Conservatorium

The Conservatorium of Music, in Sydney's Botanic gardens, was originally the stables of Government House. I took this view across the gardens and conservatorium, looking towards Farm Cove, the indented waterway on a recent visit to the 8th floor office of the Royal Thai Consulate in Macquarie St. Farm Cove was the site of the first farm established by the First Fleet arrivals in 1788.

The Satyr - Happy New Years Eve

A sculpture in the Botanic Gardens (located near the Opera House gates).

The Satyr is by Frank (Guy) Lynch.

According to his entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, 'The Satyr' was modelled on Frank's younger brother Joseph Young Lynch (1897-1927), a black-and-white artist. On 14 May 1927, while drunk, Joe threw himself off a Mosman-bound ferry near Fort Denison, fought off a would-be rescuer and drowned; his body was never recovered. Joe's unruly life and tragic death inspired poet Kenneth Slessor's elegy, 'Five Bells'.

Wikipedia says:

"In Greek mythology, satyrs  are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing.

Satyrs acquired their goat-like aspect through later Roman conflation with Faunus, a carefree Italic nature spirit of similar characteristics and identified with the Greek god Pan. Hence satyrs are most commonly described in Latin literature as having the upper half of a man and the lower half of a goat, with a goat's tail in place of the Greek tradition of horse-tailed satyrs.

Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly.
They are lovers of wine and women, and they are ready for every physical pleasure. They roam to the music of pipes and bagpipes, and they love to dance with the nymphs (with whom they are obsessed, and whom they often pursue), and have a special form of dance called sikinnis. Because of their love of wine, they are often represented holding wine cups, and they appear often in the decorations on wine cups."

Just right for the spirit of New Years Eve......

Quiet paths, Government House

Government House in the Botanic Gardens used to be the residence of the Governor of NSW (the Queen's epresentative in the state). Marie Bashir, the current Gov doesn't live here, and the grounds are open to the public.

There are lots of quiet, and beautiful, places to escape the rush of the city. Even the ibis find it ideal.

Taken from Botanic Gardens

Queensland Bottle Tree

Brachychiton rupestris : Queensland bottle tree, Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

From Southeastern Queensland, restricted to more fertile soils. The starchy roots and seeds were eaten by Aborigines.

Boy extracting thorn, Botanic Gardens

A marble copy of the famous 'Fidele' (faithful) statue was imported into Australia from Italy, in 1883. The original statue known as 'Fidele' (faithful) or 'Spinario' was a bronze Hellenistic statue given to the City of Rome by Pope Sixtus IV in the twelfth century. The subject matter is believed to be the Roman messenger boy, Marcius, who, despite having a prickle in his foot, braved the pain to deliver his message. The original 1st Century BC statue was discovered between 1165-1167 (believed to be of Greek origins) but now stands in the center of a room in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome . Other copies of thorn boy can be found in the Uffizi gallery in Florence. This statue became one of the first to be copied during the Renaissance Period in both bronze and marble.

Botanic Gardens horses

Mare and Foal by Arthur Jacques LeDuc (1848 - 1918) , restored in 2002 through a gift in honour of the late Lady Berenice Mitchell Finley who loved these gardens.

Botanic Gardens Sensory Fountain

Kids love this fountain; my son did when he was little, and I do now! Sculpted by Tim Jones and cast by David Mune in Elphinstone, Victoria.

Botanic Gardens Biennale

The unbearable lightness of being 2010 by Choi Jeong Hwa. A plastic inflatable flower with motor in the lake in the Botanic Gardens. Part of the Sydney Biennale exhibition.

Carved sandstone replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, executed by Walter McGill for Sir James Martin, Premier of New South Wales, 1870, for his residence in Macleay Street. Presented to the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1943.

The original was erected in Athens in in 335/34 B.C.

More here.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Thanks to everyone for their best wishes and messages. I'm fine, surgery went well, and so things proceed step by step.

Love among the ruins

Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

No, not a set of ancient ruins, but an installation called Memory is Creation without End. A spiral of sandstone blocks by Kimio Tsuchiya, relics of demolished buildings symbolises the circular connection of past, present, and future (2000).

Conservatorium of Music and Macquarie Street Buildings

Taken from inside the Botanic Gardens, the "castle" like building is The Con (Sydney Conservatorium High School and University). I showed it once before, brilliantly lit with laser lights during the Christmas-New Year period. Click here. Designed by convict architect, Francis Greenway, the Con was originally the government stables of colony of New South Wales.

Through the columns, State Library

Today was a bit of a dull, grey old day - perect for peeking at the world from porticos and verandahs.

Sydney's pyramid

Paris has its famous glass pyramid. Here's Sydney's. It is part of the tropical plant house at the Botanic Gardens. More info here.

In Sydney's climate, the glasshouse provides for appropriate light, humidity and ventilation, as well as protection from excessive sunlight, heat and dry winds, rather than protection from cold.