Koala Moon Walking

A sign nearby which always amuses me. It is very faint but someone has added the word 'Moon'under Koala. It is a strange sign anyway, I have never seen a koala walking anywhere, especially around Avalon. About 20 years ago there was still a remnant population here but I am afraid they are long gone, in Sydney there is a wild population near Campbelltown still.

Palm Beach Surf Boat

This is the tail of a surf boat which were the mainstay of surf rescues. Now they are mainly for surf competitions as the inflatable "Rubber Duckie" are able to zoom through the surf better. The symbol for Palm Beach is the Cabbage Tree Palm which grow in the gullies all around here.

Palm Beach runners

The Palm Beach Surf Lifesaving club was having some foot races along the beach last Sunday morning. The weather is still warm although you can tell that the season is changing.

Maritime Museum

This is the entrance to the Maritime museum down by Darling Harbour.

King Parrot

Another visitor to my house, this one is more welcome than the last one, they always come in pairs and are more polite than the rainbow lorikeets, who always make a fuss until they are fed.

Golden Crown snake

Had a visitor the other evening as I was putting out the rubbish, a Golden Crown snake, easy to see why it is so named. It quickly slid away, I have seen him or his children around for a few years. Venomous but not dangerous - how does that work?

Black and White House

A striking garage down by Woolloomooloo.

View of Pittwater from Barrenjoey Lighthouse

This is the view to the South from the lighthouse, the part that looks like a castle is part of the wall to the lighthouse keepers cottage. Pittwater is a beautiful sheltered harbour to the north of Sydney. According to Australian Tourism: Governor Phillip arrived from England as Governor of New South Wales and took up duties in Sydney Town. On 2nd March 1788 he arrived in Broken Bay and named the southern end Pittwater after William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of Britain. He described the inlet as "the finest piece of water I ever saw".

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

A worthwhile climb on the weekend to the top of Barrenjoey Head and the lighthouse. Completed in 1881 you can read all about its history here. It is open for a tour and a climb to the top most weekends.

Year of the Tiger

Once again down in the Customs House building there is room full of the Chinese New Year tigers. Interesting.

Early morning down by Pittwater, this is next to the Navy's old torpedo testing area at Taylor's Point. In the distance you can make out Lion Island. The enclosed swimming area is protect you from the sharks!

The Offerings of War

Outside the Art Gallery this is one of the twin bronze sculptures, the other is of course The Offerings of Peace. It was erected in 1926. The inscription reads 'That our house may stand forever and that justice and mercy grow.' It is holding a staff topped by a figure of Winged Victory.
It reminds me of Russell Crowe from the film 'Gladiator', he has an apartment just a few hundred metres from here at the end of The Wharf at Woolloomooloo.

Boomerang school

This looks like a high security operation, with some high value boomerangs. Situated along William Street just down from Kings Cross. If you want to learn about boomerangs, this is your place.

Challis House

Challis House is owned by University of Sydney. This beautiful art deco building has the uni crest above the door. The translation of the crest is "The constellation is changed, the disposition is the same". One of the bronze soldiers from the cenotaph is in the foreground.

El Alamein Fountain

Yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald there was an obituary to Robert Woodward (1923-2010) the designer of this fountain in the heart of Kings Cross. He was the winner of a design competition to commemorate the Australian Imperial Forces action in North Africa in WWII and the two El Alamein battles in particular. It was completed in 1961.

Palm Beach Umbrellas

Sunday at Palm Beach, umbrellas are up as there is still the tail end of summer in the sun. The water temperature is still warm but there were some small stingrays placed in the pool, probably a joke by the fishermen, which put me on edge.

Angophora Tree

This is a beautiful specimen nearby and seems to change colour every time I pass.

wool loo moo loo

An easy way to remember how to spell this suburb's name is: sheep - toilet - cow - toilet.
Here above an exit ramp for a traffic tunnel is a little piece of the country, a famous 'Southern Cross' windmill and some red earth.

Imax Theatre

Down by Darling Harbour is claimed to be the world's largest IMAX theatre. Avatar is booked solid and the last time I watched any thing there I felt mildly motion sick. The yellow flower sculpture gets my vote for the worst in Sydney. Hideous.

Sydney Farmers Market

On the first weekend of the month these farmer's markets are ideally located down in Pyrmont right on the harbour. They do a great bacon and egg roll and I recommend some of this Ladysmith Lamb. The sign says it is raining in Ladysmith so the lamb will be jucier. They said they got over 100mm of rain in 24 hours and after many years of drought the rain was most welcome.

Spires

These are the spires of St Mary's Cathedral. Taken at this angle in tribute to Eric's inimitable style. Happy 5th BlogDay to Eric Tenin of Paris Daily Photo, since 2005, the person whose blog launched and inspired the 100's of City Daily Photo blogs.

No Standing - No Stopping - No Parking

In a back lane behind Oxford Street, here are 3 signs to tell you pretty much the same thing - No Standing - No Stopping - No Parking. As I was taking the photo I was accosted by someone with a piece of paper asking me for money. This middle-aged male surprised me as I thought he was asking for directions.

No birds

This is a car hire place on the Champs Elysees of Sydney - William Street. It is called 'No Birds' because ... I know I can google it but I'd rather make it up ... choose one reason below:
a) it does not use girls to advertise its products
b) no birds were harmed due to its car rental business
c) it is unlike 'Avis' which has an avian name
d) it is an unusual name which is easy to remember

Ugg Boot Man

Yes, it is a person in a giant Ugg Boot. Spotted on George St, I don't know how he does it as it is very humid in Sydney at the moment. These sheepskin boots used to be daggy (sheep reference) but now seem to be making a comeback, I even saw a whole shop dedicated to them.

Giant Sydney Red Gum 1937 -2010

This giant tree, a smooth barked apple or Angophora has reached the end - termites are all through it and it is slowly rotting. It was once an attraction of sorts... see the 1937 picture below.

Morning surf at Newport Beach

A quick shot of this morning's sunrise at 'The Peak' at Newport Beach, surfers are out already, probably some grommets (junior surfers). Not a bad pic for a phone camera.

Autumn Reflection St James station

This is a morning reflection looking to the entrance to Sydney's St James station. The shops are all winter collections and the weather has turned right on cue, from Monday there was a touch of Autumn in the air. Our 'fall' is 1 March unlike many Northern hemisphere countries who use the equinox as the marker for the change of seasons. But Sydney's Aborigines had six seasons based on the native flowering times, this seasons is Banamurrai'yung, when the lilli pilli tree produces tiny sour berries, from now until May and is a time of wet, cooling temperatures, a signal to make cloaks to keep warm. You can read more here.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party in Martin Place

Yesterday on my walk up Martin Place someone was setting up for a Alice in Wonderland event, sorry I couldn't wait to see the characters have their party.

Plowman poet

Yesterday Slessor today Burns ... perhaps I could do a poets blog? I took this shot last week of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, he has many admirers around the world and just near St Marys Cathedral is this bronze statue of him. It was erected in 1905.

You find this ugly

Along the footpaths of Kings Cross along Darlinghurst Rd there are over 100 brass plaques to various things, this one caught my eye. Kenneth Slessor, a Sydney Poet, lived near here and these lines refer to his poem - William Street written in 1935.
Here is the last verse, I hope you know about dips and molls ...

The dips and molls, with flip and shiny gaze
(death at their elbows, hunger at their heels)
Ranging the pavements of their pasturage;
You find this ugly, I find it lovely.

Hyde Park Barracks

It is the first building on a run of historic building along Macquarie Street. It was completed in 1819 and provided accommodation for 600 male convicts. It was designed by Australia's first architect Francis Greenway. After its closure as a convict barracks in 1848, Hyde Park Barracks was used as a female asylum until 1887. It is now a colonial period museum. This wall contains a memorial to the Irish Orphan girls. According to the excellent Historic Houses Trust: 'Between 1848 and 1850 several thousand young women, some no more than 14 years old, sailed from Ireland on an ill-fated emigration plan to hiring-out depots in Sydney, Adelaide, Moreton Bay and Port Phillip. Many were illiterate. Most spoke English. Few had domestic training. Known as the ‘Irish orphans’, they had been handpicked by government officials and removed from county workhouses grown horribly overcrowded as, year after year, the Irish countryside sank deeper into poverty, misery and disease.'

Woolloomooloo Bay

The wharf is now turned into luxury apartments with Russell Crowe owning the end one, it used to be the starting point for many migrants into their new country and the departure point for many soldiers going to war. The warship on the right is the HMAS Tobruk is a multipurpose troop and heavy vehicle carrier. It was first commissioned in 1981 and built in Newcastle NSW. Named after the famous World War 2 besieged city in Libya where the Australian troops assisted in holding off the German Afrikakorps.