Oatlands, folly

This folly or rotunda is located in the grounds of Oatlands House, in the north western suburb of Oatlands. A folly is an extravagant decorative structure designed more for artistic expression than practicality. The wrought iron lacework on top looks brilliant against a blue sky.

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Botany, Sir Joseph Banks Pleasure Gardens

The Sir Joseph Banks Pleasure Gardens are located in the eastern suburb of Botany. They were the main attraction of the old Sir Joseph Banks Hotel in the 19th Century. From 1845 through to the 1910, the hotel and its famed pleasure gardens were Australia's equivalent of a European spa resort. It was bought by entrepreneur Frank Smith in 1884 by who set up famous running races from 1884-92. When the hotel was sold in the 1920s and much of the land subdivided, the remnant gardens became a public park. In 1988, an interpretative recreation of the former gardens was created featuring a sports oval, thematic gardens, a maze and pergolas. Structures in the park include this arbour and formal terrace.

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Botanic Gardens, Vista Pavilion

The Vista Pavilion is an octagonal shelter pavilion located in the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was designed by Government Architect Walter Vernon and built in 1907.

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Pyrmont, lamp and bench

This lamp, tiered bench and decorative pergola are located at the Pyrmont end of the pedestrian walkway on the Anzac Bridge. I chose this photo to highlight Earth Hour, an annual event to to raise awareness of the need to take action on climate change. Participants switch off lights and electrical equipment for one hour at 8.30pm on the last Saturday of March. Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 with approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses taking part. It has grown every year and spread across the world, with 4,000 cities and 128 countries involved in 2010.

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Ashfield, Explorers Park

Explorers Park is located on the corner of Parramatta Road and Liverpool Road in the inner west suburb of Ashfield. These roads are part of The Great Western Highway and the Hume Highway and are significant in Australia's history, where many European explorers began their journeys west and south. This garden features a folly with artwork depicting a map of Australia, early explorers on camels and Aboriginal trackers. The monument was created as part of Australia's Bicentennial celebrations in 1988, commemorating European settlement of Australia as we do today on Australia Day.

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Botanic Gardens, A Folly for Mrs Macquarie

A 'Folly for Mrs Macquarie' is a sculpture in the Royal Botanic Gardens with breathtaking views of Farm Cove and Sydney Harbour. In architecture, a folly is an extravagant decorative structure designed more for artistic expression than practicality. The Royal Botanic Gardens were developed from 1816 under the direction of Elizabeth Macquarie, the second wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. This work was created by Fiona Hall and installed in 2000 at the possible site of an original folly which looks across to Mrs Macquaries Point. Constructed from wrought iron and sandstone, it makes a statement about the follies of white settlement. It depicts a raised arm and clasped dagger from Macquarie's crest, a domed roof of metal Norfolk Island Pine fronds and an underlying, a ceiling of bones representing the animals that once lived in this area, barbed wire walls and an entrance bounded by an axe and scythe.  

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Breakfast Point, park

This white gazebo looks splendid in the sunshine on the village green, surrounded by many new apartments in the inner west suburb of Breakfast Point. The clouds rolling in behind it look rather menacing though. This is a relatively new residential suburb on land that was once the site of the Mortlake Gas Works of the Australian Gaslight Company from 1884 to 1990. The site beside the Parramatta River was ideal for the shipping of coal used in the process of carbonisation to obtain gas. This process was discontinued in 1971 when natural gas from the interior of Australia began being piped here, processed by giving it an odour for safety reasons and then distributed to consumers throughout the Sydney area.

Cape Cabarita wharf

The Cape Cabarita wharf sits on the Parramatta River (left) with a large decorative gazebo on the shore behind it.

Prince Edward Park which runs along shoreline in this area features a few more gazebos scattered throughout (right).

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