Vivid! The Opera House sails alight.

As part of the Vivid Sydney festival, the sails of the Opera House are used as a canvas for an ever-changing light show. Every night from 6pm to midnight, between May 26 and June 14, the sails are lit with rich, continuously changing configurations of colour. What a "canvas" ! The curator of the exhibition, and artist responsible for these illuminations is Brian Eno. Perhaps he's better known as a musician, he also works as an artist.

Above: Each design lasts for between 5 and 20 minutes.
Below: The sails peeping up from our vantage point in Cumberland St, above Argyle St in The Rocks. Tomorrow we'll see more of that colourful tree at the right.

South Bank Parklands, Brisbane

To me, South Bank is a symbol of the determination and occasional success of people in stopping rapacious developers getting their hands on public space.

This part of Brisbane's riverbank was originally a meeting place for the traditional landowners, the Turrbal and Yuggera people and, in the early 1840s it became the central focus point of early European settlement. From the 1850s, South Bank Precinct was established as the business centre of Brisbane, until 1893, when floods forced the central business district to higher ground on the northern side of the river. The southern area became home to vaudeville theatres, derelict boarding houses, and light and heavy industry.

In the 1970s parkland was reclaimed along the river bank, and the Queensland Cultural Centre was built, including the Queensland Art Gallery, the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and State Library of Queensland.

In 1988, Brisbane held World Expo 88, following which government, under corrupt and autocratic Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson, intended to develop the site for commercial interests. However, a public campaign successfully lobbied for the site to be redeveloped as parkland for the enjoyment of people in Brisbane. In 1989 the South Bank Corporation, a Queensland Government statutory body, was established to oversee the development and management of the South Bank Parklands.

However, the struggle continues as proposals by the Corporation emerged in 2003 to sell large portions of South Bank Parkland to developers. That was overcome. The group Save Our South Bank Parkland continues its vigilance.

Already apartments exceed height limits.




Below:Part of South Bank from Rydge's Hotel, looking downstream. In the foreground is the artificial beach.

Up A Lazy River

Brisbane lies on the Brisbane River which drains into Moreton Bay (Quandamooka to the local Aboriginal people) 19 kms downstream.

I think Brisbane is channelling London, with its redevelopment of the Thames. There is an exception - the South Bank development, while containing many cultural centres (performing and visual arts centres) like London, London does not have an artificial beach!

When seen from above, the Brisbane meanders like the Thames, and I've seen promotional footage of Brisbane featuring aerial shots which are a "copy" of the opening credits sequence of BBC series EastEnders.

Below: Looking upstream towards the city centre. Taken from the Medina near Story Bridge. The tall buildings at right are part of a development called "Riverside". Apart from tower apartments and offices, there are cafes and restaurants along the riverfront. There's also a shared walk and cycleway along the river.

Below: Looking towards Story Bridge. This part of the Riverside walk is currently closed and under repair

Same bridge, different skies

The Story Bridge across the Brisbane River opened in 1940. Taken from the Medina apartments, where we stayed.

Abstract

By deliberately moving the camera in a horizontal plane I captured these abstract shots of the Brisbane river, skyline and traffic. Top: my favourite of the photos. Bottom: A collage

Brisbane night sky (Skywatch Friday)

A couple of days ago I showed the ferris wheel at Southbank in Brisbane. The other night, from the River Cat, on the way home from the ACTU Congress, I was playing around with the camera, without a tripod. I decided to deliberately move the camera in a horizontal plane and see what patterns might emerge from the lights of the buildings and the traffic along the expressway on the northern bank.

Above: The ferris wheel and lights and a cloudy sky. Below: The ferris wheel against the night (6:27pm) sky as the River Cat leaft the wharf.

To keep a watch on skies around the world, click here.

Australia is not in recession

I mentioned yesterday I am at a conference in Brisbane. It is the Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). I'm a proud member of the NSW Teachers Federation, my trade union.

Above: The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, addressed the Congress dinner on Wednesday night. Today's economic figures showed that Australia, alone amongst all the rich economies grew last quarter, thus escaping the label of being in recession (the definition is two successive quarters of decline)

And, yes, I got that close to the PM - right at the foot of the stage. I like that about Australia - no (obtrusive) secret service security dudes, and normal people can get close to and take photos of major political figures.

Left: Deputy PM, Julia Gillard, addressed the Congress earlier in the day. She is Minister for Industrial Relations and Education. The yellow t-shirts were worn by delegates to protest against laws left over from the previous government which discriminate against construction workers. They have not been repealed by the Rudd government, despite promises prior to the election.

The people in the front row are families and loved ones of workers who had been killed at work.

Are you a member of a union? Have you ever campaigned for increased atttention to health and safety at work?

Not Sydney, Brisbane

I'm in Brisbane for a conference.

Since the London Eye proved so popular, every city "needs" a ferris wheel, apparently. Here's the Brisbane version, on the south bank of the Brisbane River. Taken from the rooftop of Rydge's Hotel.

A great big hole in the ground

On Friday morning, a great big crater / landslide happened on the corner of Bellevue and Victoria Roads, in upmarket Sydney suburb, Bellevue Hill. The slide swallowed up two parked cars. Fortunately no-one was injured.

I went for a mosey around (along with a whole lot of other rubber-necks) on Sunday. By that time fencin ghad been erected and lots of fellas were standing arounf guarding the hole or, well, doing stuff.

It could take months to repair.

For a news report and a gallery of photos, taken before the fencing appeared, and some aerial shots - click here. There's also a link to video taken by a local, showing the cars going in.

More pictures here.

Above: Shelter from the rain for the guards and workers on Sunday. It's been raining in Sydney for weeks.
Below: The landslide is just beyond this fence....fortunately it's a park below, so no houses or buildings were affected.

Below: This fellow was a telecommunications worker, feeding new cables in underground....they hade been severed.

High Heels . . . .

. . . and more, in Elizabeth St, Surry Hills

Today is City Daily Photo Blogger Theme Day. This month's theme is "feet".

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