Tuesday, September 2nd, 2003 – Day 196
I found it hard to get up this morning. That bus journey really killed me. I was out by 10.00am as I was checking out. I piut my luggage into storage. I would be staying with Steve and Tara until I leave Sydney.
My first point of call was Australian Museum
Though nowhere near as impressive as, say, the Natural History Museum in London, Sydney’s premier natural history museum is still worth a look. Displays are presented thematically, the best being the Aboriginal section with its traditional clothing, weapons, and everyday implements. There are some sorry examples of stuffed Australian wildlife, too. Temporary exhibits run from time to time. Allow 1 to 2 hours
I went walked to Hyde Park
In the center of the city is Hyde Park, a favorite with lunching businesspeople. Of note here are the Anzac Memorial to Australian and New Zealand troops killed in the wars, and the Archibald Fountain, complete with spitting turtles and sculptures of Diana and Apollo. At night, avenues of trees are lit up with twinkling lights giving the place a magical appearance
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – City Centre (02-09-2003)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Shrine (02-09-2003)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Shrine (02-09-2003)
Then …. Museum of Sydney
You’ll need your brain in full working order to make the most of the contents of this three-story post-modern building near Circular Quay, which encompasses the remnants of Sydney’s first Government House. This place is far from being a conventional showcase of history; instead, it houses a rather minimalist collection of first-settler and Aboriginal objects and multimedia displays that “invite” the museumgoer to discover Sydney’s past for him- or herself. Some Frommer’s readers have criticized the place, saying it’s not just minimalist–it’s simply unfathomable. By the way, that forest of poles filled with hair, oyster shells, and crab claws in the courtyard adjacent to the industrial-design cafe tables is called Edge of Trees. It’s a metaphor for the first contact between Aborigines and the British. There’s a reasonable cafe out the front. Allow anywhere from an hour to a lifetime to understand.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Museum (02-09-2003)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Museum (02-09-2003)
Then …. St Mary’s Cathedral
Sydney’s most impressive worship place is a giant sandstone construction between The Domain and Hyde Park. The original St Mary’s was built in 1821, but the chapel was destroyed by fire. Work on the present cathedral began in 1868, but due to lack of funds remained unfinished until work began in 1999 to build the two spires. The stained-glass windows inside are impressive. St. Mary’s is Roman Catholic and was built for Sydney’s large population of Irish convicts. In perhaps Sydney’s worst pre-Olympic planning, the beautiful brown sandstone building was marred by a wide stretch of dark gray paving outside–now the battleground of skateboarders and city council rangers. The two spires were completed in extra-quick time for the Olympics, too.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Saint Marys (02-09-2003)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Saint Marys (02-09-2003)
Then … Hyde Park Barracks Museum
These Georgian-style barracks were designed in 1819 by the convict/architect Francis Greenway. They were built by convicts and inhabited by fellow prisoners. These days they house relics from those early days in interesting, modern displays, including log books, early settlement artifacts, and a room full of ships’ hammocks in which visitors can lie and listen to fragments of prisoner conversation. If you are interested in Sydney’s early beginnings, then I highly recommend a visit–the displays are also far more straightforward that those at the Museum of Sydney. The courtyard cafe is excellent. Allow for 1 hour or more.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – Hyde PArk museum (02-09-2003)
I could have done a few more but why. i was tired and it was hot today. I felt about visiting attractions here as they are so like our own. I know I would go to London and visit the ANtural history Museum, so why asm I doing it here. I not feel like I want to anymore sight seeing here. I was not moved by any of the above attractions.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Sydney – Australia – City Shot (02-09-2003)
I went back to Kings Cross to get my bags. I then made my way to Steves and taras place where we watched TV. I was in bed by 11.00pm.