 'wool', 'loo', 'moo', 'loo' with relevant pictures of a 'sheep', 'toilet', 'cow', 'toilet'. The suburb's name is derived from an Aboriginal word that was used for a historic homestead that was located here. It's unclear if it was derived from either Wallamullah, meaning 'place of plenty' or Wallabahmullah, meaning a 'young black kangaroo'.  I have featured a couple of other Guerrilla Gardeners projects at Moore Park and Barangaroo.

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Manly, Oceanides

'Oceanides'  is a sculpture of two sea nymphs located on the side of the rock pool at Fairy Bower Beach, in the northern suburb of Manly. The sculpture was created by Helen Leete in 1997. The Okeanides in Greek mythology were sea nymphs that were part human and part sea creature.

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Kyeemagh, Cooks River

This sunset view of Cooks River is from the Endeavour Bridge, in the southern suburb of Kyeemagh, looking towards the suburbs of Banksia and Arncliffe.

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Botanic Gardens, The Satyr

The Satyr is a bronze cast of a 1924 sculpture by Frank ‘Guy’ Lynch located in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was modelled on the artist’s brother, whose death inspired Kenneth Slessor to write his poem 'Five Bells'. In Greek mythology, the Satyrs were half human and half goat deities of the woods and mountains. They were companions of the gods Pan and Dionysus.

Farm Cove, Man O'War Steps

The Man O'War Steps and jetties are located on the western end of Farm Cove and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The stone jetty and steps were reconstructed in 1973 when the adjacent Sydney Opera House was built on Bennelong Point, from where this photo was taken. The floating Man O'War West Jetty and Man O'War East Jetty which were added later are used by water taxis. The original stone jetty and steps were constructed for the movement military stores and personnel to and from a ship called the Man O'War, anchored nearby in Sydney Harbour. According to a plaque here: the Man O'War Steps served as a landing and embarkation point for men of the British and Australian Fleets in peace and war for 150 years.

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The Domain, Veil of Trees

Veil of Trees is an art installation by Janet Laurence and Jisuk Han created in 1999, comprising of a line of forest red gum tree plantings and glass panels. It is located beside Mrs Macquaries Road at The Domain, just outside the Royal Botanic Gardens. The glass panels are embedded with seeds, ash, honey, resin, and fragments of prose and poems by Australian writers, inspired by the landscape.

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Circular Quay, buskers

These buskers dressed as surf lifesavers that are usually seen on a beach, pose for photos with tourists, crack jokes and display some antics for people passing by at Circular Quay.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, night

The Sydney Harbour Bridge at night, viewed from the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

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Botanic Gardens, Biennale, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Main Pond at the Royal Botanic Gardens hosted this floating art installation for the 17th Biennale of Sydney. 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by artist Choi Jeong Hwa was a four-metre plastic lotus flower that inflated and deflated every minute. The fluoro colour looked a bit faded by the end of the biennale when I photographed it but it was still impressive to watch. There's a video of this installation in action at the Royal Botanic Gardens site here.

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Cockatoo Island, stack

This chimney stack from the industrial past of Cockatoo Island still dominates the skyline. The coal fired powerhouse and brick chimney stack were built in 1918, to provide electricity for the island. For a distant view of how it dominates the skyline of the island, there's a shot here from across the harbour.

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Cockatoo Island, houses

These historic houses that sit high on the cliff on Cockatoo Island were built in the Federation architectural style. The houses were once home to the medical officer and engineering manager when the island was a busy shipyard. They are available as holiday accommodation these days. 

Cockatoo Island, Sutherland Dock

Cockatoo Island has a long history of ship repair and shipbuilding activities. Sutherland Dock was built with free labour between 1882 and 1890. Nearby Fitzroy Dock was built using convict labour between 1847 and 1857. The shipyard closed in 1992 and the island is now being revitalised as a public attraction on Sydney Harbour including a crane on the dock which can be seen here.
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Cockatoo Island, Biennale, art

The former Turbine Hall at Cockatoo Island provided a spectacular setting for the art work during the 17th Biennale of Sydney. The works shown here by artist Rohan Wealleans are 'He with Glands of Wasp' (2009), 'He of 109 Names and One Tusk' (2009) and 'Janicot Vader' (2009). They really look great bathed in natural light and an industrial backdrop.

Linked to: My World Tuesday

Cockatoo Island, Biennale, art

Cockatoo Island featured 120 works by 56 artists during the 17th Biennale of Sydney. Being a former industrial site, the island provides some interesting surroundings for the art work such as this one, Kasbah created by Kader Attia. This art work is made from rooftop materials collected from improvised dwellings and shanty towns on the fringes of cities across the world, complete with television antennas and satellite dishes. Visitors were invited to walk along an uneven path across them.

Cockatoo Island, walkway

This walkway along the northern shore of Cockatoo Island is punctuated by trees and benches. The rusty steel benches are a reminder of the shipbuilding history of Cockatoo Island and provide views of the Parramatta River and the nearby northern suburb of Woolwich.

Linked to: Scenic Sunday

Cockatoo Island, Fitzroy Dock

Cockatoo Island has a long history of ship repair and shipbuilding activities. Fitzroy Dock was the first dry dock, built using convict labour between 1847 and 1857. Shipbuilding began on the island in 1870 with the construction of dredges, barges and tugs. Nearby Sutherland Dock was built with free labour between 1882 and 1890. In 1913, Cockatoo Island became the naval dockyard of the Royal Australian Navy and grew to become Australia's biggest shipbuilding and dockyard facility. The shipyard closed in 1992 but many of the workshops, docks and equipment were retained.

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Cockatoo Island, cranes

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour. In 1839 it was chosen as the site of a new penal establishment and convicts built prison barracks, a military guardhouse and official residences. The island was used for the colony's ship repair and shipbuilding activities after the first dry dock was completed by convicts in 1857. It became Australia's biggest shipbuilding and dockyard facility in the 20th century. The island's maritime industrial activity ceased in 1992 but many of the workshops and equipment have been retained as an attraction. More cranes can be seen here.

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Cockatoo Island, Biennale, Inopportune:Stage One

The former Turbine Hall at Cockatoo Island made an ideal space for the 17th Biennale of Sydney artworks. Inopportune:Stage One was created by artist Cai Guo-Caing in 2004 and has been displayed in a number of contemporary art museums overseas. The art installation features a cascade of nine cars with sequenced multichannel light tubes of varying lengths to simulate a car bombing.

Cockatoo island, Biennale, ferry

The Royale, Regal and Proclaim are restored deck timber ferries that provided free ferry services between the art exhibitions during the 17th Biennale of Sydney. The services ran between Pier 2 at Walsh Bay, the Commissioner's Steps at Circular Quay and Cockatoo Island.
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Cockatoo Island, administrative building, Biennale

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney Harbour, located at the junction of the Parramatta River and the Lane Cove River. This is the administrative building which sits alongside the main entrance from the ferry wharf during the 17th Biennale of Sydney, an exhibition of contemporary art. During its history, Cockatoo Island has been the site of a prison, reformatory, industrial school and shipyard. The heavy industry ceased in 1992 when the shipyard closed and ten years later it became a major venue for art exhibitions and festivals.

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Museum of Contemporary Art, Biennale, Neuron

The 17th Biennale of Sydney was an exhibition of contemporary art which ran from the 17th May to 1st August 2010. Biennale is an Italian word 'for every second year', which in this case is the art event that happens every two years in Sydney. The theme of this biennale was 'The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age', featuring works by artists from all over the world. Neuron, a sculpture in stainless steel by artist Roxy Paine, was installed on the lawn in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, near Circular Quay.

Walsh Bay, Red, Yellow and Blue (Theme Day: Bright Colours)

"Red, Yellow and Blue" is a sculpture by Diego Latella, created in 1985 as part of the Walsh Bay Sculpture Walk. This work is on Pier 8 of the Walsh Bay wharves in the inner city suburb of Millers Point.

Linked to: Theme Day, Weekend Reflections.