SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA ( PART 2 )

30th Aug - 2nd Sep 2011

SOH and SHB at dusk

Went on a half day tour around the city and down to Bondi Beach. The driver/guide was a very articulate, polite and interesting Kiwi called Clayton. I learnt a lot which you probably know already. To reiterate a few salient points for those who were as ignorant as me; Capt Jimmy Cook claimed the place for Britain, and King George 111, when he discovered Botany Bay in 1770 ( after bumping into New Zealand ). He nearly wrecked his ship, the Endeavour, when he ran onto rocks on the Great barrier Reef and went home. In 1788 a convoy of 11 ships under command of Arthur Phillip with 1500 people on board, of whom over 1200 were convicts being 'transported', landed at Botany Bay. No water there, so they moved on to what is now the Rocks area of Sydney. The convicts were put to work quarrying the local sandstone and building the city. Many more convicts were to follow and continue the good work. The continent was known as New Holland at the time.
It was Captain (RN) Matthew Flinders who named the continent Australia when he arrived and did much exploring and mapping between 1795 and 1803. So there you have the basics.




Capt (RN) Matthew Flinders whose statue ( left ) stands near the City Hospital on Macquarie Street. On the ledge behind him is the 'statuette' of his ship's cat, Trim, from which he was inseparable.
Flinders was responsible for much exploration and charting of Oz. Lots of places are named after him and his friend and co-explorer, a ship's surgeon, called Bass.















Right: This pig stands, or sits, nearby, at the entrance to the hospital. It is considered lucky for those about to enter and endure surgery to rub the pig's nose...and other parts by the look of it... for good luck.








We motored on past the Botanic gardens ( left ).  On the tip of the wooded point in the centre there is a stone 'chair', built to seat Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie so she could look out, wistfully, at the ships entering and leaving the port. She was the wife of the famous, popular and 'progressive' 5th Governor from 1815 to 1825, Lachlan Macquarie.
The little island off the point in the centre of the channel was called Pinchgut Island, and later renamed Fort Denison. It was originally used as a place to hang convicts whose corpses were then left on the end of the rope to rot so as to discourage the rest of the mutinous rabble. This practice upset the local Aborigines and, possibly at the instigation of Governor Macquarie, or maybe his wife, was discontinued.
The place is now an exclusive and expensive venue for weddings. They fire a 1 o'clock gun from here daily, originally so that sailors could set their clocks, as per the 1 o'clock gun on the battlements of Edinburgh Castle. I didn't hear it.


Right: Mrs Macquarie's Chair. Elizabeth Macquarie hated living in Australia. She didn't like the heat and the flies, and possibly the people, and she yearned to be back in England, or maybe Scotland. Her husband, the Governor, built this chair for her; the 'pew with the view', to try to make her a bit happier. She could sit out here and gaze across the harbour at the ships and, maybe, the corpses hanging from the gibbet on Pinchgut Island.
This lady in the pic has, as far as I am aware, nothing to do with Mrs Macquarie. She just happened to be there.
Another famous character around at the time of the Macquaries was Francis Greenway. He was a convict, found guilt of 'forgery' in England and sentenced to transportation for 14 years. He was also a skilled architect. Governor Macquarie employed him to design and construct many of the best and most elaborate sandstone Grand Buildings and churches which still grace the city. It is perhaps an obvious fact that many of the convicts, by force of circumstance, did a lot of good and skilful work to build the city.  People like Greenway were pardoned and became respectable and respected, indeed honoured, Australian citizens.


We drove on down past the naval docks at Woolloomooloo. This pier stuck out into the dock is known as Finger Quay and has many very exclusive and expensive apartments on it. We were told by Clayton that the one on the end, with the sort of garden on the top, is owned by a very famous Aussie 'celeb'. He asked us to guess who. Silence. I then enthusiastically offered "Rolf Harris!". Further embarrassed silence. Nope; it's Russell Crowe. Apparently he's a violent actor.






We drove on down south along the coast road and passed through some very smart residential areas. One of which, Vaucluse, is a rich Jewish area. They inherit. They don't sell.
Right: This is South Head, and less than a mile away is North Head.  This is the narrow entrance to the whole of Port Jackson, or Sydney Harbour...and I still don't know the difference.





Arrival at Bondi Beach ( left ). Being out of season, albeit a lovely warm sunny day, it was a bit quiet. As always with my photos, there were many more people around than appears to be the case here. It seemed a nice enough place to me. We were told it gets a bit 'wild' in the summer. The Aborigine word 'Bondi' means 'waves breaking noisily on the rocks'. I think they make it up as they go along.







Right: There were quite a lot of people doing the surfing thing. They were encouraged to do it between the red and yellow flags where 'lifeguards' could keep an eye on them. The 'lifeguards' I saw seemed to spend their time having their photos taken with admiring floozies.
I watched for a long time but never saw anyone get eaten by a shark.








Left: The Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club.  I went in and asked if they were affiliated to the Cavalry and Guards Club in Piccadilly. I don't think they quite grasped my point. No worries, mate.








On the way back to the city we were taken through the King's Cross and Oxford Street districts. They were indeed quite 'alternative' looking places. Clayton seemed to be remarkably familiar with many of the clubs and other eccentric establishments we passed.







The next day, on a wander, I visited Hyde Park ( north and south ) which holds the ANZAC War Memorial building and is a pleasant park with such sculptures as this ( right ), the Archibald Fountain.









At the northern end of the park lies the Hyde Park Barracks which at the outset of the colony was a prison for about 600 of the convicts ( which they built themselves ). It was more of an 'accommodation block' really. Most of the convicts lived outside in the city, the buildings of which they were constructing and digging up the limestone to do so.  This is now a museum to tell the story of the convicts from 1788. It is most enlightening.
I have tried to photo some of the descriptive plaques which give some background....I hope you can 'click on' to enlarge and read them.











Although the the sentence of 'transportation', normally for either 7 or 14 years seems a bit tough, it actually gave many of the previously 'hopeless' felons a chance to start a new life and become free citizens in a new country. I suspect most, having endured 7, or 14, years in Oz willingly stayed. I'm not sure. Some just got hanged! Some took up Australian Rules Football.













Left: As described, life in Britain at that time was pretty brutal. Criminals had been 'transported' to the colonies in America in any event ( and many of their descendants have continued in the same unrepentant vein ). When America gained independence a new 'dumping ground' was required and Australia fitted the bill admirably.







Right: It's a pity that there are no more large landmasses available to be filled up likewise. The moon, or Mars, might be the next alternative.












Left: A model of a Treadmill. It was a painful and exhausting punishment, but at least had the virtue of producing a useful product, ground corn in this case, as an end product. The exercise did them good, and they produced their own healthy lunch! I can think of many people who might benefit from this regime ( me included ).








Right: The accommodation was fairly spartan and somewhat 'cosy'. I suppose no worse than being on a sea-going ship in those days. We have gone soft nowadays.











Left: Of course Sydney has to have it's own high tower, the originally named Sydney Tower. I believe they boast that it is 20ft higher that the SkyTower in Auckland. Who's counting! No leaping off the top though. It is owned, or sponsored, by the present wealthiest Australian, the guy, whose name I forget, who owns the Westfield shopping empire.











I went there for lunch. I was expecting it to be astronomically expensive but, in fact, it was not much more so than the eateries at ground level. They had the mandatory revolving restaurant and a fairly substantial 'cocktail' bar ( right ). When I was there, I was about the only diner! I think there was another table in use on the opposite side, but it wasn't exactly crowded. Good views. Good nosh too and excellent service ( well, not surprisingly considering it was only me there ); recommended.








Left: I'm not sure that this would get the go-ahead in UK. I bought it to make my sandwiches. Perfectly ordinary processed cheese.








Another observation: The Aussies are incredibly keen on their TLAs ( Three Letter Abbreviations ). The most common one, also enthusiastically adopted by NZ, is the CBD ( City Business District ) or in normal speak the 'city centre'. I have just eaten in the STR  ( Sydney Tower Restaurant ) and I am unlikely to shop in the QVB ( Queen Victoria Building ) because it's too expensive. They play sport at the SCG ( Sydney Cricket Ground ) and the SFS ( Sydney Football Stadium ) and for a bit of kultcha go to the MCA ( Museum of Contemporary Airt ) or the STC ( Sydney Theatre Company ) which is near the SOH ( Sydney Opera House ) and the SHB ( Sydney Harbour Bridge ) on the way to the OPT ( Overseas Passenger Terminal ) and those are probably only scratching the surface.
I must have missed lots of things to see and do in Sydney, but I really quite enjoyed the place. Still on the lookout for witchery grubs and people wrestling crocs wearing hats with corks attached, but I'm sure they will turn up somewhere or other; like Charlie Drake's ( who remembers him? ) 'My Boomerang Won't Come Back".

Making friends in Sydney.

Onwards, onwards.............