SYDNEY continued

                    More on Sydney

     We eventually made our way to the Harbor Bridge after lunch. I  contemplated of perhaps  climbing the bridge, not realizing it was such a popular attraction. We found the 200 steps leading up to the bridge level.  Walking to the second pylon we had a wonderful view of Sydney Harbor and the city. The Bridge was a

monumental engineering feat when completed in 1932. The arch spans 503 meters. It is 134 meters up to the top of the 1149-meter long, 49-meter wide arch. After getting a good view of what lay ahead we were only minimally disappointed to learn there were no openings to climb to the top of the bridge. After seeing the steep  steps, we agreed it would be a really tough climb. Looking up to the top the tethered walkers were dwarfed to the size of tiny people, but we clearly heard the occasional screams.

     Policemen in shorts and knee-high socks, as seen in Bermuda, were a common sight. I like the look!

The Nurses Walk was only a block from our hotel. We learned the colony’s first hospital was established in this area.  Many of the first settlers suffered dysentery, smallpox, scurvy, and typhoid after the long voyage. A few days after landing Governor Phillips set up a tent hospital to care for the worst cases.  When the second fleet arrived in 1790, a quarter of its convicts had died and many others were critically ill on arrival. The Second Fleet carried a prefabricated hospital, which was quickly erected, and immediately filled with patients.

     The city’s largest church, a Catholic one, burned twice, and it was vowed that it would be burned whenever it was finished. Today the church stands with its two towers unfinished! 
      During World War II many a service man knew and visited Harry’s. The establishment moved twice and at one point it was ordered to be disposed of, but a petition with 90,000 signatures from all over the world was presented to the legislature who then decided to save and preserve it. Harry’s, now a national landmark, is still in business at its waterfront location.

     Paddington is an old residential area with a New Orleans flair. Decorative wrought iron grillwork is prevalent. Originally the grillwork was created from ships’ iron ballast—a nice contrast from the sandstone facades in the Rocks. New South Wales has little timber for building so most homes were brick or stucco with tile roofs. Apparently there is a big termite problem so these construction materials serve their owners well.

     It is 179 miles around Sydney’s deep harbor. The city boasts 34 beaches, perhaps the most famous is Bondi because it’s an optional topless beach. The sand was powder fine. The inland side of the street is lined with various shops—typical beach décor.

     The rolling parkland of the Royal Botanical Gardens forms the eastern boundary of the city. A farm garden in 1816, now the Gardens have duck ponds, groves of palm trees, a cactus garden, and acres of lawn and pathways. It also houses Mrs. Macquarie’s large sandstone chair that was carved by convicts. She used to go and sit in her chair overlooking the harbor, and there are two stories as to why. One that she was homesick for England and longed to return, the other that she contemplated on how she could help her husband, the governor, solve the many problems he faced. The chair is large enough for two to sit in and it still seemed to swallow us.

      Sydney Tower, top of the Centerpoint shopping complex is the highest vantage-point in the city. It actually is the highest public building in the Southern Hemisphere. Besides the viewing area for a spectacular view any time of day, it also houses two revolving restaurants.

     We enjoyed quite a lot of sidewalk entertainment throughout the city. A couple of the mimes, one the Statue of Liberty, were exceptionally good.

     On one of our excursions out of town our driver told us, “In the 1970s the government began redeveloping The Rocks while keeping its heritage intact. The blend of history and culture mingled among tropical palm trees, flower gardens, ponds, and grassy lawn areas all blends to give the area a distinctive personality. The preserved sandstone colonial architecture provides facades for many shops and restaurants. The many architectural styles include colonial convict, colonial military, colonial Georgian, contemporary expressionism, early colonial, modern expressionism, Victorian, and Victorian lace.”

     It seemed to me that is an excellent summary of this large city. I have not mentioned the famous Sydney Opera House as I described the fabulous building in an 11/ 2010 post. It should be on every visitor’s list to tour with a docent. Truly a not to miss facility.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

                                         Bit about the Big City

      Stretching 60 miles north to south and 35 miles east to west Sydney is Australia's largest city. The harbor divides the city into its north and south sections. After an eight month voyage from England Captain Arthur Phillip established a penal colony in 1788. The flotilla of eleven ships carried a thousand convicts. Forty of the original passengers died during the 250-day voyage from England. They landed on a sandstone peninsular known as The Rocks. After 1776, the English could no longer send their prisoners to the United States, so they sent them to barren and isolated Australia.

      Because of a lack of soil, some of the original settlers migrated several miles inland to farm. Later soil was imported into The Rocks. Home now to 3 ½ million people, the city is hilly reminding me a great deal of San Francisco. The streets are narrow. The city has subway and monorail systems. The downtown monorail makes a loop of the area every six minutes. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales. Natives call themselves Sydneysiders. The southeast part of Sydney is parkland, greenbelt, and sporting area.

      During the 1838 plague, the city was burned to the ground, then was rebuilt. In years past hangings took place at sunrise or sunset because the spirit rises at that time. Sydney’s famous Harbor Bridge, built in 1932-34, is the longest single span steel bridge in the world. Paul  Hogan was working on the bridge when the movie industry discovered him.

     The first crude wood huts erected by the convicts were followed with simple houses made of mud bricks cemented together with a mixture of sheep’s wool and mud. Rain soon washed the mortar away and no buildings in The Rocks survived the earliest period of convict settlement. There were no permanent buildings before 1816. Much restoration on historic colonial buildings has taken place in recent years.

      Cadman’s Cottage, a small two-story yellow sandstone building built in 1816 is the oldest surviving house in Sydney.  John Cadman was sentenced for stealing a horse. He eventually married Elizabeth who had stolen a hairbrush and a knife. Cadman became superintendent of government boats and was allowed to live in the upper story of the cottage. Originally the cottage was at the water’s edge, but because a fair amount of reclaimed land, the cottage now sits back 100 feet or so from the water. The original seawall still stands in front of the cottage.

     The waterfront of this thriving port was once lined with warehouses backed by a row of tradesmen’s shops, banks, and taverns. Above them rose cobblestone alleyways to the cottages of seamen and wharf laborers.

Garrison Church

      The very walkable inner city is best seen on foot.  British and Colonial Regiments once worshiped at Holy Trinity Church, built in 1840, and is also known as the Garrison Church. The oldest church in the country has a distinctive ‘wine glass’ shaped pulpit. The Visitor Center occupies the Sydney Sailors’ Home, 1859. The Argyle stores date to the 1800s, and Susannah Place, an example of a typical dwelling occupied by working class families from the mid 1840s, is now a museum.

     Sydney became a notorious port full of taverns and brothels. The old west image of bars, brawls, amd brothels is long gone. Prostitution, once outlawed, became legal again in Sydney in mid 1999. Sydney is surrounded by sprawling suburbs. With three-quarters of the country desert, 86% of the population lives in urban areas, with the majority of those in Sydney and Melbourne. All of the large cities are on the coast. The harbor officially titled Port Jackson, but commonly called Sydney Harbor, has 150 miles of waterfront, and the harbor area is basically downtown. The Lord Nelson, built in 1836 as a Brewery Hotel, still brews its own beer on the premises. Large aging vats are visible from the dining area. It is the oldest remaining hotel in the city. We enjoyed a very good lunch here in the historic ‘brew house’.

Tomorrow more on Sydney