From Balmain to Barangaroo

Looking towards the western edge of the city and Barangaroo, across Darling Harbour,  from Illoura Reserve in Balmain. The building with the criss-crosses is Macquarie Bank. The flat expanse of former docks is the controversial development site, Barangaroo.

From Balmain to Pyrmont

This view from the Balmain Peninsula looks across Johnstons Bay towards the Anzac Bridge and redeveloped Pyrmont Point. Pyrmont was once an industrial and port area. Pyrmont quarries provided sandstone for many of Sydney's 19th century buildings.

The view from Illura Reserve :

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Balmain - My Name's McGooley....what's yours?

The view towards Barangaroo (The Hungry Mile) across Darling Harbour from Grafton St, East Balmain. The area where the ship is berthed is due to be developed, amidst much controversy about the extent to which the developers are driving the project.

Such scenes of "ordinariness" in trendy, gentrified Balmain remind me very much (for those who remember) of My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?, when Balmain was a rough and ready workign class suburb, and Sydney harbour was a working port. Now all the freight ships have been moved to Port Botany to the south, and harbour traffic is confined to cruise liners, ferries and pleasure craft. The demand for marinas for luxury boats increases.

The area to the right of the fence is container terminals from the White Bay shipping berths. The plan is to move cruise ship berths here from across the water - again controversial.


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Sydney skyline

Looking at Sydney across Camerons Cove (part of Darling Harbour, itself part of Sydney Harbour) from Ewenton Park, East Balmain.  The water police depot is on the left.

Wedding

A lovely place for wedding photos - the Balmain East ferry wharf at the end of Darling Street.

Sydney or the bush?

A bucolic scene right at Thames Street ferry wharf (on Sydney Harbour) in Balmain.

Dawn Fraser Baths, Balmain

Dawn Fraser was one of Australia's greatest competitive swimmers. She was the 100m freestlye at three successive Olympic Games - Melbourne (1956), Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964).

Dawn was born and raised, and still lives in, the harbourside suburb of Balmain. It used to be a rough-and-tumble working class suburb, the home of many waterfront workers. It's full of little cottages from the Victorian and later eras.



Nowadays, Balmain is very upmarket indeed. But one feature which has survived all the changes is the tidal flow salt water harbour pool in Elkington Park, named since 1968 after "Our Dawn", who swam and trained here as a girl.

The pool has existed since the early 1880s, and is a listed Heritage Building on the National Trust and on
the Register of the National Estate.

Its swimming club, Balmain Swimming Club, formed in 1884 is probably the oldest in Australia, and meets for all ages, from juniors to 'Golden Oldies', every Saturday afternoon during the summer season.

There are several harbourside pools in Sydney, but none (?) / not many (?) of this heritage status. It's a great way to swim in the harbour without risking being bitten by a shark!

Thames St Wharf, Morts Bay, Balmain

Thames St Wharf at Morts Bay, Balmain, again. The huge sandstone blocks were being "protected" by that keep-off orange plastic, awaiting landscaping duties.

Left: And there's that bridge again: what a tart - always getting in Sydney shots!