Sydney Hospital, North Wing, Macquarie Street

The North Wing of Sydney Hospital is a heritage building along Macquarie Street, opposite Martin Place. The original hospital was built on this site in the Old Colonial Georgian architectural style in 1811, so yesterday the hospital celebrated its bicentenary. It was constructed by convict labour and it was known as the Rum Hospital because the contractors were given a limited monopoly on the distribution of spirits in the colony, in return for building it. The North Wing is part of a three building complex built in 1894 in the Victorian architectural style which is still used as a hospital today.

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Balmain, ferry wharf

Balmain Wharf, also known as the Thames Street Wharf, sits on Mort Bay in Balmain. It is serviced by Sydney Ferries, with regular services between Circular Quay and Parramatta. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Goat Island and the inner west suburb of Balmain East can be seen in the distance.

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Birchgrove, barge

This industrial barge is involved in dredging, trenching, pipeline construction and laying underwater cables, by Oil and Gas Engineered Systems (OES). When it isn’t being used in Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay or other Sydney waterways, it is moored in Snails Bay, near the inner west suburb of Birchgrove. Part of the Sydney skyline can be seen in the distance,

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Birchgrove, marina

A private marina under a sunny sky, viewed from Ballast Point Park in the inner west suburb of Birchgrove.

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Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, sign

This old sign is embedded in the garden near the entrance of Ballast Point Park, in the inner west suburb of Birchgrove. Like parts of the artworks that stand next to it, the sign is an old relic from the former "Caltex" oil refinery that once stood on this site. The artworks seen here are "Tank 101" and "The Tank Farm", featuring parts of old rusty tanks used by the refinery.

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Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, art

 This view of Ballast Point Park in Birchgrove shows a couple of public artworks. "Delicate Balance" by Robyn Backen, hangs over the water's edge, looking out on Sydney Harbour and Mort Bay at Balmain. The wall with a watery theme features the words "Like us, water breathes and dances to and fro between the earth and sky". It uses a dot font typeface used throughout the park to reflect the thousands of rivets and circular tanks that were once located on this former oil refinery site.

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Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, art

This is part of an artwork located in the middle of Ballast Point Park at Birchgrove, with a glimpse of the Sydney skyline seen below. "Tank 101" was created to symbolise the past working history of the site by Caltex, as an oil refinery. The original tank was the largest industrial storage vessel on this site. Panels of curved sheet steel from the old tank were incorporated in this structure with graphics using a dot font typeface to reflect the thousands of rivets and circular tanks once on the site. The text is part of a line from "The Death of Isaac Nathan" a poem by Australian poet Les Murray: "Stone statues of ancient waves, tongue like dingoes on shore".

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Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, wall

The gambion retaining walls at Ballast Point Park at Birchgrove are made up of rubble and recycled material encased in a wire frame, from the buildings on this former oil refinery site. If you look closely, you can see that this wall features engraved padlocks. The padlocks are locked by romantics to preserve their everlasting love, with the key thrown into Sydney Harbour. The tradition seems to have originated in Italy, where couples attached padlocks to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence and threw the keys into the river. The Sydney city skyline can be seen in the distance, across the harbour.

Birchgrove, Ballast Point Park, Goat Island

This view through the bushes and benches is from Ballast Point Park, in the inner west suburb of  Birchgrove. Golden Grove is the First Fleet Class ferry, which has just departed from Balmain ferry wharf in Mort Bay, is making its way through Sydney Harbour past Goat Island, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

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Woolloomooloo, boat

This boat with very tall masts was moored at the marina in Woolloomooloo Bay, beside the Finger Wharf in the inner city suburb of Woolloomooloo. The old warehouse buildings on the wharf have been converted into a hotel, apartments and restaurants. Most of the boats moored here belong to residents of these exclusive apartments.

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King Street Wharf, sculpture

This contemporary sculpture is located at the end of King Street Wharf, near Barangaroo. It's part of a matching pair, with other one located nearby but closer to the wharves, which can be seen here. In the background are a number of newer office buildings, including No.1 Shelley Street and Westpac Place.

Linked to: Skywatch Friday, Pic Story.

Kogarah, St George Hospital

The Australian flag flies at St George Hospital in the southern suburb of Kogarah. The building is not remarkable but I was fascinated by this retro sign, with the raised lettering and logo, on this refurbished building facing Belgrave Street. I've been spending some time here recently for physiotherapy to mobilise my leg again, following an accident a couple of months ago.

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Walsh Bay, Sydney skyline

A late afternoon view of the Walsh Bay wharves, from Dawes Point to Millers Point, with the Sydney skyline in the background. This view across Sydney Harbour is from Blues Point Reserve, in the northern suburb of McMahons Point.

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Millers Point, boats

These rescue boats and harbour pilot boats are moored at Moore's Wharf, on Walsh Bay, in the inner city suburb of Millers Point. The vessels, outside the Operational Headquarters of the Sydney Ports Corporation, are used on Sydney Harbour. The Harbour Control Tower was once used for the the city's port facilities, at what is now known as Barangaroo.

Linked to: Mellow Yellow Monday, Our World Tuesday.

Millers Point, Observatory Park

Observatory Park is located on Obsevatory Hill, in the inner city suburb of Millers Point. The bandstand rotunda, which sits north of Sydney Observatory, was built in 1912 and is used for public musical performances. It overlooks Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge, which makes it one of the city's most popular locations for weddings and naming ceremonies. The sculpture is a bust of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, created to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth. It was unveiled in 2005 by HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and HRH Princess Mary of Denmark. The connection to the city is that Princess Mary is Australian and the couple met in Sydney in 2000 during the Sydney Olympic Games.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, pylon

This view of the south western pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Dawes Point is from a ferry on Sydney Harbour. The pylons are 90 metres above the water level and this perspective gives an idea of how big they actually are. The four pylons and surrounds are made of concrete that is covered by grey granite, quarried near the south coast town of Moruya. The pylons were placed on each corner of the bridge, mainly for aesthetic reasons. The Sydney Harbour Bridge design had to be functional and pleasing to the eye.

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Millers Point, The Change

"The Change" is a contemporary sculpture by Michael Snape, created in 1987 as part of the Walsh Bay Sculpture Walk. This artwork is located at Towns Place, close to the redeveloped warehouses and Walsh Bay wharves, in the inner city suburb of Millers Point.

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Millers Point, Sydney Observatory, flagstaff

This signal flagstaff is located at Sydney Observatory on Observatory Hill, at Millers Point. Observatory Hill is the highest point overlooking Sydney Harbour and has previously been known as Windmill Hill, Citadel Hill, Fort Phillip and Flagstaff Hill, describing its functions over time. This flagstaff was installed in June 2008 to commemorate the history of the site as a signal communication point, as part of Sydney Observatory’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Signal flags at Fort Phillip from 1810 announced the arrival of ships into Sydney Harbour and also informed port authorities of the names, origin and cargo of new arrivals. Weather and other information was also communicated by signal flags to ships in the harbour.

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Millers Point, Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory is located on Observatory Hill at Millers Point. The heritage listed observatory, built in 1858, was essential to shipping, navigation, meteorology, timekeeping and the study of stars seen from the Southern Hemisphere. Government Astronomers worked and lived in the building until 1982, when it became part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. It is now a museum and public observatory with a role in astronomy education and public telescope viewing. These telescope domes protect the optical telescopes and have slits in the roof that can be opened during observing and can be rotated to observe different sections of the night sky. The central tower features a weather vane and a time ball, which signalled the time to ships and to the General Post Office in Martin Place. It is still raised to the top of its post and dropped at exactly 1pm every day.

Botanic Gardens, Queen Elizabeth II Gates

The Queen Elizabeth II Gate at the Royal Botanic Gardens is located along the foreshore of Farm Cove, near the Sydney Opera House. This was the original entrance to the botanic gardens, then known as the "Man O’ War Gate" because Farm Cove had been a commonly used sheltered anchorage for warships and their crews came ashore nearby at the Man O' War Steps. They were renamed in 1954 during the first royal visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia. The botanic gardens also features the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial, which commemorates where the queen first set foot on Australian soil.

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The Domain, Sphinxes

These two sphinxes sit on either side of the pathway opposite the Art Gallery of New South Wales, along Art Gallery Road at The Domain. The sphinx in Greek mythology was a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a woman. These sculptures are bronze casts of the two original sandstone sphinxes that sat near the swings on the eastern side of Art Gallery Road for many years. The bronze casts were commissioned by the Friends of The Botanic Gardens and unveiled in 1997.

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Botanic Gardens, bench

This weathered rock formation provides one of the more unusual  places for a bench to be located in the Royal Botanic Gardens. A hidden spot below the cliff where visitors can soak up some sun.

Botanic Gardens, The Sydney Fernery

The Sydney Fernery in the Royal Botanic Gardens was opened in 1993, on the site of earlier ferneries. The fernery provides a moist environment for various species of ferns by filtering light and protecting from extremes of frost and heat. A glimpse of nearby office buildings can be seen through the grills of the arched roof.

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Botanic Gardens, Woolloomooloo Gate, fountain

A pair of these simple fountains sit outside the Woolloomooloo Gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, along Mrs Macquaries Drive. The gate was originally built in 1873 as the main southern entrance to The Domain. It was moved during the construction of the Cahill Expressway to its present position and became known as the Woolloomooloo Gate because it overlooks the suburb of Woolloomooloo.

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Sydney Harbour, sunset

This sunset view of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge is across Sydney Harbour from Mrs Macquaries Point, in The Domain.

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Botanic Gardens, Spring

'Spring' is a Victorian era sculpture located in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It is one of the 'Four Seasons' statues that adorn the Palace Gardens Steps. They came from Italy in 1883 from the studio of Charles Francis Summers, an Australian-born sculptor living in Rome. The statues had been located here originally but were then separated and distributed around the gardens, where some lost vital body parts and adornments. They were restored by Australian sculptor Jacek Luszczyk who recreated missing parts. The restored statues were unveiled in their original location in 2010. 'Spring' and 'Summer' are at the top of the steps, with 'Autumn' and 'Winter' at the bottom.

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Botanic Gardens, Governor Phillip Fountain

The Governor Phillip Fountain is located in the Royal Botanic Gardens, close to Macquarie Street. It was created by the Italian sculptor Achille Simonetti and unveiled in 1897 to honour Captain Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. This magnificent 15.24 metre high fountain features a marble pedestal for the 4.5 metre bronze statue of Captain Phillip. The pedestal features three reliefs of Justice, Patriotism and Education. Below the pedestal are the reclining bronze figures of Neptune (Navigation), Agriculture, Cyclops (Mining) and Commerce. The four marble consoles are embellished with bronze plaques of Aboriginal people. Between the figures are four giant marble clam shells each surmounted by bronze prows of ships and twin giant sea serpents which feed water into the white marble basins. A view from the front can be seen here.

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Botanic Gardens, Marble Lions

This is one of two sculpted lions, in white Italian marble, located in the Botanic Gardens. They were originally part of the layout of the Garden Palace grounds and installed around 1882. They were removed during the construction of the Cahill Expressway and put in storage for decades. They were reinstalled on concrete footings in the Garden Palace grounds in 1994, on the northern side of the Rose Garden, with the Conservatorium of Music behind them.

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The Domain, The Offerings of War

“The Offerings of War” is a large bronze sculpture which sits outside the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in The Domain. It is paired up with a sculpture on the other side of the main entrance called “The Offerings of Peace”. Both are the work of the English sculptor Gilbert Bayes and completed in 1923.

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Botanic Gardens, Memory Is Creation Without End

This art work is located in the Royal Botanic Gardens between Macquarie Street, the Cahill Expressway and the Northern Depot Gate. “Memory Is Creation Without End” by Kimio Tsuchiya was created in 2000 and installed as part of the City of Sydney's Sculpture Walk program. It features sandstone blocks which are relics of demolished buildings symbolising the circular connection of past, present, and future. This perspective shows the proximity of office buildings in the central business district to the botanic gardens.

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Erskineville, warehouse (Theme Day: Mystery Object)

This fomer warehouse built in the 1930s is located along Rochford Street, in the inner city suburb of Erskineville, just off King Street in Newtown. The giant mouth, complete with teeth and a tongue poking out, is perched on the facade. There are no signs on the building that might offer any clues about this mystery object.

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