Anzac Bridge from Glebe Point

Looking towards Pyrmont and the city from Blackwattle Bay Park, Glebe Point across Blackwattle Bay.

Gone fishin'

I love this about Sydney Harbour. ccessible, democratic and relaxed. You don't have to be a squillionaire to access lots of places along the foreshore, which are public access reserves - it's what also makes New Years Eve so good : plenty of public reserves to sit yourself (with many others!) for free.

This is from East Balmain looking across Darling Harbour.

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.

International Women's Day 2011 - 100 Years of IWD

Here's a tribute to my women friends - without them life would be very much diminished.

 For a century women have used International Women’s Day to celebrate the achievements of women and also to draw attention to issues which are of concern to them.

The late 1800s and early 1900s was a period of great unrest, women’s oppression and inequality become the catalyst for women to became extremely vocal and actively engaged in campaign for equal rights to men. It was the time of the suffragettes.

In 1910 an international meeting representing 17 countries was held in Copenhagen. The delegates at this meeting voted to hold an annual International Women's Day in order to honour an increasing number of women's groups working for rights for women and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women and in 1911 the first International Women’s Day was held.

One of my favourite scenes in movies is the sufragette song from the Mary Poppins movie. It does not appear in the recent stage production - a huge diappointment.  Mary Poppins, a Disney movie, was made in 1964 - the year after the Equal Pay Act in the United States. The UK had an Equal pay Act introduced in 1970. In 1972, women in Australia achieved equal pay, for doing the same work as men.

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.

Pretty

Theme Day: My favourite place in my city

Not a single place, there are too many to choose from! My "favourite place" is anywhere I can immerse myself in water and stretch out for a swim! Here's  a collage of a range I have enjoyed over the nearly 5 years of this blog.

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