Sydney 2014 day 5

  

The day was still cloudy, but I think its just going to be one of those humid day that you will sweat, but wont get very sunburnt at all. It should be pretty good to wander around under the cloud cover and not direct sunlight.

I started by taking a walk with Dawn and Lucy as I wanted to find Margaret Olley’s old house in Paddington. We found the house alright, but if you never googled the address or knew what you were looking at then you would have walked right on by without even knowing who had lived there. It just looks like being an overgrown property that is unless we have gone to the wrong location. Still I did the usual photo op with the house and wandered around  realising and remarking that the back streets of Paddington are like a rabbit warren as you could become lost amongst the streets. I did leave Dawn to walking her dog as I wanted to have a look at the area where the Sydney cricket grounds were or what is known as the SCG.

  I took the path that went between the reservoir  and the fire station as I had taken that very path last time I was heading that was last time I was in Sydney except this time there was no storm with a downpour. Once down at the stadium area I wanted to see what I could find though I thought it would be best walking through the car park. I wasn’t very interested in Centennial Park, which was across the road, but I could see it.  I didn’t know what I was expecting to see, but there was the start of the football grounds as I was able to see a van that was for the Sydney Roosters and then the Waratahs. I was surprised that there were three people playing footy well just passing their ball, but in front of a building with plenty of glass. Some oldish lady did join in with them, but all I was thinking was that they were dim morons. I did look at some statues of footy players of the past, but I didn’t hover as I did feel I was on a time limit since I had a booking for the afternoon. The wandering showed me that the whole area was bigger than what I had thought it was as the next lot of buildings I came across was the cricket grounds and then the AFL grounds where I did see some player from the Sydney Swans.

Covering the entire block seemed to be something of a marathon in itself though I think I did find the Sydney agriculture grounds as it seems to be now part of where the Fox studios are now part of. I thought I could walk into the promotional end and I turned around when I realised I had entered the auditioning area not that I wanted to be on TV, but I doubt I would be able to wander. I jumped into the visitors area, well not jump but wandered to the next entrance over. That was interesting as I found it was a whole entertainment area, which included Hoyts and the film and TV school though it doesn’t interest me too much and time was starting to run out. The whole area is interesting and worth spending some time in even though some places you are not allowed as I had a big security guard watching me from a closed off area though I needed a pass and I never had any on me. Further down the road and I encountered the equestrian centre, but I had crossed over to the park side of the road to see what the memorial fountain thing was. I looked at the time and realised I should be on my way as it was becoming later than I thought.

I did become lost trying to find my way back to Paddington and Oxford street as I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going. I figured that if bus’ were working down the street, then I was on the correct track. I was actually surprised where I had appeared out of the correct street and I knew exactly where I was when I did enter the main road, though I was a short walk away as I was at the main entrance to Centennial Park. After a brief stop and to get my washing off the line before it began raining if I wasn’t back from the city before the end of the day and darkness fell. I did have to sort my bag out with water. Once we were both on the bus as I had booked a place for Susannah Place with Margie. There were some hair raising events, which took place on the way. A blonde lady in an Audi who had something to do with festivals Sydney 2014 cut off the bus in the city near Hyde Park and then there was the motorcyclist with a passenger who kept looking at her phone while the bike was moving. I did find that very surprising as I never seen anyone do that before on a motorbike.

 Once we had alighted next to the Sydney Museum, I started acting as a tour guide for Margie when we had seen the park behind the Paragin pub and then Macquarie park as they had something that would be of interest especially when there was some monuments regarding the first fleet. Before we arrived at The Rocks we did find the monument to The Tank Stream and then a beer with chips at The Fortunes of War. The people were very helpful and did their best to keep customers happy especially us two and we will forgive the fact they had no VB on tap. The next stop was the discovery centre with its possible oldest headstone in Australia. The museum did show how The Rocks location was formed and did recognise the Aboriginal tribes of the area. They did show evidence as well and the plan was to have a look if we had time when after Susannah Place. By that time we had to head into Susannah Place as we were running out of time.

I found Susannah Place to be interesting as it was one of those unique places that had been saved from demolition from the builders and it was very lucky as the houses shows examples of the different time periods from candle, gas lighting to electricity. They even have an air raid shelter as well during the war. I did buy a book about the families who lived in the area between 1844 and the mid 90s before people moved out and the museum had the row of houses. I think washing day on a Monday was a bit much especially when it was by pot and a big stick. Ladies in those days were tough. They did have plenty of examples not that I am going to write them down as it will kill my fingers to even try something like that and memory too. I would have to add that the tour guide was of great value and yeah you have to book or else you would miss out on having a tour. It goes from the afternoon though and not sure why they don’t use the morning as well.

Once the tour ended Margie and I headed towards the Australia Pub as we both were thirsty and peckish. We had a pizza and a Bavarian type beer that was brewed in Picton NSW. We had our rest and then headed towards The Big Dig area especially when it was part of the YHA building and showed Margie what I had found several days before as it showed the archaeological digs that had been done and what had been found especially what had been thrown down the wells. We did wander around the area a bit more and found parts that I had not found including the area of the first execution. Another spot was in George street as they were doing a deep dig before there was a building to be constructed as the area was on the banks of the Tank Stream. There was a little bit of a display about what they were doing and then we were off as we were meeting Dawn for dinner at the COFA building. It wasn’t actually a very long wait for the bus either and we did end up in Paddington where we found several book stores that we wandered through. The day was at an end and it ended with some needed rain that had been hanging around for the last several days.

Sydney 2014 Day 4

I knew today was going to be another nice day in the city of Sydney. Even though I was up early myself, I knew I would have to be on the run though this time my mission was not to explore, but to search for shorts in Bondi Junction and then head to parts unknown afterwards.

The search for a pair of shorts didn’t go as planned especially since I had left earlier in the morning just as shops were about to open for the day. My plan was to get in and out within an hour of being in the shopping centre. I did learn Westfield is way out of my price range although Target, Kmart and Myer didn’t have what I was wanting as I do like cargo pants for practical reasons. The only place i could find my shorts was at Lowes an it was well over an hour before I left Bondi to drop my new things off. I wasn’t impressed at all with Myer and never bothered walking into David Jones to see what they had. I am not going to wear designer outfits that are $89 each and that was just the shorts. I would have bought shorts from Kmart if they had their clearance lines in my size, but everything was too big. I think it shows that I do not go clothes shopping very often at all.

Once I got back to the house I put on a pair of my new shorts and caught the bus to Circular Quay as I wanted to get the ferry to Cockatoo island and also visit the information centre there as well. By accident I did find some monuments to women during WWII and something commemorating the First Fleet after I wondered what a park might have that was behind a pub that was the HQ for the Barmy army. I went looking for the ferry to my destination and after finding it I went to the information centre only to be told sorry we are for transport only. That meant I was to head into The Rocks for the information I was after. They did have exactly what I was looking for and I was hungry, but never stopped for food there. Once down at the ferries I did get a pie from the only shop not crowded like Hungry Jacks. I was lucky as well with the ferry since it wasn’t too long a way for the boat as it was headed to Parramatta, but the third stop was Cockatoo island.

The ferry gave an estimated amount of time before they would arrive at the next destination especially as it was one of the newer ferries and not an older one. So long as I had a seat I was happy. Once on the Island we were greeted a volunteer who gave us a talk about where everything was on the island including the best part information and audio tours too. The audio tour cost me $5 and I was happy to have the tour and wander around the island following the map. The tour spoke about a range of subjects from history of the island especially from the convict beginnings including one escape where it was the beginnings of Captain Thunderbolt and a spot near the Dawn Frazer pool is called the white steed or horse after the horse that took him away, becoming a reform school for girls, During World war 2 there area was the main repair base for the American ships including submarine refitting as well. Several of the bollards on the dry dock are actually the originals from the convict times from cannons placed there. There were strike action and people who had to work within at least 50 different awards and any slight move could start a strike of some sort. One of the American navy ships was badly damaged in some obscure battle in the pacific and they had to cruise at 2 knots in reverse so the boat didn’t sink. There were some very angry seagulls on the island too as each time I came close they would scream at me and I did see some baby ones too. I did after my tour have enough time to hand in my audio tour and head off into the ferry that had only just pulled up at the dock.

I made the decision while on the ferry that I wanted to checkout Darling Harbour a little bit while I was still out and had to change ferries since the old Parramatta ferry wasn’t going near that place. Once I had exited the terminal the ticket inspectors pounced and I showed proof that I was running around on a valid ticket with proof of having a concession card. I was cool to go but the other guy who had exited the terminal beside me was not so lucky at all since he never had proof of his concession card. He ‘left’ it at home. Once I got my bearings I was off to Darling Harbour on the slow ferry that went via Luna Park and Balmain. I got off at the museums and went for  little look around the area including the bridge where the monorail was. I headed into the maritime museum where I think it was starting to close, but I was looking at books I wanted to, but thought I better not. I soon ended up in China town as I was heading towards Central station and catching my bus as I was sore and started getting tired from my running around and long day out and about. I needed to get some washing done as well as I would be wearing my last pair of clothes and hope they do dry by morning.

Sydney 2014 Day 3

Today the plan was to walk from Waverley to Bondi beach and then do some shopping at the Westfield at Bondi Junction. The weather was nice other than being cloudy. My plans usually mean they change at the last second to something that could end up being an epic journey and people might find my trip hard to handle or even follow if they were following me.

I found the right bus to catch to Waverley, but had to remember how to get to the beach walk though most of it would be along the rock cliffs. I did get off at the wrong stop and had to walk a little way, but this was to be expected as I am not familiar with the area. I was actually hunting the cemetery where I was going to wander through and visit Henry Lawson again before heading to Bondi on foot.  The area was a little windy, but I was sure to remain careful when walking near the cliffs as any slip on the rocks might get me hurt or worse. I did notice some signage that indicated to the area with a little bit about either the natural environment or the history to that particular area.

While walking past Bronte beach a big macaw few up to say hello and after several photos he flew off to say hello to several other people. An expensive bird being left to roam is not good though I don’t own the bird so not really my problem. He did come back after I had walked a bit further on and I was talking to him and asked if I could pat him. When I went to give him a scratch he bit my finger when I at first thought he would just mouth me. My finger did hurt a little bit, but I was not angry at the bird for what he had done. A little bit of broken skin, but nothing that would do me any harm at all.

Along the way there were marks telling me how far it was to Bronte Beach or to Bondi Beach, which I noticed along the way unless I was misreading the markers as being something else, but I don’t think I would be wrong. Not that I would know though. There were some nice sights along the way and people were giggling at my shirt that I was wearing since it was one of those ones that had a smart comment. One of the beaches I walked past said it had a wonderland that included elephant rides too. Bondi beach didn’t take too long to walk to though I was more interested in the murals painted on the wall to pay too much attention. The beach was nearly deserted as it was not a hot sunny day, but cloudy.

I ended up on North Bondi and walking up the hill to see what that tower I had seen in all the pictures of Bondi especially with the Bondi vet. Turns out it is part of the Bondi golf course and a water tower to do with Sydney water. The mystery had been solved and I didn’t get hit by golf balls even though I knew of one lot of people who were playing. My trek had taken longer than I had thought especially when I was wondering what that tower thing was. At least there was a bus stop close by that I could use. I needed to head to Bondi Junction where there was a shopping centre to buy several supply things before heading off. I found a Coles with a cafe inside the actual business and it was different as I had never seen anything like that before. Once I bought my stuff I got confused over which side of the road to catch the bus, but the drivers were nice when I asked. I was on the wrong side of the road so waited for the right bus going the right way. I did catch up with Dawn and Margie at a local cafe for lunch and found one of the dogs Dawn looks after called Panda had an accident that meant she broke her leg after a fright.

Once we had lunch I took off to the city again to look for the Tank stream monuments which I found all, but one of. I was thinking about hunting down the information centres, but found the Westfield sky tower had none and that meant I was changing plans to look for a clothes shop. I wanted two pairs of shorts, but there was nothing cheap in Pitt Street unless I could have visited Lowes as the prices are usually reasonable. The whole city CBD area was becoming extremely busy and I didn’t end up finding an info centre, but thought it as best not to wait for a bus and walk to Paddington. It was becoming warm as I was walking at a pace that seemed to suit me. I don’t think it took me too long to end up in Paddington where I was happy to have a shower to cool off and then went out to dinner at one of the local pubs.

Sydney 2014 day 2

Sydney 2014 day 2

Micheal Hutchence

Today was cloudy, but warm and while it was trying to rain there was no need for the brolly at all. The sun did come out, but spent most of the day under cover. My plan for the day was to travel up to the North Ryde station where there were several cemeteries I wanted to visit though on the map it looked pretty simple and easy to find though I was really going by Google maps and not the street directory I bought with me.

The day started really easy and I had a small wait for the bus before taking it to Central and ending up at North Ryde. The only problems I do have is reading the train timetables on the screens while wearing my sunnies as it could be the polarisation that is in my glasses. I just take them off and wear glasses to read everything. It only seems to be in Sydney this occurs and I don’t notice it elsewhere. I was happy to see train going over the bridge and head out to somewhere I had not been before. North Ryde station was like some of the tube lines I had been on with the escalators going up on several levels before getting up to the ground level. The fact the place was nearly deserted was something else entirely.

Once I was upstairs I knew where I wanted to go and was going off my street directory. According to the sign outside the train station it was a 20 min walk to the Northern Suburbs crematorium where I was wanting to find Banjo Patterson’s headstone marker. I did start walking, but found the footpath ended and there was a narrow bath along the side of the road that ended with nothing to walk on and not knowing the area I thought I better find another track. My street directory did have an alternative path that took me a little longer than I thought it would take. I took a road that stopped for traffic beside the Macquarie cemetery that ended up taking me through the Lane Cove National park. I had assumed it was an off road thing, but it was an actual roadway and luckily very quiet except for the cyclists and the runners. It was actually a really nice walk even though I was sticking to the road. A bit of bush outside of the city that I had not expected at all it was a shortcut that was longer than expected. Once at the entrance to the park I knew I still had a little way to find my way into the cemetery and had to cross under a bridge that took me over the road that was extremely busy. Then I did get caught in another set of winding streets until I found a series of fences with the cemetery on the other side. Before the fence became tall, I was able to climb over to enter the grounds.

Once I was in the crematorium grounds I wanted to find the office where they would have the map to the grounds. What I was not expecting was to find someone else on the grounds who I knew of. Micheal Hutchence from INXS was there also. I ate lunch and then became lost looking at the map as to where to go until I realised I was standing in the wrong area. It took a little bit to find Andrew Barton Patterson aka Banjo, but he was there. Micheal was found too and pretty easy as I had nearly discovered him while lost as I kept on finding a mosaic wall with a sundial and pond. Time was slowly slipping away and I found there was a bus stop outside the crematorium. Only problem was I didn’t wave the first bus down and had to wait around 20 mins for the next one as the drivers only respond to hand signals apparently. I had made the decision to head to Field of Mars cemetery, where a family member was buried. The bus got me over the main roads, but I wanted to walk to the location past Macquarie hospital as it was easiest for me. Could have gone another way, but at least I had a good walk. I found the grave pretty quickly too though Google wasn’t going to tell me where. All the walking was taking up a it of time and I had made it back to North Ryde and even a short walk into Macquarie Park cemetery, but the map gave no clues to who was buried so I decided it was off home I go.

Next time I will head back to the cemetery and find out who resides there and stop at the cafe too. Cafes in cemeteries seem to be something Sydney does well as I have not seen any in other cities. The train back was full of people and I started wondering if I had the right train as it had slowed down. Seemed like there was a problem with another train and its doors had jammed. That was the reason given and other trains stuck waiting. I was happy to be off and then waited for the bus, which marked the end of my day. My brain wanted to keep going, but my body was saying no and laughing at me especially as I was feeling aches and pains from the walking. I didn’t realise how much time I would take up with getting to my destination, but I still have time to get everywhere else. While in the Northern Suburbs Crematorium I did make a phone call to one of the museums called Susannah Place in The Rocks and made a booking for Friday for two people as I am dragging a friend along who is another lover of history and a uni buddy.

Sydney 2014 day 1

Sydney 2014 day 1

Stairs to nowhere

Today was really nice before I flew to Sydney even though it was bright and early in the morning before light. I didn’t need to get to the airport several hours early as it was only a domestic flight to Sydney and I think I was around the first flight out of the airport. I was also 15 mins early before the shops opened for food, but I was able to get my coffee and my breaky before the plane even thought about loading. I did watch the sky lighten and the planes that were waiting were appearing out of the darkness with workers prepping them.

The flight was uneventful other than he fact I was sitting in the second row seat, which was pretty good. I wasn’t concerned about the little bit of turbulence that we got either. I was reading my magazine the entire way. I did get a multipass that lasts for 7 days, which means I can get any Sydney bus and train with certain ferries. Outside was overcast compared to what it was like at home. I did catch the bus to Paddington where I am staying, but did get off a stop too early as I wasn’t sure of the location as the bus doesn’t talk. Some tell you the destination. I did get to meet Panda and Lucy with little Harriet, which are all dogs with two greyhounds. I did help Dawn, the friend I am staying with, with several things she wanted done. After some lunch I was off again into the city.

I wasn’t worried about which bus I caught so long as it got me near to where I wanted to be, which was Hyde Park as I wanted to visit the Barracks. I did wander along part of Oxford street until I found where I was wanting to go though I did wander off the path too. I started with the war memorial at Hyde Park and then slowly made my way to the Barracks. I did walk around inside the grounds before entering the building itself. Several of the building displays did show the old court rooms and where the judges had to walk along with everything else to do with. Inside the barracks building it took you through the history of the building including the many uses it has had. From convict barracks to offices for the judges and other legal council. There was even talk of knocking the building down too. I took the audio tour with me and it gave little bits of insight into the area like Aboriginal people like Bungaroo who greeted many convicts on their arrival and that some people would wear a second layer of clothes they had stolen to buy rum and other things. There were holes cut into the walls where the men slept as the officials wanted to make sure the men were not getting frisk though the building did hold 600 people so it did get cosy with the hammocks.  The early town was spoken of and shown on a map on the floor like the brick works that are now Surry Hills I think along with where Central is too. I wanted to find more about the tank stream too, which was the original fresh water stream for the area and now only certain tours a year are done there. Also there was many historic remains they had found on the site including complex tunnels made by rats under the building and things they stored too. The building is well worth the visit.

After leaving the museum I was on a quest for coffee and the Barracks coffee shop was closed and I was sad, but another one was open where I ordered a coffee and didn’t have to pay until I had finished the coffee. That was unusual and a coffee shop across the road from the Sydney hospital. That was some trust they had in a customer too. I did then take off and bumped into Martin place where I had research that there was a monument to the Tank Stream. I found it on the George Street side where it was beside the war memorial. It wasn’t much to go on though and I did wander looking for more including the entrance, which I didn’t find. I did find a nice one in Alfred Street across from Circular Quay and I was happy with that find. I did find the police museum by accident as well, which I was thinking I could see sometime if there was time. Along the way I did find an obelisk that had the distance to other locations from that very point like Bathurst or Parramatta. Nearby as the cannon and anchor that could have been from the Sirrus one of the first fleet vessels.

 It was getting late and had started raining so I had my brolly up as I took a short cut through The Rocks looking for the stairs to nowhere and I did walk past some interesting parts that I didn’t know about as I hadn’t been there the last time I wandered through. There was the big dig archaeology site under the YHA and also Susannah Place another tour place that you can book to learn about Sydney of old. I was on a hunt and then I did get stuck above Hickson road as I wanted to get to that road, but couldn’t from Argyle. Munn Reserve didn’t take me anywhere either and the drizzle was constant. I did find a set of stairs that took me to that level and on I wandered to the other end of Hickson before turning back as I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I did find those pesky stairs as my brolly had hid my view as I wandered past below them. They supposedly had been blocked off at the bottom as they never reached the top of the cliff to the street above.  I then headed back to the train and a bus where I wanted to head back to Paddington for the night as the next day was another day. I did make a shop assistant happy when I said thank you as I needed water and I was damp and thirsty.