Opera House, ferries (Theme Day: Action Shot)

These Sydney Ferries were captured in action arriving towards and departing from Circular Quay, just before passing each other in front of the Sydney Opera House. They are a First Fleet Class ferry arriving and a SuperCat Class ferry departing.

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The Rocks, markets

This old bicycle provides has been recycled into a unique vehicle to promote The Rocks Markets.

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Redfern, Glengarry Castle Hotel

Glengarry Castle Hotel is located on the corner of Lawson Street and Abercrombie Street, in the inner city suburb of Redfern. The hotel was established before 1880. This is an old photo, so the prices of beer in schooners and jugs will not be as cheap as the banners advertise. The exterior of this pub has recently been repainted to a neutral colour scheme but I prefer this style, even with the paint peeling. The red mini waiting at the traffic lights, matched the colour scheme too.

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Dundas Valley, bus stops

These bus shelters are located along Yates Avenue in the north western suburb of Dundas Valley.
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Parramatta River, sunset

This Rivercat ferry has just departed from Chiswick ferry wharf and crosses the Parramatta River towards its next stop at Huntleys Point ferry wharf, on the opposite side of the river.

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Mascot, runway and beach

This little beach on Botany Bay sits beside one of the north-south runways of Sydney Airport, in the eastern suburb of Mascot. This Qantas 747 is preparing to take off to the north, just at it passes by the airport control tower. The Socceroos is the nickname for Australia's national soccer team that is sponsored by Qantas and promoted on the side of this plane.

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Botanic Gardens, trackless train

The Trackless Train Scenic Tour operates in the Royal Botanic Gardens. The 25 minute tours run by ChooChoo Express start and finish at the Queen Elizabeth II Gate, near the Sydney Opera House. There are four stops at: The Tropical Centre/Rose Gardens, The Woolloomooloo Gate/Art Gallery, Restaurant/Café/Gardens Shop/Info Centre and Mrs Macquaries Point.

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Pyrmont Bridge, monorail station

The Harbourside monorail station at Darling Harbour is located beside this pylon and lamp of Pyrmont Bridge. The Sydney monorail connects the city with Darling Harbour and Chinatown. Sydney Tower can be seen reflected in the glass of the monorail station.

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Woolloomooloo, street art

This artwork features a rural scene in the middle of the inner city suburb of Woolloomooloo. It was created by Guerrilla Gardeners, a short-lived reality television, gardening makeover show. The premise of the show was to revitalise parts of the city that they feel had been neglected by local councils.This busy intersection is located  between the ramps of the Eastern Distributor, near a railway bridge for the Eastern Suburbs railway line. The artwork features a row of humorous road signs that provide a useful way of remembering how to spell the suburbs name 'wool', 'loo', 'moo', 'loo' with relevant pictures of a 'sheep', 'toilet', 'cow', 'toilet'. The suburb's name is derived from an Aboriginal word that was used for a historic homestead that was located here. It's unclear if it was derived from either Wallamullah, meaning 'place of plenty' or Wallabahmullah, meaning a 'young black kangaroo'.  I have featured a couple of other Guerrilla Gardeners projects at Moore Park and Barangaroo.

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Cockatoo island, Biennale, ferry

The Royale, Regal and Proclaim are restored deck timber ferries that provided free ferry services between the art exhibitions during the 17th Biennale of Sydney. The services ran between Pier 2 at Walsh Bay, the Commissioner's Steps at Circular Quay and Cockatoo Island.
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John Witton Bridge

The John Witton Bridge is a railway bridge that crosses the Parramatta River between the suburbs of Meadowbank and Rhodes. The original 1886 truss bridge, that was then known as the Meadowbank Bridge, sits on the eastern side of the 1980 welded steel box girder bridge on concrete piers, also known as the Parramatta River Underbridge. A Rivercat Class ferry is seen here travelling east along the Parramatta River. The bridge is named after John Witton, who was appointed Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Railways from 1867 and was responsible for the completion of 2811 miles of railway around New South Wales and Victoria over 32 years.

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Alfred Street, buses

This green CBD shuttle is a free bus service that circles the Central Business District between Circular Quay and Central Railway Station. Route 555 operates every ten minutes and runs mainly along George Street and Elizabeth Street, in both directions. This service is popular with locals and tourists and connects well with rail, buses, ferries, light rail and the monorail. This bus stop is located on Alfred Street, close to Circular Quay. One of the regular blue Sydney Buses can be seen behind it.

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Dawes Point, artwork (Theme Day: Red)

 This is not an April Fools Day joke. This piece of artwork (above) in the middle of a roundabout is located in Hickson Road at Dawes Point. I thought this poor little red car crushed by a boulder was a perfect selection for the red theme day and I also managed to capture a red mini passing the roundabout. The artist, Jimmie Durham, created "Still Life With Stone and Car" in 2004. The work is only a 'stones throw' away from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Pier One. If you a closer look in the background you can see one of the yellow signs here that read "Artwork Ahead" and "End Artwork" (below), in the style of the signs around the city that usually say "Roadwork Ahead" and "End Roadwork". This is known as "Artwork", created by Richard Tipping in 2004.
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Circular Quay, Bennelong Apartments

A water taxi zooms past the Bennelong Apartments, located on Bennelong Point at East Circular Quay. The apartments were completed in 2003 and earned the nicknamed 'The Toaster' during construction due to their uninspiring design, likened to a kitchen appliance. The site was once home to wool and bond stores which were replaced by office buildings in the 1950s. The current apartment development was surrounded by a lot of controversy during planning and construction. Firstly because Sydneysiders preferred the views of Royal Botanical Gardens created when the office buildings were demolished and secondly because the new development blocked views of the Opera House from the ferry wharves and railway station at the quay. Some of the controversy has somewhat dissipated in recent years with the opening of the boutiques, shops, cinema, bars, indoor and outdoor restaurants, the colonnade and broad walkway along the shore from the quay to the opera house.

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Circular Quay, railway station and ferry wharves

A view of Circular Quay Railway Station and the Circular Quay Ferry Wharves. Circular Quay is a major Sydney transport hub, with a large ferry, rail and bus interchange. The railway station, built in 1956, is on the City Circle line servicing a number of City Rail services. The ferry wharves are a terminal for Sydney Ferries services. The Cahill Expressway runs above the railway platforms, linking the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the Eastern Distributor.

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Circular Quay, Overseas Passenger Terminal

Views of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, where many cruise ships dock in Sydney Harbour.

Circular Quay, ferries

These Sydney Ferries have just departed Circular Quay Ferry Terminal and are travelling past the Bennelong Apartments at East Circular Quay. The Golden Grove is a First Fleet Class ferry acquired in 1986 and is part of the fleet that operates on the Inner Harbour. It was named Golden Grove, after the one of eleven ships of the First Fleet that sailed to Australia in 1787. The Betty Cuthbert is a Rivercat Class ferry acquired in 1992 and is part of the fleet that cruises up the Parramatta River. It was named after Betty Cuthbert, an Australian athlete and Olympic gold medallist.

Customs House Square, advertisement

This Volkswagen kombi is being used for a promotion at Quay Bar, an outdoor bar in Customs House Square, near the tigers featured yesterday. The kombi van became a major counterculture symbol during the hippie era. Many featured hand-painted or air-brushed murals that made a statement about the era with their brilliant art work. At first, I thought this was an inspired art creation to celebrate Chinese New Year, in the Year of the Tiger based on an idea borrowed from an idyllic time, but then I realised this was actually just another way for a corporation to advertise a product, in his case a brand of beer.

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Banksia murals

The dreary wall outside Banksia railway station and behind the bus stop was recently brightened up with a burst of colour. The mural incorporates a flow of stainless steel Banksia leaves, a concept developed by Ruth Downes and Geoff Webster. Banksia, the plant and the suburb, are named after Joseph Banks, a naturalist along with Daniel Solander, on the expedition of the Endeavour led by James Cook. They explored the eastern coast of Australia in 1770 and landed at nearby Botany Bay. The first and last leaves are inscribed with the following quotes from their journals. "The great quantity of plants Mr Banks and Dr Solander found in this place occasioned my giving it the name Botany Bay" James Cook - May 1770. "Of Plants in general the countrey afforded a far larger variety than its barren appearance seemed to promise" Joseph Banks - August 1770.

Railway Square (Theme Day: Waiting)

 These rising glass bus shelters and four sculpture light towers in Railway Square at Haymarket were installed in 1999 along George Street. Located close to Central railway station, this is a place where people are always waiting for buses. The old Railway Square post office (top) which is now a boutique hotel and new office blocks (bottom) including those for railway administration, can be seen in the background.

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