Friday, 14 October 2011

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.

54 comments:

  1. Nice picture. The signal staff reminds me of a ship's mast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought from your thumbnail shot it was a tall ship. :)
    Lovely shot!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is what I will call a beautiful blue sky!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Interesting that flags were used to make announcements!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What intense blue skies! The signal staff could be an exclamation point! Superb capture as always, Jim!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  7. Australian clear blue skies - well captured.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing how sailors communicated by means of various flags. And it worked! We can hardly imagine how people could contact each other without mobile phones or e-mails.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting information and what a bright and beautiful blue sky.

    ReplyDelete
  10. As always, an interesting view and information about your part of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Impressive mean to measure time.


    Please have a good Friday.

    daily athens

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahoy Pacific neighbor!


    Aloha from Waikiki;

    Comfort Spiral



    > < } } ( ° >

    ReplyDelete
  13. Do they still announce things with the flags, Jim? A beautiful tradition, and a super photo.

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

    ReplyDelete
  14. It is nice that this now stands as reminder of the complicated way of communicating!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Interesting information and a beautiful picture -- there's just something about flags flying against a bright blue sky~

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nice flagstaff,i think there is one in my place,in Penang.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing some historical background, same with Carletta I thought it was a pirate ship haha.

    ReplyDelete
  18. the sky is so intensely blue - it's a fantastic capture. and a whole lot of history too. happy weekend to you, and happy SWF.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kay, with modern communication methods there's no need to use flags to signal ships on the harbour these days but they still like to utilise the flagstaff and post messages using flags.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I went to the local sail club which is 5 minutes from home, they had the flagstaff but not too many flags.

    ReplyDelete
  21. How interesting! And another brilliant blue sky to die for!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What an interesting post, and a beautiful, colourful photo.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi there - we were looking at signal flags last week - only ours were at a light house on the coast of Victoria.

    Cheers Stewart M - Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  24. Flag signalling a centuries old way of communicating, and who knows, one day if the Internet and other forms of communication fail worldwide, it may come to the fore again..!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Delicious, I love the light that you get.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Can't you send me a piece of this beautiful blue sky ??

    ReplyDelete
  27. Interesting place with so many associations.

    ReplyDelete
  28. t first glance it does remind me of a tallship. Great photo. Happy skywatching!

    ReplyDelete
  29. from the thumbnail I thought it was a ship, how interesting this form of communication.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What an interesting post..the photo is great! I always enjoy your posts. Thank you for stopping by my blog!
    Blessings,
    Shirley

    ReplyDelete
  31. Gattina, I'd put some of this blue sky in an envelope and post it to you, if I could. :) I guess we're lucky that we get some great blue skies.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Your sky is wonderful deep blue again.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gorgeous blue sky! Wish you a great weekend!

    Irene

    ReplyDelete
  34. I love the pic. the blue sky shows a perfect time to enjoy the day outside

    ReplyDelete
  35. I was down at our local sailing club and was astonished at all the different flags they have. Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  36. James, the lens I used is the Canon EF-S 18-55mm. I also use the EF-S 55-250mm.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Yeah I have that twin lens kit too (IS models). I am quite a newbie to the SLR world but I am loving those two lenses, pretty much does most of what I need.

    ReplyDelete
  38. James, I've only had my SLR camera and lenses for a year and am still learning a lot about how to get the best use out of them.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please leave me a message. Jim.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...