Australia – Journal no. 14
15th to the 29th April 201
Flight to Sydney
The Qantas flight from Christchurch to Sydney, Australia was a formality, its only 3 hours. Most of the time was spent talking to a fellow passenger, an Ozzy, about the competitive and seemingly, at times, destructive rivalry that exists between NZ and OZ, and the UK and Oceania countries.
He was recounting the dismissive and vitriolic response by the normally hard-core and loyal Ozzy supporters despondent at their teams recent trouncing at the hands of the English cricket team. He mentioned that the Australian press had nothing but high praise for the extraordinary ‘playful’ and well-behaved ‘Barmey Army’, the name given to the English supporters.
What was particularly amusing, quoted in the daily media apparently, was when the head of the Australian supporters asked his counter-part how the English team had gained such a loyal following. The official rather humbling response, ‘we’ve learnt to deal with defeat and to enjoy the occasion for what it is, an opportunity to strength long-term friendships and to travel as a group with like minded people’.
Clearly, the supposed fierce competitive spirit is no more than gamesmanship, a ploy to unbalance the opposing team. Often individuals on opposing sides are in real-life close personal friends with a mutual respect and understanding for each other’s talent.
Sydney to Newcastle by train
Arriving at Sydney airport, passing through customs and immigration, collecting the luggage and boarding the airport link to one of the mainline stations was all straight forward and efficient, so no surprises.
The large mainline rail terminal set on the outskirts of the iconic city conveyed a lack of interest in trains as the preferred method of transportation. Boarding simply reinforced those initial impressions. Confronted by somewhat dated, abused and over used carriages decked in there blue plastic and two tiered seating came as disappointment.
An article I read some days later all but suggested that Australians were disgusted by the slow, dirty and inefficient rail network an opted for the car instead. The government has designs on upgrading the system something similar to the ‘bullet train’ in Japan. We shall see.
The trip, 160 kilometers, took four hours arriving at Newcastle station mid-afternoon.
The journey itself provided a brushstroke of what the country has to offer, barely a pinprick on the map but what a pinprick! Enclosed lagoons, wide rivers, large lakes all surrounded by green veld hills. Elegant Victorian wooden buildings merging with modern architect designed houses. The waters dripping with wealth and a large assortment of floating craft of all sizes, yachts, cabin cruisers, motor cruisers, speed boats, dinghy’s and fishing vessels. All of which simply cements Australians association and love of the water.
It never fails to surprise me, however much I travel how much alike we are, none more so than in Australia. Clearly we speak the same language, although a lot of words are shortened, like ‘Morno’s’ meaning a morning coffee break as an example. Australians are much more direct and it seems more eccentric, if my experience of travelling on the train was anything to go by.
It’s clear that the mother country has had a massive impact on early development of this continent sized island; travelling through the suburbs of Sydney by train it almost felt like home. The tired rail system lacking proper investment, the derelict buildings lining the track strewn with graffiti, buildings that would seem completely at home in the UK. A familiar layout to the streets and roads, similar place, town and city names, it’s only when you leave the built-up area that you realize that you’re in another country!
Suddenly you’re confronted by rolling hills sloping down to an enclosed inlet, a lake, river or bay and covered in tropical fauna in particular the Eucalyptus trees, as much a part of Australia as the Koala.
Meeting Alex’s family
Alex and her lovely family, Scott, Luca and Toby, met me in central Newcastle at the train station, the culmination of this particular line, near the quayside and municipal gardens.
Alex’s family live in the residential area of Stockbridge, on the opposing side of the harbour entrance about a 22 km drive over various bridges to get there. They have a nice, I guess, you’d call it a three-bedroom chalet bungalow, spacious with an open garden to the front and a large yard at the rear. The sandy beach is about a ¼ of a mile distance and I guess the shops about 1½ mile away.
Both Scott and Alex have well paid jobs working for Customs and Excise, although Alex is on an extended break at the moment,
For those that may remember, Alex worked as a secretary for the residential department of House & Son before becoming an excellent negotiator, back in the days when I was an employee of H & S.
Terry House subsequently sold his interest in the residential sales department and Alex continued to work there under the tutor-ledge of Paul Hedges.
Throughout this period we remained friends until Alex moved abroad and we lost contact. Alex then e-mailed me ‘out of the blue’ on my 50th birthday to pick up where we left off.
The city of Newcastle
Newcastle is a major industrial city and harbor with the main export coal. Ships lay off the coast, sometimes for months, waiting to load up before returning to their country of origin, mainly China.
It’s a very desirable place to live with good beaches both in Newcastle and the nearby suburb of Stockton, with excellent restaurants, bars and apartments lining the quayside.
Like everything that I have seen in all three countries that I’ve visited thus far, there is a sense of space and freedom, lacking for me in the UK.
Nelson quay, NSW, Australia
Scott and Alex clearly had a planned agenda and I was happy to be lead. That afternoon we headed 60 km along the coast to the quayside town of Nelson and Salamander Bay.
The sun was shining; the seemingly small waterfront town has an excellent array of seafood restaurants lining the boat-laden marinas and quayside, the wine and beer are second to none and with great company, what more could one ask for.
After a great afternoon what better way to polish off the day and mark the setting of the sun than Australian style a ‘Barbie’, BBQ, along with a bottle or two of locally produced Australian wine. It was also a chance for Alex and I to catch-up on the last 15 or so years of our lives, a perfect end to a perfect day.
We spent the next few days taking trips around the local area, with Alex introducing me to an Australian approach to life.
Facts and history of Newcastle
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas.
Situated 162 kilometers, 101 miles, of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal it’s presently the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting over 97 Mt of coal in 2009–10 with plans to expand annual capacity to 180 Mt by 2013. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney basin.
In September 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European to explore the area. His discovery was largely accidental, as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who seized HMS Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor John Hunter. He returned with reports of deep-water mooring and abundance of coal. Over the next two years coal mined from the area was the New South Wales first export.
The settlement gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was where the most dangerous convicts were sent to work in the coalmines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town, named after Governor King, was established to mine coal and cut timber, but failed.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, after England's famous coal port.
Newcastle first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies of the marine detachment on HMS Calcutta, then at Port Jackson, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: HMS Lady Nelson, the Resource and the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, its namesake and also whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names such as Jesmond, Hexham, Wickham, Wallsend and Gateshead. Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Under Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. He laid out the streets of the town, built the first church on the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only a much-reinforced breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100, most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater, and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
Oakvale farm, near Salt Ash
Alex, Toby, Luca and I spent an afternoon at Oakvale Farm & Fauna World, on the 18th April, about 25 km north of Stockton.
It’s an interactive farm set in the country in several hectares of fenced off grassland. There’s a central covered and penned area for feeding the animals, with the less endangered specie wandering freely.
They have Kola, Wallaby, Kangaroo, Camel, the miniature pony or pit pony, peacock, kiwi, domestic cattle and a wide collection of domestic animals. A train transports you round the estate, there’s various eateries and a large souvenir shop.
It’s a great place to bring the children for an afternoon out, although Luca was particular upset by the somewhat frisky herd of goats that would crowd around her in a rather aggressive manner, presumably seeking food. At one point I had to walk with the children in my arms across the open compound fending off the butts and advances from the ‘horned beasts’, much to Alex’s amusement and concern.
Hunter Valley and Wine tasting at McGuigan
19th April Alex, Luca and I had a great day out travelling around the beautiful wine growing countryside known as the Hunter Valley.
We stopped several times along the way, at a Chocolate Factory, a local wine producer for a glass of Chardonnay and the 2009 award winning McGuigan wine maker.
They produce a wonderful ‘Botrytis Semillon’, as Alex and Scott will testify, which works very well with a locally produced Malawi blue-vein cheese.
Information on the Hunter valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is an area of New South Wales extending from approximately 120 km, 75 miles, to 310 km, 193 miles, north of Sydney. The population of 645,395 people lives mainly within 25 km, 16 miles, of the coast, 55% in the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. There are numerous other towns and villages scattered across the valley in the eleven Local Government Areas that make up the region, with Pokolbin the centre of the Wine growing area. Located between the towns of Cessnock and Branxton, about 50 km, 31 miles, west of Newcastle. Much of the rolling countryside around Pokolbin is under vine with the traditional varieties Shiraz and Semillon as well as extensive plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and small quantities of Pinot Noir.
Hunter Valley tour (continued)
We had lunch at an Irish bar called Harrington, a close approximation to my surname.
Spending the rest of the afternoon wandering around the grounds of the Hunter Valley Formal Gardens.
Comprising set-piece formal gardens in an Italian, Japanese or English design, several water-gardens and a fun ‘nursery rhyme’ garden for the children. The usual lakeside café, formal silver service restaurant for functions and a huge souvenir shop.
Saying goodbye to Stockton
The next few days were spent at BBQ’s, doing things with the children such as swimming lessons, a day out with Toby touring the gardens and sea front of Newcastle, looking at Alex and Scotts new house some distance outside Stockton along with a pleasant evening supper at one of the superb eateries along the Newcastle quayside. A ferry traverses the Hunter Estuary, back and forth between Stockton and Newcastle, avoiding the lengthy return journey after a drink or two.
To summarize, I had a great week with the Jones family, their generosity and hospitality was overwhelming and the weather on the whole great. It was nice familiarizing myself with the Australian way off-life and even better re-kindling my friendship with Alex, as well as making new friends along the way. Thanks Scott, Alex, Luca and Toby for making me so welcome, my turn next time.
Return journey to Sydney
I’d elected to take the return rail journey to Sydney on the 21st of April it was then simply a question of finding a bus outside the train station to the beachside suburb of Coogee, about 20 km south of the harbour.
The countryside as you pass north through the Ku-ring-gai Chase and Bouddi National Parks on the way back to Sydney is beautiful, with the waters edge dotted invariable with a token number of lavish houses or villas, for those that can afford.
A point of interest the chain of shops known as ‘24/7’ prevalent here sell the bus tickets, a little obscure as a stranger. Monitoring what was going on, I thought I ought to ask someone the procedure for obtaining a ‘bill of fare’. He blurted out something in a broad Australian twang that only made sense some minutes later when I understood that he was indeed referring to the very same shop.
It’s a 30-minute ride through the undulating suburbs to the ‘Coogee Executive Apartments’, just across the road from the bus stop, Scot's recommendation.
The area is set in a small crescent cove, with a wide sandy beach and hills rising up either side, a typical low-rise, almost boutique style resort town with an abundance of shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and things to do.
The most beautiful city in the world!
Sydney is considered as one of the most beautiful settings for a city in the World. Auckland comes close, however, it struggles to compete with the geological anomaly of such a large enclosed body of water some 70 enclosed coves or inlets, its sheer beauty and the majesty of this sprawling metropolis.
There are two huge financial centers on opposing sides of the Parramatta River with towering skyscrapers competing, it would seem, for dominance of the skyline. Sydney Harbor Bridge, completed in 1932, is the umbilical cord linking the two centers together. Set 134 meters above sea level at the highest point and with a single 534-meter arch, the bridge represents an engineering marvel.
The Tasman Sea and River are dotted with Islands with wonderfully sounding names such as Shark, Goat, Cockatoo or Garden Island to name but a few.
Houses, offices, multi-million pound villas and luxury flats spill out over the hillside, in every conceivable design and period, flowing down to the waters edge. Every Island and every scrap of land has, it would appear, been developed all apart, that is, from Sydney Harbor National Island Park.
Sitting on an isolated promontory is the stunning Sydney Opera House apparently watching over the frenetic activity of the harbor. Opened in 1973 it is possibly one of the most distinct buildings in the world today.
Facts and history of Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales located on Australia's southeast coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders and comprise a cosmopolitan and international population.
Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet, founded the first British colony on the site of Sydney in Sydney Cove as a penal colony in 1788.
The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, and where the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge feature prominently.
The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Sydney often ranks highly in various world cities rankings. It has hosted major international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games and the 2000 Summer Olympics. The main airport is Sydney Airport with the main port aptly Sydney Harbour.
The traditional indigenous inhabitants of Sydney Cove are the Cadigal people, whose land once stretched from south of Port Jackson to Petersham. While estimates of the population numbers prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 remain contentious, approximately 4,000–8,000 Aboriginal people lived in the Sydney region prior to contact with British settlers.
The British called the indigenous people the "Eora", because being asked where they came from, these people would answer: "Eora", meaning "here", or "from this place" in their language. There were three language groups in the Sydney region, which were divided into dialects spoken by smaller clans. The principal languages were Darug (the Cadigal, original inhabitants of the City of Sydney, spoke a coastal dialect of Darug), Dharawal and Guringai. Each clan had a territory; the location of each territory determined the resources available. Although urbanization has destroyed much evidence of these settlements, a number of Sydney rock engravings, carvings and rock art remain visible in the Hawkesbury sandstone of the Sydney basin.
In 1770, British sea captain Lieutenant James Cook landed in Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. It is here that Cook made first contact with an Aboriginal community known as the Gweagal. Under instruction from the British government, Arthur Phillip, who arrived at Botany Bay with a fleet of 11 ships on 18 January 1788, founded a convict settlement. This site was soon determined to be unsuitable for habitation, owing to poor soil and a lack of reliable fresh water.
Phillip subsequently founded a colony one inlet further up the coast, at Sydney Cove at Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. In 1788, in recognition of the British Home Secretaries, Thomas Townshend or Lord Sydney’s role in issuing the charter authorizing Phillip to establish a colony, the settlement was named Sydney.
In April 1789, shortly after the arrival in Botany Bay of the French expedition led by La Perouse, a catastrophic epidemic disease, thought to be smallpox, spread through the Eora people and surrounding groups killing thousands. The cause of the epidemic has always been a matter of speculation and controversy, introduction by the British being among the most likely explanations. In any event, the results were catastrophic for the Eora people and their kin and by the early 1800s the Aboriginal population in the Sydney basin "had been reduced to only 10 percent of the 1788 estimate".
There was violent resistance to British settlement, notably by the warrior Pemulwuy in the area around Botany Bay and Hawkesbury River.
By 1820 there were only a few hundred Aborigines and Governor Macquarie had begun initiatives to 'civilize, Christianize and educate' the Aborigines by removing them from their clans.
Macquarie's tenure as Governor of New South Wales was a period when Sydney was improved from its basic beginnings. Roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings were constructed by British and Irish convicts, and by 1822 the town had banks, markets, well-established thoroughfares and an organized constabulary.
The 1830s and 1840s were periods of urban development including the development of the first suburbs, as the town grew rapidly when ships began arriving from Britain and Ireland with immigrants looking to start a new life.
On 20 July 1842 the municipal council of Sydney was incorporated and the town was declared the first city in Australia, with John Hosking the first elected mayor. The first of several Australian gold rushes started in 1851, and the port of Sydney has since seen many waves of people arriving from around the world.
Rapid suburban development began in the last quarter of the 19th century with the advent of steam-powered tramways and railways. With industrialization Sydney expanded rapidly and, by the early 20th century, it had a population of more than a million.
In 1929, the novelist Arthur Henry Adams called it the "Siren City of the South" and the "Athens of Australia". The Great Depression hit Sydney badly, although one of the highlights at that time was the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. There has traditionally been a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne since the gold rushes of the 1850s made the capital of Victoria Australia's largest and richest city. Sydney overtook Melbourne in population in the early years of the 20th century, and continues to be the largest city in Australia. During the 1970s and 1980s, Sydney's CBD, with a great number of financial institutions including the headquarters of the Reserve Bank, surpassed Melbourne as the nation's financial capital. Throughout the 20th century, especially in the decades immediately following World War II, Sydney continued to expand as large numbers of European and later Asian immigrants took up residence in the metropolitan area.
Sydney's coastal basin is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to the west and Hawkesbury River to the north and the Royal National Park to the south. It lies on a submerging coastline, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys carved out of the Hawkesbury sandstone. Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is one such place.
The urban area has around 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach.
Geographically, Sydney lies over two regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a sandstone plateau lying mainly to the north of the harbour and dissected by steep valleys. The parts of the city with the oldest European development are located in the flat areas south of the harbour. The North Shore was slower to develop because of its hilly topography and lack of access across the harbour, until the opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Strolling around Port Jackson
After a wander round the local suburb of Coogee I’d determined that I would take a bus into the financial district and Port Jackson to have a look at what all the fuss is about. You’re deposited at the bus station pretty much by the waters edge. As you walk through the pillared area, offices towering over, you’re confronted by the quayside.
In front a huge array of boats of all shapes and sizes providing Island tours, bay tours, ferry across the Parramatta River to the opposite bank or the huge amusement park along with private charters. To the right the distinct Sydney Harbour Opera House, the elegant colonial Government House and elevated Royal Botanical Gardens. To the left the old industrial harbour, cobble paths, warehouses and offices all renovated to create luxury offices, restaurants and stylish apartments, some with moorings. Beyond, another one of those instantly recognizable structures that mark the skyline, Sydney Harbour Bridge.
As you move further to the left the land rises sharply to a ridge that seems to feed the bridge itself. The area, the heart, soul and nightlife of the harbour area, is lined with narrow streets, older properties, many Victorian, converted to create cafes, restaurants, bars, clubs and boutique shops.
Across the wide river, is a further extension to the city and some of the more lavish homes that adorn the waters edge, some of the larger units with there own water frontage.
It’s very easy to be seduced by the vibrancy; fun and atmosphere that seems to exude from ever pore of this part of the city.
Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge
If there was one thing that I was determined to do it was to climb the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge, another one off the, ‘bucket list’ of things to do. Anyway, if it’s good enough for Michael Caine, Will Smith, Robert De Nero, the two Royal Prince’s and Terri Hatcher to name but a few then its good enough for me.
Alex and I had arranged a time and date some days previous, I was just praying for good weather, clearly an important factor when scaling the heights.
There is an incredible safety procedure that needs to be applied before even setting foot on the 1st rung.
Kitted out, health and indemnity form completed, watched a compulsory 20-minute safety video and several pep talks later and where finally off. It all helps to add to the drama and expectation, I guess.
As soon as you walk through the first inspection hatch, you’re harnessed to a guide wire that runs all the way to the top, taking a different route down.
After a kilometer hike, negotiating steps, ladders and narrow walkways, we reached the pinnacle, 134 meters above sea-level, and boy what a view!!!!
Bridge facts and figures
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a ‘steel through arch’ bridge that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. Nicknamed "The Coat hanger" because of its arch-based design.
Under the directions of Dr. J C Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middleborough and opened in 1932. The Hell Gate Bridge in New York influenced the design of the bridge.
According to the Guinness World Records, it is the world's widest long-span bridge. It is also the fifth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (440 ft.) from top to water level.
The southern end is located at Millers Point and the northern end at Milsons Point in the lower North Shore area. It carries six lanes of road traffic on its main roadway, while on its eastern side are two lanes of road traffic, formerly two tram tracks, and a footpath. On the western side are two railway tracks and a bicycle path, making the western side 30.5 cm (12 in) broader than the opposite side.
The main roadway across the bridge is known as the Bradfield Highway and is about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) long, making it one of the shortest in Australia.
The arch is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses; the heights vary from 18 m (59 ft.) at the centre of the arch to 57 m (187 ft.) at the ends next to the pylons.
The arch has a span of 503 m and its summit is 134 m (440 ft.) above mean sea level; however, expansion of the steel structure on hot days can increase the height of the arch by as much as 18 cm (7.1 in). Large steel pins support each end of the arch, allowing it to rotate to accommodate expansion and contraction caused by changes of temperature, and avoiding stresses that would otherwise cause damage.
The total weight of the steelwork of the bridge, including the arch and approach spans, is 52,800 tonnes, with the arch itself weighing 39,000 tonnes. About 79% of the steel was imported from England, with the rest being sourced from Australia. On site, the contractors set up two workshops at Milsons Point, at the site of the present day Luna Park, and fabricated the steel into the girders and other required parts.
The bridge is held together by six million Australian-made hand-driven rivets supplied by the McPherson company of Melbourne, the last being driven through the deck on 21 January 1932.The rivets were heated red-hot and inserted into the plates; the headless end was immediately rounded over with a large pneumatic rivet gun. The largest of the rivets used weighed 3.5 kg (8 lb.) and was 39.5 cm (15.6 in) long. The practice of riveting large steel structures, rather than welding, was, at the time, a proven and understood construction technique, whilst structural welding had not at that stage been adequately developed for use on the bridge.
At each end of the arch stands a pair of 89 m (292 ft.) high concrete pylons, faced with granite. The pylons were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, a partner in the architectural firm John Burnet & Partners.
Some 250 Australian, Scottish, and Italian stonemasons and their families relocated to a temporary settlement at Moruya, NSW, 300 kilometers (186 mi) south of Sydney, where they quarried around 18,000 cubic metres (635,664 cu ft.) of granite for the bridge pylons. The stonemasons cut, dressed, and numbered the blocks, which were then transported to Sydney on three ships built specifically for this purpose. The concrete used was also Australian made.
Abutments at the base of the pylons are essential to support the loads from the arch and hold its span firmly in place; however, the pylons themselves have no structural purpose. They were included to provide a frame for the arch panels and to give better visual balance to the bridge. The pylons were not part of the original design, and were only added to allay public concern about the structural integrity of the bridge.
Although originally added to the bridge solely for their aesthetic value, all four pylons have now been put to use. The southeastern pylon contains a museum and tourist centre, with a 360° lookout at the top providing views across the harbour and city. The southwestern pylon is used by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) to support its CCTV cameras overlooking the bridge and the roads around that area. The two pylons on the north shore include venting chimneys for fumes from the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, with the base of the southern pylon containing the RTA maintenance shed for the bridge, and the base of the northern pylon containing the traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles used on the bridge.
In 1942, the pylons were modified to include parapets and anti-aircraft guns designed to assist in both Australia’s defense and general war effort. The top level of stonework was never removed.
Raining on Bondi Beach
‘Bondi Beach is the most celebrated beach in the country, a kilometre of golden grains where Sydney’s beautiful people come to bare it all. As well as the essential ingredients booming surf, seagulls riding the breeze, the smell of sun block Bondi has a style all of its own’ so its said.
‘This is see-and-be-seen territory’, as reported in one right up. The article goes on to say, ‘Bondi also has a vibrant café and restaurant culture. Campbell Parade, which runs along the back of the beach, is a near-continuous strip of outdoor cafes and gelato bars. There’s serious food territory too, with Sean’s Panorama, the Icebergs Dining Room and bars dishing out food every bit as glam as the view’.
There you go, although I have to say it didn’t feel very glam the day that I elected to have a look it rained.
The undulating 10-kilometer cliff-walk each way from Coogee was fantastic, passing of all things a massive cemetery perched on the cliff-top. Apparently people are dying to enjoy the view, literally!
The 30-acre site must be worth 10’s of millions of dollars in today’s market; the gravestones are all very elaborate to so clearly the chosen burial site for the rich, famous and probably infamous.
The property lining the cliffs varies greatly in design, modern and old, some perched precariously on the hillside, one thing in common a stunning sea view and high price tag.
Moving on to Melbourne
The 24th April and it’s a taxi to Sydney airport and then a 11.00am flight, 1½ hours, to the cultural and historic heart of Australia, Melbourne.
Information on Melbourne
The capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria and the second most populous city in Australia, as of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melbournians.
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River, the northern most point of the bay).
Melbourne was founded in 1835 47 years after the European settlement of Australia, by settlers from Launceston. Richard Bourke, the governor, named the city Melbourne in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lam, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne and officially declared by Queen Victoria in 1847.
In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.
Often referred to as the "cultural capital of Australia", it’s the birthplace of Australian film and TV, rules football, the Australian impressionist art movement, known as the Heidelberg School, and Australian dance styles such as New Vogue and the Melbourne Shuffle. It is also a major centre for contemporary and traditional Australian music. The metropolis is also home to the world's largest tram network.
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years by under 20,000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance, as well as a vital source of food and water.
The first European settlement in Victoria was established in 1803 on Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento, but this settlement was abandoned due to a perceived lack of resources. It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.
In May and June 1835, the area, now central and northern Melbourne, was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, now called Tasmania, who negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) with eight Wurundjeri elders.
In early August 1835 a different group of settlers left Launceston on the ship Enterprize. Arriving at the mouth of the Yarra River on 15 August 1835. On 30 August 1835 they disembarked and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. John Batman and his group arrived on 2 September 1835 and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.
Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled and in 1836, Governor Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, and commissioned the Hoddle Grid, or city plan.
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of territory bigger than England. By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne.
By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licenses then issued in Victoria and became the patriarchs " . . . that were to wield so much political and economic power in Victoria for generations to come".
Short stay in the suburb of Preston
I’d booked accommodation in Preston in a nice multi-storey hotel about 12 kilometers from Central Melbourne and a 2-kilometer walk from any shops or restaurants of any appreciable interest. The in-house facilities were limited and expensive and although the connecting local rail-network proved efficient and cheap, it seemed a little impractical to spend the next 9-days commuting backwards and forwards.
The area of Preston is in itself fairly ‘faceless’ with a wide six-lane street, the artery out of the city, dissected by minor residential roads typical of the ‘urban sprawl’. After a couple of days exploring the city from a distance and establishing the location of the Thailand Embassy I moved to the more accessible seaside resort of St. Kilda.
Exploring the city of Melbourne
Over the next few days I wandered or bused my way round the ‘heart’ of Melbourne, from its elegant Victorian suburbs, the many ethnic areas, along the Yarra River and the financial quarter, through the beautiful ‘Domain’ park and the ‘Fitzroy Gardens’, home to the colonial governmental buildings.
It’s a sprawling metropolis, like most cities of the world, encompassing its history, origins, and wealth, with a degree of elegance lacking sometimes. It has a great affinity with music, culture, the arts and aesthetics and as such combines the old and new together effectively, with an important ‘eye’ on public space. I like Melbourne.
The elegant Royal Exhibition Centre in Carlton Park, home to the modern Melbourne Museum and Imax 3D cinema. The museum is currently hosting the Tutankhamen exhibition so well worth a visit. Australians are big on interactive exhibits as well so always lots to occupy the mind.
Melbourne is noted for its modern and old tram system that crisscross’s the City Central and the surrounding suburbs. There are free ‘hop-on, hop-off’ tourist buses that take you on a guided tour dropping you off at the ‘sites’ of your choice, a no. 35 tram that loops round the city day and night and an overhead rail network. So no problem getting round, once you’ve worked it out.
One of the many bridges that cross the Yarra River in downtown Melbourne. This particular bridge, adorned with modern artwork, was built and opened in 2006 for the Olympics. There are clear Perspex plaques lining the left hand side listing, in alphabetic order, all of the competing countries, size of population and other interesting facts.
The Shrine of Remembrance is situated in The Domain one of the many parks in an around the city center. Of particular interest for two reasons, I turned up at the end of the ANZAC day celebrations and it’s a working memorial. The inside is hollow and decorated with memorabilia from the two World Wars with a viewing gallery on top.
Sprawling metropolis of Melbourne
The Melbourne Aquarium, another very modern building well worth a visit for the much rare and dangerous specie.
The main tanks are large and you are able to dive or at least be in the water with the sharks. The stingrays, some of them 250 kg or more, are extraordinarily graceful to watch.
Melbourne is a great place to visit with lots to do and see in the city, the transport system makes the process of getting round straight forward, it’s rich in culture, music, art with a huge choice of cuisine and dining. There’s a China town, Greek district, Italian, a big Asian quarter, African, the list is endless.
There are beaches dotted along the coast in particular St. Kilda so there really is something for everyone. It’s a good touring base with the mountains to the North, the wine-growing region of the Yarra Valley and the Great Coast Road to the south.
Whilst staying in St. Kilda, whom should I run in to, Mike an old Canadian friend. The last time we saw each other was on the beach in April/May 2010, whilst staying, ‘Big Millie’s Back Yard’, Kokrobite, Ghana as I recollect!!
Anyway we spent a couple of days together ‘chewing the cud’. You may recollect that Mike spent 18 months circumventing the globe, before returning to Canada. Restless, he up-stakes and decided to spend time working and playing in Australia for a year before returning to his home country to enroll in an Engineering degree, I think.
He’s managed to secure accommodation, close to where I’m staying, and work at the expensive and exclusive ‘Beachside Bistro’ in St. Kilda (21 dollars per hour). He’ll winter in the mountains and work as a ski instructor, what a life!
Lots to do and see in Melbourne, Victoria
The gaudy decorations announce the entrance to Lunar Amusement Park close to St Kilda beach. The wooden framed roller coaster is one of the oldest still working and built originally in 1912.
The amusement park is very evocative reminding one of ones childhood, a time when similar fixed fairgrounds used to dot the towns and cities of the UK. Innovative and exciting at the time surpassed now by the far more impersonal, lavish, adventurous and more extreme ‘themed parks’.
St. Kilda, oddly enough, used to be the ‘red light’ district and like most areas close to the Melbourne ‘heart’, its evolved into an expensive residential area. A mixture of renovated Victorian and modern buildings lining the beachside and promenade. The narrow main street adorned with street cafes, restaurants, bars and boutique style shops. Its an area where Melbournians come to commune with the beach, sea, fine cuisine and the ‘great outdoors’.
2006 Olympic Stadium
The impressive 100,000 seater 2006 Olympic Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground is clearly visible on the horizon. It marks an area devoted to sports arenas, covered and otherwise.
The ‘Rod Laver’ tennis stadium, athletics, basketball, Olympic sized pool along with the MCG cricket and ‘Rules Football ground. Several bridges crossing the central rail-network and transport hub announce your approach, surrounded on two sides by the Fitzroy Gardens and ‘The Domain’ park.
The massive arena has the third largest seated capacity in the world and is home to the MCG and Australian Rules football.
Wandering round the iconic stadium it’s difficult not to be impressed by the magnitude, history and memorabilia that adorns the boardrooms, executive suites and public areas.
In one ‘well-to-do’ VIP corporate box hangs a framed Olympic flag signed by the 2006 Australian medal winners.
On display in the boardroom, amongst many other items, a cricket bat signed by the top-ten highest scoring batsmen; the likes of Sobers, Richards, Gooch, Border, Greenidge, Gower, Boycott, Cowdrey, Gavaskar and Miandad. Players, to a large extent, that I have watched over the years awed at their extraordinary ability.
Clearly with the recent trouncing by the English cricket team of our fierce rivals in the 5-series test match the visit was all that more poignant, a chance to gloat.
Melbourne to Sydney and then Bangkok
After spending several days sorting out the Thai visa and exploring the city of Melbourne, a place I favour over Sydney, it’s a short flight to Sydney before flying to Bangkok, Thailand.
15th to the 29th April 201
Flight to Sydney
The Qantas flight from Christchurch to Sydney, Australia was a formality, its only 3 hours. Most of the time was spent talking to a fellow passenger, an Ozzy, about the competitive and seemingly, at times, destructive rivalry that exists between NZ and OZ, and the UK and Oceania countries.
He was recounting the dismissive and vitriolic response by the normally hard-core and loyal Ozzy supporters despondent at their teams recent trouncing at the hands of the English cricket team. He mentioned that the Australian press had nothing but high praise for the extraordinary ‘playful’ and well-behaved ‘Barmey Army’, the name given to the English supporters.
Clearly, the supposed fierce competitive spirit is no more than gamesmanship, a ploy to unbalance the opposing team. Often individuals on opposing sides are in real-life close personal friends with a mutual respect and understanding for each other’s talent.
Sydney to Newcastle by train
Arriving at Sydney airport, passing through customs and immigration, collecting the luggage and boarding the airport link to one of the mainline stations was all straight forward and efficient, so no surprises.
An article I read some days later all but suggested that Australians were disgusted by the slow, dirty and inefficient rail network an opted for the car instead. The government has designs on upgrading the system something similar to the ‘bullet train’ in Japan. We shall see.
The trip, 160 kilometers, took four hours arriving at Newcastle station mid-afternoon.
The journey itself provided a brushstroke of what the country has to offer, barely a pinprick on the map but what a pinprick! Enclosed lagoons, wide rivers, large lakes all surrounded by green veld hills. Elegant Victorian wooden buildings merging with modern architect designed houses. The waters dripping with wealth and a large assortment of floating craft of all sizes, yachts, cabin cruisers, motor cruisers, speed boats, dinghy’s and fishing vessels. All of which simply cements Australians association and love of the water. It never fails to surprise me, however much I travel how much alike we are, none more so than in Australia. Clearly we speak the same language, although a lot of words are shortened, like ‘Morno’s’ meaning a morning coffee break as an example. Australians are much more direct and it seems more eccentric, if my experience of travelling on the train was anything to go by.
It’s clear that the mother country has had a massive impact on early development of this continent sized island; travelling through the suburbs of Sydney by train it almost felt like home. The tired rail system lacking proper investment, the derelict buildings lining the track strewn with graffiti, buildings that would seem completely at home in the UK. A familiar layout to the streets and roads, similar place, town and city names, it’s only when you leave the built-up area that you realize that you’re in another country!
Suddenly you’re confronted by rolling hills sloping down to an enclosed inlet, a lake, river or bay and covered in tropical fauna in particular the Eucalyptus trees, as much a part of Australia as the Koala.
Meeting Alex’s family
Alex and her lovely family, Scott, Luca and Toby, met me in central Newcastle at the train station, the culmination of this particular line, near the quayside and municipal gardens.
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| Scott, Toby and Alex |
For those that may remember, Alex worked as a secretary for the residential department of House & Son before becoming an excellent negotiator, back in the days when I was an employee of H & S.
Terry House subsequently sold his interest in the residential sales department and Alex continued to work there under the tutor-ledge of Paul Hedges.
Throughout this period we remained friends until Alex moved abroad and we lost contact. Alex then e-mailed me ‘out of the blue’ on my 50th birthday to pick up where we left off.
The city of Newcastle
Newcastle is a major industrial city and harbor with the main export coal. Ships lay off the coast, sometimes for months, waiting to load up before returning to their country of origin, mainly China.
It’s a very desirable place to live with good beaches both in Newcastle and the nearby suburb of Stockton, with excellent restaurants, bars and apartments lining the quayside.
Like everything that I have seen in all three countries that I’ve visited thus far, there is a sense of space and freedom, lacking for me in the UK.
Nelson quay, NSW, Australia
Scott and Alex clearly had a planned agenda and I was happy to be lead. That afternoon we headed 60 km along the coast to the quayside town of Nelson and Salamander Bay.
After a great afternoon what better way to polish off the day and mark the setting of the sun than Australian style a ‘Barbie’, BBQ, along with a bottle or two of locally produced Australian wine. It was also a chance for Alex and I to catch-up on the last 15 or so years of our lives, a perfect end to a perfect day.
We spent the next few days taking trips around the local area, with Alex introducing me to an Australian approach to life.
Facts and history of Newcastle
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas.
Situated 162 kilometers, 101 miles, of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal it’s presently the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting over 97 Mt of coal in 2009–10 with plans to expand annual capacity to 180 Mt by 2013. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney basin.
In September 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European to explore the area. His discovery was largely accidental, as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who seized HMS Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor John Hunter. He returned with reports of deep-water mooring and abundance of coal. Over the next two years coal mined from the area was the New South Wales first export.
The settlement gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was where the most dangerous convicts were sent to work in the coalmines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town, named after Governor King, was established to mine coal and cut timber, but failed.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, after England's famous coal port.
Newcastle first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies of the marine detachment on HMS Calcutta, then at Port Jackson, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: HMS Lady Nelson, the Resource and the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, its namesake and also whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names such as Jesmond, Hexham, Wickham, Wallsend and Gateshead. Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Under Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. He laid out the streets of the town, built the first church on the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only a much-reinforced breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
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| Luca, Toby and I out for a walk |
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100, most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater, and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
Oakvale farm, near Salt Ash
Alex, Toby, Luca and I spent an afternoon at Oakvale Farm & Fauna World, on the 18th April, about 25 km north of Stockton.
Hunter Valley and Wine tasting at McGuigan
19th April Alex, Luca and I had a great day out travelling around the beautiful wine growing countryside known as the Hunter Valley.
Information on the Hunter valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is an area of New South Wales extending from approximately 120 km, 75 miles, to 310 km, 193 miles, north of Sydney. The population of 645,395 people lives mainly within 25 km, 16 miles, of the coast, 55% in the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. There are numerous other towns and villages scattered across the valley in the eleven Local Government Areas that make up the region, with Pokolbin the centre of the Wine growing area. Located between the towns of Cessnock and Branxton, about 50 km, 31 miles, west of Newcastle. Much of the rolling countryside around Pokolbin is under vine with the traditional varieties Shiraz and Semillon as well as extensive plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and small quantities of Pinot Noir.
Hunter Valley tour (continued)
We had lunch at an Irish bar called Harrington, a close approximation to my surname.
Saying goodbye to Stockton
The next few days were spent at BBQ’s, doing things with the children such as swimming lessons, a day out with Toby touring the gardens and sea front of Newcastle, looking at Alex and Scotts new house some distance outside Stockton along with a pleasant evening supper at one of the superb eateries along the Newcastle quayside. A ferry traverses the Hunter Estuary, back and forth between Stockton and Newcastle, avoiding the lengthy return journey after a drink or two.
To summarize, I had a great week with the Jones family, their generosity and hospitality was overwhelming and the weather on the whole great. It was nice familiarizing myself with the Australian way off-life and even better re-kindling my friendship with Alex, as well as making new friends along the way. Thanks Scott, Alex, Luca and Toby for making me so welcome, my turn next time.
Return journey to Sydney
I’d elected to take the return rail journey to Sydney on the 21st of April it was then simply a question of finding a bus outside the train station to the beachside suburb of Coogee, about 20 km south of the harbour.
A point of interest the chain of shops known as ‘24/7’ prevalent here sell the bus tickets, a little obscure as a stranger. Monitoring what was going on, I thought I ought to ask someone the procedure for obtaining a ‘bill of fare’. He blurted out something in a broad Australian twang that only made sense some minutes later when I understood that he was indeed referring to the very same shop.
It’s a 30-minute ride through the undulating suburbs to the ‘Coogee Executive Apartments’, just across the road from the bus stop, Scot's recommendation.
The area is set in a small crescent cove, with a wide sandy beach and hills rising up either side, a typical low-rise, almost boutique style resort town with an abundance of shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and things to do.
The most beautiful city in the world!
Sydney is considered as one of the most beautiful settings for a city in the World. Auckland comes close, however, it struggles to compete with the geological anomaly of such a large enclosed body of water some 70 enclosed coves or inlets, its sheer beauty and the majesty of this sprawling metropolis.
Houses, offices, multi-million pound villas and luxury flats spill out over the hillside, in every conceivable design and period, flowing down to the waters edge. Every Island and every scrap of land has, it would appear, been developed all apart, that is, from Sydney Harbor National Island Park.
Facts and history of Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales located on Australia's southeast coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders and comprise a cosmopolitan and international population.
Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet, founded the first British colony on the site of Sydney in Sydney Cove as a penal colony in 1788.
The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, and where the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge feature prominently.
Sydney often ranks highly in various world cities rankings. It has hosted major international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games and the 2000 Summer Olympics. The main airport is Sydney Airport with the main port aptly Sydney Harbour.
The traditional indigenous inhabitants of Sydney Cove are the Cadigal people, whose land once stretched from south of Port Jackson to Petersham. While estimates of the population numbers prior to the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 remain contentious, approximately 4,000–8,000 Aboriginal people lived in the Sydney region prior to contact with British settlers.
The British called the indigenous people the "Eora", because being asked where they came from, these people would answer: "Eora", meaning "here", or "from this place" in their language. There were three language groups in the Sydney region, which were divided into dialects spoken by smaller clans. The principal languages were Darug (the Cadigal, original inhabitants of the City of Sydney, spoke a coastal dialect of Darug), Dharawal and Guringai. Each clan had a territory; the location of each territory determined the resources available. Although urbanization has destroyed much evidence of these settlements, a number of Sydney rock engravings, carvings and rock art remain visible in the Hawkesbury sandstone of the Sydney basin.
In 1770, British sea captain Lieutenant James Cook landed in Botany Bay on the Kurnell Peninsula. It is here that Cook made first contact with an Aboriginal community known as the Gweagal. Under instruction from the British government, Arthur Phillip, who arrived at Botany Bay with a fleet of 11 ships on 18 January 1788, founded a convict settlement. This site was soon determined to be unsuitable for habitation, owing to poor soil and a lack of reliable fresh water.
In April 1789, shortly after the arrival in Botany Bay of the French expedition led by La Perouse, a catastrophic epidemic disease, thought to be smallpox, spread through the Eora people and surrounding groups killing thousands. The cause of the epidemic has always been a matter of speculation and controversy, introduction by the British being among the most likely explanations. In any event, the results were catastrophic for the Eora people and their kin and by the early 1800s the Aboriginal population in the Sydney basin "had been reduced to only 10 percent of the 1788 estimate".
There was violent resistance to British settlement, notably by the warrior Pemulwuy in the area around Botany Bay and Hawkesbury River.
By 1820 there were only a few hundred Aborigines and Governor Macquarie had begun initiatives to 'civilize, Christianize and educate' the Aborigines by removing them from their clans.
Macquarie's tenure as Governor of New South Wales was a period when Sydney was improved from its basic beginnings. Roads, bridges, wharves and public buildings were constructed by British and Irish convicts, and by 1822 the town had banks, markets, well-established thoroughfares and an organized constabulary.
The 1830s and 1840s were periods of urban development including the development of the first suburbs, as the town grew rapidly when ships began arriving from Britain and Ireland with immigrants looking to start a new life.
Rapid suburban development began in the last quarter of the 19th century with the advent of steam-powered tramways and railways. With industrialization Sydney expanded rapidly and, by the early 20th century, it had a population of more than a million.
In 1929, the novelist Arthur Henry Adams called it the "Siren City of the South" and the "Athens of Australia". The Great Depression hit Sydney badly, although one of the highlights at that time was the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. There has traditionally been a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne since the gold rushes of the 1850s made the capital of Victoria Australia's largest and richest city. Sydney overtook Melbourne in population in the early years of the 20th century, and continues to be the largest city in Australia. During the 1970s and 1980s, Sydney's CBD, with a great number of financial institutions including the headquarters of the Reserve Bank, surpassed Melbourne as the nation's financial capital. Throughout the 20th century, especially in the decades immediately following World War II, Sydney continued to expand as large numbers of European and later Asian immigrants took up residence in the metropolitan area.
The urban area has around 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach.
Geographically, Sydney lies over two regions: the Cumberland Plain, a relatively flat region lying to the south and west of the harbour, and the Hornsby Plateau, a sandstone plateau lying mainly to the north of the harbour and dissected by steep valleys. The parts of the city with the oldest European development are located in the flat areas south of the harbour. The North Shore was slower to develop because of its hilly topography and lack of access across the harbour, until the opening of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Strolling around Port Jackson
After a wander round the local suburb of Coogee I’d determined that I would take a bus into the financial district and Port Jackson to have a look at what all the fuss is about. You’re deposited at the bus station pretty much by the waters edge. As you walk through the pillared area, offices towering over, you’re confronted by the quayside.
As you move further to the left the land rises sharply to a ridge that seems to feed the bridge itself. The area, the heart, soul and nightlife of the harbour area, is lined with narrow streets, older properties, many Victorian, converted to create cafes, restaurants, bars, clubs and boutique shops.
It’s very easy to be seduced by the vibrancy; fun and atmosphere that seems to exude from ever pore of this part of the city.
Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge
If there was one thing that I was determined to do it was to climb the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge, another one off the, ‘bucket list’ of things to do. Anyway, if it’s good enough for Michael Caine, Will Smith, Robert De Nero, the two Royal Prince’s and Terri Hatcher to name but a few then its good enough for me.
Alex and I had arranged a time and date some days previous, I was just praying for good weather, clearly an important factor when scaling the heights.
Kitted out, health and indemnity form completed, watched a compulsory 20-minute safety video and several pep talks later and where finally off. It all helps to add to the drama and expectation, I guess.
As soon as you walk through the first inspection hatch, you’re harnessed to a guide wire that runs all the way to the top, taking a different route down.
After a kilometer hike, negotiating steps, ladders and narrow walkways, we reached the pinnacle, 134 meters above sea-level, and boy what a view!!!!
Bridge facts and figures
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a ‘steel through arch’ bridge that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. Nicknamed "The Coat hanger" because of its arch-based design.
Under the directions of Dr. J C Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middleborough and opened in 1932. The Hell Gate Bridge in New York influenced the design of the bridge.
According to the Guinness World Records, it is the world's widest long-span bridge. It is also the fifth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (440 ft.) from top to water level.
The southern end is located at Millers Point and the northern end at Milsons Point in the lower North Shore area. It carries six lanes of road traffic on its main roadway, while on its eastern side are two lanes of road traffic, formerly two tram tracks, and a footpath. On the western side are two railway tracks and a bicycle path, making the western side 30.5 cm (12 in) broader than the opposite side.
The main roadway across the bridge is known as the Bradfield Highway and is about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) long, making it one of the shortest in Australia.
The arch is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses; the heights vary from 18 m (59 ft.) at the centre of the arch to 57 m (187 ft.) at the ends next to the pylons.
The arch has a span of 503 m and its summit is 134 m (440 ft.) above mean sea level; however, expansion of the steel structure on hot days can increase the height of the arch by as much as 18 cm (7.1 in). Large steel pins support each end of the arch, allowing it to rotate to accommodate expansion and contraction caused by changes of temperature, and avoiding stresses that would otherwise cause damage.
The total weight of the steelwork of the bridge, including the arch and approach spans, is 52,800 tonnes, with the arch itself weighing 39,000 tonnes. About 79% of the steel was imported from England, with the rest being sourced from Australia. On site, the contractors set up two workshops at Milsons Point, at the site of the present day Luna Park, and fabricated the steel into the girders and other required parts.
At each end of the arch stands a pair of 89 m (292 ft.) high concrete pylons, faced with granite. The pylons were designed by the Scottish architect Thomas S. Tait, a partner in the architectural firm John Burnet & Partners.
Some 250 Australian, Scottish, and Italian stonemasons and their families relocated to a temporary settlement at Moruya, NSW, 300 kilometers (186 mi) south of Sydney, where they quarried around 18,000 cubic metres (635,664 cu ft.) of granite for the bridge pylons. The stonemasons cut, dressed, and numbered the blocks, which were then transported to Sydney on three ships built specifically for this purpose. The concrete used was also Australian made.
Abutments at the base of the pylons are essential to support the loads from the arch and hold its span firmly in place; however, the pylons themselves have no structural purpose. They were included to provide a frame for the arch panels and to give better visual balance to the bridge. The pylons were not part of the original design, and were only added to allay public concern about the structural integrity of the bridge.
Although originally added to the bridge solely for their aesthetic value, all four pylons have now been put to use. The southeastern pylon contains a museum and tourist centre, with a 360° lookout at the top providing views across the harbour and city. The southwestern pylon is used by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) to support its CCTV cameras overlooking the bridge and the roads around that area. The two pylons on the north shore include venting chimneys for fumes from the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, with the base of the southern pylon containing the RTA maintenance shed for the bridge, and the base of the northern pylon containing the traffic management shed for tow trucks and safety vehicles used on the bridge.
In 1942, the pylons were modified to include parapets and anti-aircraft guns designed to assist in both Australia’s defense and general war effort. The top level of stonework was never removed.
Raining on Bondi Beach
‘Bondi Beach is the most celebrated beach in the country, a kilometre of golden grains where Sydney’s beautiful people come to bare it all. As well as the essential ingredients booming surf, seagulls riding the breeze, the smell of sun block Bondi has a style all of its own’ so its said.
The undulating 10-kilometer cliff-walk each way from Coogee was fantastic, passing of all things a massive cemetery perched on the cliff-top. Apparently people are dying to enjoy the view, literally!
The 30-acre site must be worth 10’s of millions of dollars in today’s market; the gravestones are all very elaborate to so clearly the chosen burial site for the rich, famous and probably infamous.
The property lining the cliffs varies greatly in design, modern and old, some perched precariously on the hillside, one thing in common a stunning sea view and high price tag.
Moving on to Melbourne
The 24th April and it’s a taxi to Sydney airport and then a 11.00am flight, 1½ hours, to the cultural and historic heart of Australia, Melbourne.
Information on Melbourne
The capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria and the second most populous city in Australia, as of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melbournians.
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River, the northern most point of the bay).
Melbourne was founded in 1835 47 years after the European settlement of Australia, by settlers from Launceston. Richard Bourke, the governor, named the city Melbourne in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lam, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne and officially declared by Queen Victoria in 1847.
In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.
Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years by under 20,000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance, as well as a vital source of food and water.
The first European settlement in Victoria was established in 1803 on Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento, but this settlement was abandoned due to a perceived lack of resources. It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.
In May and June 1835, the area, now central and northern Melbourne, was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, now called Tasmania, who negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) with eight Wurundjeri elders.
In early August 1835 a different group of settlers left Launceston on the ship Enterprize. Arriving at the mouth of the Yarra River on 15 August 1835. On 30 August 1835 they disembarked and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. John Batman and his group arrived on 2 September 1835 and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.
Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled and in 1836, Governor Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, and commissioned the Hoddle Grid, or city plan.
Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were largely dispossessed of territory bigger than England. By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne.
By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licenses then issued in Victoria and became the patriarchs " . . . that were to wield so much political and economic power in Victoria for generations to come".
Short stay in the suburb of Preston
I’d booked accommodation in Preston in a nice multi-storey hotel about 12 kilometers from Central Melbourne and a 2-kilometer walk from any shops or restaurants of any appreciable interest. The in-house facilities were limited and expensive and although the connecting local rail-network proved efficient and cheap, it seemed a little impractical to spend the next 9-days commuting backwards and forwards.
Exploring the city of Melbourne
Over the next few days I wandered or bused my way round the ‘heart’ of Melbourne, from its elegant Victorian suburbs, the many ethnic areas, along the Yarra River and the financial quarter, through the beautiful ‘Domain’ park and the ‘Fitzroy Gardens’, home to the colonial governmental buildings.
Sprawling metropolis of Melbourne
The Melbourne Aquarium, another very modern building well worth a visit for the much rare and dangerous specie.
There are beaches dotted along the coast in particular St. Kilda so there really is something for everyone. It’s a good touring base with the mountains to the North, the wine-growing region of the Yarra Valley and the Great Coast Road to the south.
Whilst staying in St. Kilda, whom should I run in to, Mike an old Canadian friend. The last time we saw each other was on the beach in April/May 2010, whilst staying, ‘Big Millie’s Back Yard’, Kokrobite, Ghana as I recollect!!
Anyway we spent a couple of days together ‘chewing the cud’. You may recollect that Mike spent 18 months circumventing the globe, before returning to Canada. Restless, he up-stakes and decided to spend time working and playing in Australia for a year before returning to his home country to enroll in an Engineering degree, I think.
He’s managed to secure accommodation, close to where I’m staying, and work at the expensive and exclusive ‘Beachside Bistro’ in St. Kilda (21 dollars per hour). He’ll winter in the mountains and work as a ski instructor, what a life!
Lots to do and see in Melbourne, Victoria
The gaudy decorations announce the entrance to Lunar Amusement Park close to St Kilda beach. The wooden framed roller coaster is one of the oldest still working and built originally in 1912.
The amusement park is very evocative reminding one of ones childhood, a time when similar fixed fairgrounds used to dot the towns and cities of the UK. Innovative and exciting at the time surpassed now by the far more impersonal, lavish, adventurous and more extreme ‘themed parks’.
2006 Olympic Stadium
The impressive 100,000 seater 2006 Olympic Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground is clearly visible on the horizon. It marks an area devoted to sports arenas, covered and otherwise.
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| Press Room - for pre and post match interviews |
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| Commentary box |
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| Club members area |
Melbourne to Sydney and then Bangkok
After spending several days sorting out the Thai visa and exploring the city of Melbourne, a place I favour over Sydney, it’s a short flight to Sydney before flying to Bangkok, Thailand.
