TRAVEL TUESDAY 533 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“Sydney in general is eclectic. You can be on that brilliant blue ocean walk in the morning and then within 20 minutes you can be in a completely vast suburban sprawl or an Italian or Asian suburb, and it's that mix of people, it's that melting pot of people that give it its vital personality.” - Baz Luhrmann

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and then share it with the rest of us.
Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Sydney is known as the Harbour City and with good reason as it is built around a magnificent natural harbour. It is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It is full of history, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, design and within the city or a short distance from it are areas of great natural beauty.

The city is set next to kilometres of ocean coastline and sandy surf beaches. Recent immigration trends have led to the cities reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in Australia and the world. The city is also home to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two of the most iconic structures on the planet. 

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 427 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“One of the great things about Sydney is that it has a great acceptance of everyone and everything. It's an incredibly tolerant city, a city with a huge multicultural basis.” - Baz Luhrmann

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us.
Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Sydney is known as the Harbour City and with good reason as it is built around a magnificent natural harbour. It is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It is full of history, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, design and within the city or a short distance from it are areas of great natural beauty, The city is set next to kilometres of ocean coastline and sandy surf beaches. Recent immigration trends have led to the city’s reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in Australia and the world. The city is also home to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two of the most iconic structures on the planet.

The Greater Sydney area is a vast sprawling metropolitan area with the suburbs spreading up to 100km from the city centre. The traveller visiting the suburbs will find less crowded beaches, parks, cheaper shopping, commercial centres, cultural festivals, and hidden gems. The Eastern Suburbs are between the City and the sea, and include the world-famous Bondi Beach and other city beaches, which are strong drawcards for visitors and residents in the city during summer.   The City Centre is the busy centre of government and finance, but also home to many famous attractions, fine restaurants, and shopping. Just to the west of Circular Quay, is the Rocks, the first colonial village of Sydney and the iconic Harbour Bridge, which are now a cosmopolitan and touristic area.

Immediately to the west of the CBD is Darling Harbour, an extensive leisure and entertainment area. You can see restaurants, boardwalks, aquariums, wildlife, and museums by foot or with the public transport. In the City South district is the Haymarket, Chinatown and Central Station, being an area home to markets, cafes, Chinese culture and cuisine, and some cheaper accommodation and shopping. In the City East region, are Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Woolloomooloo and Moore Park. It’s here where you can sample the busy nightlife, trendy coffee shops, fashion and entertainment. The City West area is best seen in early morning, with a trip to the bustling fish markets, and then exploring the Powerhouse Museum, finding a maritime pub or visiting the Casino.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 421 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“Sydney is rather like an arrogant lover. When it rains it can deny you its love and you can find it hard to relate to. It's not a place that's built to be rainy or cold. But when the sun comes out, it bats its eyelids, it's glamorous, beautiful, attractive, smart, and it's very hard to get away from its magnetic pull.” - Baz Luhrmann

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us.

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Sydney is known as the Harbour City and with good reason as it is built around a magnificent natural harbour, which is not only perfect for shipping, but gorgeous to look at from all angles. Sydney is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

It is a city full of history, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, design and within its confines, or a short distance from it, are areas of great natural beauty. The city is set next to kilometres of ocean coastline and sandy surf beaches. Close by are mountains full of natural wonders, small, charming towns and everywhere a welcoming and easy-going population that is full of energy and joie-de-vivre.

Immigration trends have led to the city’s reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in Australia and the world. The city is also home to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two of the most iconic structures on the planet.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 344 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” - David Russell

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, New South Wales, and Australia. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design.

Under the directions of Dr J.J.C. Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932. The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York. It is also the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world, and it is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver.

This post is also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 334 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“Sydney is rather like an arrogant lover. When it rains it can deny you its love and you can find it hard to relate to. It's not a place that's built to be rainy or cold. But when the sun comes out, it bats its eyelids, it's glamorous, beautiful, attractive, smart, and it's very hard to get away from its magnetic pull.” - Baz Luhrmann

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers shall be removed immediately.

Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west.

Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". As of June 2020, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,361,466, meaning the city is home to approximately 66% of the state's population. Nicknames of the city include the 'Emerald City' and the 'Harbour City'.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY 249 - MANLY, AUSTRALIA

 

“The heart of man is very much like the sea; it has its storms, it has its tides, and in its depths, it has its pearls too.” – Vincent van Gogh 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.

Manly was named by Captain Arthur Phillip for the indigenous people living there, “...their confidence and manly behaviour made me give the name of Manly Cove to this place”. These men were of the Kay-ye-my clan (of the Guringai people). While scouting for fresh water in the area, Phillip encountered members of the clan, and after a misunderstanding he was speared in the shoulder by one of the clan; to his lasting credit, the progressively-minded Phillip ordered his men not to retaliate.

Manly is most notable for its sandy beaches right on the Pacific Ocean, which are popular tourist destinations. The suburb features a long stretch of sand on the ocean side, that runs from Queenscliff Beach to North Steyne Beach and Manly Beach. This is followed by rock pools and sandy beaches called Fairy Bower and Shelly Beach. There are also a number of beaches on the harbour side of the peninsula.

Norfolk Island pine trees are also symbolic of Manly and are a prominent feature of both the ocean and harbour beaches. Transport services to Manly include a Ferry service from Manly Wharf, and bus services to the city and other suburbs. The Manly Ferry journey takes 30 minutes and allows for scenic views of Sydney Harbour, surrounding national parks and Sydney icons including the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.The ferry service once advertised Manly as: “Seven miles from Sydney, and a thousand miles from care”.
 
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TRAVEL TUESDAY #194 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“A great opera house isn't run by a director, but by a great administrator.” - Steven Berkoff

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

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Sydney, capital of New South Wales and one of Australia’s largest cities, is best known for its harbourfront Opera House, with a distinctive sail-like design. Massive Darling Harbour and Circular Quay are hubs of waterside life, with the towering, arched Harbour Bridge and esteemed Royal Botanic Gardens nearby. Sydney Tower’s 268m glass viewing platform, the Skywalk, offers 360-degree views of the city, harbour and suburbs.

Here is a view of the Opera House from the front terrace, a view not often seen on postcards. The massive scale of the building is better appreciated here, when one notices the tiny human figures next to the building.

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TRAVEL TUESDAY #163 - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” - Cavett Robert 

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

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Sydney New Year’s Eve is an annual multi-tiered event held every New Year’s Eve in Sydney, Australia. Centering on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and surrounding Port Jackson, its main events are two pyrotechnic displays: The 9pm Family Fireworks and the Midnight Fireworks, both of which are televised nationally with the more popular Midnight Fireworks televised globally.

Synchronised to a soundtrack of popular music from past and present, the fireworks explode off the arches, catwalk and roadway of the Harbour Bridge, including the Opera House, nearby city buildings and up to eight barges evenly divided on both sides of the bridge. Each year a new theme is chosen and is regularly viewed by more than one million people surrounding the harbour and one billion worldwide for the Midnight Fireworks. For the 2010/11 event, an audience of 1.5 million watched the display from the local harbour and a reported 1.1 billion globally.

The event was first televised on 31 December 1995. The 9pm Family Fireworks were originally the main show lasting around twenty minutes, with the Midnight Fireworks only lasting around three and featuring only the Sydney Tower. From 1999 onwards the Midnight Fireworks became the main event of the two. The 1998 the Midnight Fireworks had a length of ten minutes and were increased to twenty five the following year. In 2001 the fireworks went for fifteen minutes. From NYE 2005 to present the Midnight Fireworks have run for twelve minutes in reference to the 12 months of the year. The City of Sydney Council is the official presenter of the event.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

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THE SYDNEY SIEGE

“He who does not show mercy to others, will not be shown mercy.” – Muhammad Al-Bukhârî

This week in Sydney, two people died, along with an Islamist gunman, after commandos stormed a café in the centre of the City, to bring to an end a 16-hour siege. Local media have named those who died as Lindt café manager Tori Johnson, 34 and lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38. Four people were injured, including a policeman hit by shotgun pellets. Central Sydney was put in lockdown as the gunman, identified as an Iranian refugee, seized dozens of hostages early on Monday.

The incident raised all sorts of questions about our society, the way that we administer justice, the protection we offer to people in society and the way that we deal with people who have emotional and mental problems that need treatment. It also focuses world attention on Australia, which for decades has been wrestling with the issue of “isolation” and the “tyranny of distance” from the rest of the world, both a blessing and a curse, it seems.

The gunman who took innocent victims hostage was Man Haron Monis, a self-styled sheikh who hung a flag bearing the Shahada – “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God” in the window of the Lindt café at the beginning of the siege. There has been some speculation that Monis was acting on behalf of Islamic State. One of his demands was for an Isis flag, but Isis is yet to claim responsibility for Monis or the siege. Monis apparently was a deeply unstable person with a long history of violence and mental illness and he was on bail while waiting trial for a number of crimes, including the charge of being an accessory to the stabbing murder of his ex-wife, Noleen Hayson Pal, in December last year.

Bail is a core part of the criminal justice system and allows a person to be released from custody pending the outcome of a case against him or her, with certain conditions. Because the decision to refuse bail can impact on a person’s liberty before he or she has been convicted of an offence, it involves a careful assessment of factors including the potential risks posed to the community and the presumption of innocence.

Monis was facing two different sets of charges, the first relating to a series of sexual assault charges and the second relating to being an accessory to the murder of his former wife. He was initially refused bail on 14 April at Kogarah local court but later granted bail on 26 May at Parramatta local court. These decisions would have involved an assessment as to whether Monis might have committed a serious offence, whether he would be a danger to the community, whether he might interfere with evidence and the strength of the prosecution’s case. Questions remain as to why Monis was granted bail and whether it should have been granted, given the violent acts he committed, which resulted in his death and the death of two innocent people.

The head of the Iranian police, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, has told journalists in Tehran that Monis fled Iran in the late 1990s wanted on fraud charges. He said the Iranian government had sought his extradition but Australia rebuffed that request. Rumour has it that Monis arrived as a representative of the Iranian government on a business visa and claimed political asylum later. Monis himself said he was involved with Iran’s ministry of intelligence but fell out with the regime because of his liberal views. He also said his wife and child were being kept under house arrest. The facts of the case are still unknown and an investigation will hopefully shed light on some of these questions.

As Australia becomes more and more involved in international affairs, as we begin to see our citizens becoming embroiled in political, religious, social and security affairs that are now of global concern, we need to examine the way in which our society functions so as to protect its members from events like the Sydney siege. Could our laws, our justice system and our daily life change in a beneficial way so that the quality of life we have enjoyed so far continue into the future? Or should we just bow our head down and acknowledge that the world has become a terrible place and as Australia is part this world resign ourselves to the fact that our “Golden Age” is no more?

A CONFERENCE

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” - Albert Einstein
 

I attended a conference in Sydney these past two days and it has left me quite excited and brimming full of ideas. I participated both as a speaker and as a chair of a day's sessions. The two roles are different, yet related, in both cases acting as the agent that stimulates all-inclusive discussions with the attendees. However, I also enjoyed my function as an engaged audience member, who contributed to the general discussion.
 

The group attending was relatively small, but this perhaps contributed to the success of the conference as there was active engagement of all participants. The conference was an excellent opportunity for networking, for contributing to an ideas fest and for also being made aware of developments in the higher education sector across Australia and the rest of the world. Overall, if chosen well, such conference activities can revitalise an academic's stagnant mental marshes and will serve as a powerful creator of currents of intellectual activity.
 

The reason conferences are such a good scholarly activity is that they bring under the one roof people that share similar ideas, interests, jobs, contacts. Attendees are in a receptive frame of mind and at the right time and place. The bringing together of so many people under the same roof where they actively engage with one another and exchange ideas is conducive to active thinking, generation of new ideas, learning and exploration of brave new territory. Conferences  are safe environments for discourse, for thinking out loud and provoking people with some left field concepts and intellectual challenges. It is a good environment for oneself to be challenged and provoked!
 

The theme of the conference was using big data in driving strategic direction at universities. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much good work is being done in Australia at the present time by some very passionate and dedicated academics, administrators, executives and support personnel. The speakers were Australian and knowledgeable, experienced and engaging.

JOTTINGS FROM SYDNEY

“The party is a true art form in Sydney and people practise it a great deal. You can really get quite lost in it.” - Baz Luhrmann
 
I am in Sydney for work again and have been going flat out with little time to spend on the computer. As well as attending a conference, presenting and chairing a whole day’s proceedings, I have had meetings with some people and working dinners. At least the whole thing is close to Darling Harbour and I did manage to have a stroll there after the long day was over…
 
Darling Harbour is intended to be one of Sydney’s trendy places, although some visitors find it lacking in character (and greenery). It used to be a former dockside area, but now the small functional harbor of yore has been transformed into a major tourist site and a leading convention and exhibition centre.
 
A monorail service used to run from the Central Business District to Darling Harbour and skirted the harbour, making stops at points around the harbour. However, this year the monorail is being dismantled and its skeletal remains are to be seen in various parts of the city. Until now, Darling Harbour has been a place that has appealed more to kids, due to the number of children’s attractions, but the advent of the Cockle Wharf restaurant and cafe complex has added a new dimension to Darling Harbour.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

“Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind.” - Seneca

Sydney is Australia’s largest city, and capital of the state of New South Wales. Located on Australia’s southeastern coast, Sydney has a magnificent harbour and a strategic position, making it one of the most important ports in the South Pacific. In the early 19th century, when it was still a small convict settlement and the first settlers had barely penetrated the interior, it had already established trade with the Pacific Islands, India, China, South Africa, and the Americas.

The first sight of Sydney, whether from the sea or the air, is always spectacular. Built on low hills surrounding a huge harbour with innumerable bays and inlets, the city is dominated by the bulk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, one of the longest steel-arch bridges in the world, and the Opera House, with its glittering white shell-shaped roofs that seem to echo the sails of the many yachts in the adjacent harbour. The intricate confusion of water and buildings makes a striking impression either by day or by night.

Because of its history as a great port and its status as the site of the country’s main international air terminal, Sydney is perhaps the only city in Australia with a genuinely international atmosphere. Yet it remains a very Australian city, with a nice compromise between the Anglo-Saxon efficiency of its British heritage and the South Seas attractions of its climate and environment. The area of the City of Sydney is 26.2 square km; while the Sydney Statistical Division is 12,406 square km. The population of greater Sydney is nearly five million people.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

“The party is a true art form in Sydney and people practise it a great deal. You can really get quite lost in it.” - Baz Luhrmann
 

Sydney is known as the Harbour City and with good reason as it is built around a magnificent natural harbour. It is the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in Australia with an enviable reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It is full of history, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, design and within the city or a short distance from it are areas of great natural beauty, The city is set next to kilometres of ocean coastline and sandy surf beaches. Recent immigration trends have led to the cities reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in Australia and the world. The city is also home to the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, two of the most iconic structures on the planet.
 

The Greater Sydney area is a vast sprawling metropolitan area with the suburbs spreading up to 100km from the city centre. The traveller visiting the suburbs will find less crowded beaches, parks, cheaper shopping, commercial centres, cultural festivals, and hidden gems. The Eastern Suburbs are between the City and the sea, and include the world-famous Bondi Beach and other city beaches, which are strong drawcards for visitors and residents in the city during summer.
 

The City Centre is the busy centre of government and finance, but also home to many famous attractions, fine restaurants, and shopping. Just to the west of Circular Quay, is the Rocks, the first colonial village of Sydney and the iconic Harbour Bridge, which are now a cosmopolitan and touristic area. Immediately to the west of the CBD is Darling Harbour, an extensive leisure and entertainment area. You can see restaurants, boardwalks, aquariums, wildlife, and museums by foot or from above by monorail. In the City South district is the Haymarket, Chinatown and Central Station, being an area home to markets, cafes, Chinese culture and cuisine, and some cheaper accommodation and shopping. In the City East region, are Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Woolloomooloo and Moore Park. It’s here where you can sample the busy nightlife, trendy coffee shops, fashion and entertainment. The City West area is best seen in early morning, with a trip to the bustling fish markets, and then exploring the Powerhouse Museum, finding a maritime pub or vistiing The Star Casino.
 

Southern Sydney is the area south of the CBD and north of the Georges River, including the areas surrounding Sydney Airport and Brighton Le Sands on Botany Bay. In the Inner West are Sydney’s original suburbs, which are now bohemian and a hub of cheap eats, shopping and inner-city culture. Also contains Sydney Olympic Park, the home of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, parks, cycling, and events.
 

In the Lower North Shore, over the Harbour Bridge are leafy residential areas stretching northwards. The North Shore also has major commercial and retail areas at North Sydney and Chatswood, many smaller boutique shopping areas, and many parks and gardens, and Sydney’s famous Taronga Zoo. The Upper North Shore  includes leafy residential areas, national parks and waterways. The Northern Beaches stretch from Manly, North along the coast to Palm Beach. The North West contains the Northern Districts with includes Sydney’s Silicon Valley at Macquarie Park, the northern side of the western reaches of Sydney Harbour, and the largely residential area of the Hills District in the north-west of the city.
 

Parramatta is considered Sydney’s “second CBD”, with history, shopping, eating, all just 30 minutes from the city centre. Sutherland Shire is the district to the far south and east of the city centre including Cronulla and Captain Cook’s Landing Place. The South West contains the centres of Liverpool and Campbelltown, which are a large swathe of residential and commercial Sydney locales. In the Outer West is a vast area stretching from Parramatta out to the Blue Mountains. The Hawkesbury is a semi-rural area to the northwest of the city, centred around the Hawkesbury River. Its main towns are Richmond and Windsor.
 

If you are visiting Sydney and are serious about getting to know the greater metropolitan area, ensure you allow yourself plenty of time as there are numerous attractions, a huge area to explore and an immense variety of experiences ranging from the cultural to the consumeristic, options that take in natural beauty or the hustle and bustle of one of the great metropolitan centres of the world.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

“Sydney’s a beautiful city. It was a great experience.” - Barbara Hershey
 

I am in Sydney for work and enjoying some slightly better weather (expecting 21˚C maximum and sunny, compared to 16˚C and cloudy/showery for Melbourne). Not that I am enjoying much of the great outdoors as I am confined to buildings and meetings… Nevertheless, it’s good to be able to god from one place to another without getting wet or being cold. I always enjoy visiting Sydney, but at the same time I always enjoy leaving it. It would be a difficult city to live in, but always a lovely place to visit.
 

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is on Australia’s south-east coast, on the Tasman Sea. In June 2010 the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.
 

The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet, as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson, which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge feature prominently.
 

The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Sydney is a high-ranking world city and has hosted multiple major international sporting events, including the 1938 British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) and the 2000 Summer Olympics. The main airport serving Sydney is Sydney Airport and its main port is Port Botany.
 

Sydney is the top tourist destination in Australia, most international tourists spending some time there if nowhere else in Australia. In the year ending 2012, Sydney received a total of 10.5 million international and domestic visitors, which injected $11.7 billion into the state of New South Wales’ economy. The most well-known attractions include the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other attractions include Royal Botanical Gardens, Luna Park, Darling Harbour, some 40 beaches and Sydney Tower.
 

The New South Wales Government operates two programs relevant to Sydney as part of the NSW Tourism Strategy, they are: Brand Sydney ( to revitalise and strengthen the image and appeal of Sydney) and Visit Sydney (to increase promotion of Sydney as a tourist destination through a strengthened dedicated business unit within Destination NSW). Sydney also has several popular museums, such as the Australian Museum (natural history and anthropology), the Powerhouse Museum (science, technology and design), the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Australian National Maritime Museum.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

“Two great talkers will not travel far together.” – Spanish Proverb
 

I was in Sydney for work and the trip was quite eventful, full of non-stop appointments, meetings and working parties. Having just got home, I’ve checked my emails and I think I’ll have an early night tonight. Travelling for work certainly is hard work and the travel part of it quickly loses its mystique!
 

At least the trip went well and my two travel companions supported me well. Overall success of a work trip makes the travel worthwhile and the discomforts one experiences bearable.

ART SUNDAY - SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

“Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.” - Le Corbusier
 
The Sydney Opera House (built 1957 - 1973) is a masterpiece of modern architecture, which has become an Australian icon and is one of the most known and easily recognised building s worldwide. It was created by Jørn Utzon a young Danish architect who understood and recognised the potential provided by the site against the breath-taking backdrop of Sydney Harbour. The result was a perfect building for the place it was raised on.
 
Jørn Utzon (born April 9, 1918, Copenhagen, Denmark—died November 29, 2008, Copenhagen) was assured of lasting fame through this particular building.  In its short lifetime, Sydney Opera House has earned a reputation as a world-class performing arts centre and become a symbol of both Sydney and the Australian nation. World Heritage Listed Sydney Opera House was inscribed in the World Heritage List in June 2007 By UNESCO: “Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century. It represents multiple strands of creativity, both in architectural form and structural design, a great urban sculpture carefully set in a remarkable waterscape and a world famous iconic building.”
 
The unique roof comprises sets of interlocking vaulted concrete ‘shells’ set upon a vast terraced platform and surrounded by terraced areas that function as pedestrian concourses. The two main halls are arranged side by side, with their long axes, slightly inclined from each other, generally running north-south. The auditoria face south, away from the harbour with the stages located between the audience and the city. The Forecourt is a vast open space from which people ascend the stairs to the podium. The Monumental Steps, which lead up from the Forecourt to the two main performance venues, are a great ceremonial stairway nearly 100 metres wide.
 
The vaulted roof shells were designed by Utzon in collaboration with internationally renowned engineers Ove Arup & Partners with the final shape of the shells derived from the surface of a single imagined sphere. Each shell is composed of pre-cast rib segments radiating from a concrete pedestal and rising to a ridge beam. The shells are faced in glazed off-white tiles while the podium is clad in earth-toned, reconstituted granite panels. The glass walls are a special feature of the building, constructed according to the modified design by Utzon’s successor architect, Peter Hall.
 
The history surrounding the design and construction of the building became as controversial as its design. In 1956 the NSW Government called an open-ended international design competition and appointed an independent jury. The competition brief provided broad specifications to attract the best design talent in the world; it did not specify design parameters or set a cost limit. The main requirement of the competition brief was a design for two performance halls, one for opera and one for symphony concerts. Reputedly rescued from a pile of discarded submissions, Jørn Utzon’s winning entry created great community interest and the NSW Government’s decision to commission Utzon as the sole architect was unexpected, bold and visionary.
 
Design and construction were closely intertwined. Utzon’s radical approach to the construction of the building fostered an exceptional collaborative and innovative environment. The design solution and construction of the shell structure took eight years to complete and the development of the special ceramic tiles for the shells took over three years. The project was not helped by the changes to the brief. Construction of the shells was one of the most difficult engineering tasks ever to be attempted. The revolutionnary concept demanded equally revolutionary engineering and building techniques. Baulderstone Hornibrook (then Hornibrook Group) constructed the roof shells and the interior structure and fit-out.
 
At the behest of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) the NSW Government changed the proposed larger opera hall into the concert hall because at the time, symphony concerts, managed by the ABC, were more popular and drew larger audiences than opera. Cost overruns contributed to the public criticism and a change of government caused in 1966 Utzon to resign, street demonstrations and professional controversy. Peter Hall supported by Lionel Todd and David Littlemore in conjunction with the then NSW Government Architect, Ted Farmer completed the glass walls and interiors including adding three previously unplanned venues underneath the Concert Hall on the western side.

Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, in 1973, new works were undertaken between 1986 and 1988 to the land approach and Forecourt under the supervision of the then NSW Government Architect, Andrew Andersons, with contributions by Peter Hall. For the futureIn 1999, Jørn Utzon was re-engaged as Sydney Opera House architect to develop a set of design principles to act as a guide for all future changes to the building. These principles reflect his original vision and help to ensure that the building’s architectural integrity is maintained.

A UNIVERSITY VISIT

“A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.” - Horace Mann
 

I visited Macquarie University for work yesterday, and as this was my first time at this University I was pleasantly surprised. Having been to other universities in Sydney it was wonderful at last to visit this large, significant university, which sits on a large, park-like campus in Sydney’s northern suburban area and is very dissimilar to the grand, historic University of Sydney or the very modern and bustling University of Technology Sydney, both in the City. I also found the staff at Macquarie extremely hospitable and approachable, intently interested in what they were at but also displaying a very collegiate attitude and willing to cooperate amongst themselves, and also with external academics.
 

Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney. Macquarie’s 126-hectare (310-acre), park-like campus belies its setting within the high-technology corridor of Sydney’s Northern suburbs.
 

The university comprises four faculties, enrolling approximately 37,000 students and having 2,468 (full-time equivalent) academic and professional staff, making it the fourth largest University in Sydney. At present, the university offers 87 undergraduate courses and 124 different postgraduate courses to students. The university is governed by a 17-member Council. Macquarie University also has the largest student exchange programme in Australia.
 

The Academic Ranking of World Universities listed Macquarie as seventh among Australian Universities in its 2009 rankings. The university is also ranked among the national top five recipients of relative research income. Also affiliated with the university are several research centres, schools and institutes including the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australian Proteome Analysis Facility, the Institute of Human Cognition and Brain Science, the Macquarie University Research Park and the Macquarie University Hospital. Macquarie University’s linguistics department developed the Macquarie Dictionary, the copyright on which it still owns.
 

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months at Macquarie, given that a new Vice Chancellor has been appointed. Professor S. Bruce Dowton is currently Clinical Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and until recently was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Partners Harvard Medical International. Professor Dowton is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales where he was Dean of the School of Medicine between 1998 and 2005. Professor Dowton had been chosen from an exceptionally strong field of applicants from Australia and overseas, after proving himself on the international stage. Professor Dowton will take up his position later this year, becoming only the fifth Vice-Chancellor in Macquarie University’s 48-year history.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY'S CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION

“Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! We return.” - E M Forster

I am in Sydney for the day for work and I have had an interesting, full day once again, very busy, but at the same time quite satisfying. This is largely because of several good meetings, but also because of a successful audit by the government regulators. I did not have much time to myself nor did I get a chance to go out into the City at all (hopes of a lunch off-campus were rather unrealistic!), however, much work did get done, which was the whole point of the trip in to Sydney after all!

Our Campus is directly opposite the Sydney Central Railway station, which is a very central location and easily accessible by public transport, buses as well as trains. Furthermore, it is so easy to get to and from the airport via the airport train. This is not only an economical way of travelling, but it also is the easiest and fastest way to get to the City from the airport. A very convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to catching a taxi into the City.

The Central Railway Station (also known as Sydney Terminal) is the largest railway station in Sydney, but also the largest in Australia. It is located on the southern end of the Sydney CBD and it services almost all of the lines on the CityRail network (all except the Cumberland line). It is the major terminus for inter-urban and interstate rail services, 27-32 trains per hour each way, and additional trains during weekday peak hours. Central Station houses the operations of New South Wales Railways and sits beside Railway Square, officially located in Haymarket. Central is the station closest to the University of Technology Sydney at Broadway.

The building is a Sydney icon and is definitely one of my favourite old buildings in the Sydney CBD. Despite its name, Central Station has never been at a central location within Sydney. It has however long been central to the operations of New South Wales Railways. The remoteness of “Central” from the true commercial hub of Sydney stimulated the construction of the Sydney underground railways at an earlier date than the equivalent in Melbourne, where all of the main stations were in the CBD.

There have been three railway stations on the current site. The original Sydney Station was opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as “Cleveland Fields”. This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), which was known at the time as Redfern, had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary. When this station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and also was known as Redfern. This was a brick building with two platforms. It grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street. The new station was built on a site previously occupied by a cemetery, a convent, a female refuge, a police barracks, a parsonage, a Benevolent Society and a morgue! This new 15-platform station was opened on 4 August 1906 and is still in use.

The Western Mail train that arrived in Sydney at 5:50am on 5 August 1906 went straight into the new station. Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as the Devonshire St Tunnel. Sydney station has expanded since 1906 in an easterly direction. A 75-metre Gothic revival clock tower was added at the north-western corner of the station on 3 March 1921. This tower is currently draped in hessian to cover the scaffolding that is allowing restoration work to proceed.

Central Station as it stands currently is probably better thought of as two separate, but adjacent, railway stations. In the days of steam, the station was regarded as being divided into “steam” and “electric” parts. The western (“steam”) half of Central Station, which was formerly known as “Sydney Terminal” and is often referred to as such by Sydneysiders (although it is no longer the official name), comprises 15 terminal platforms and was opened in 1906. This section is dominated by a large vaulted roof over the concourse and elaborate masonry composed primarily of sandstone, the most common rock in the Sydney region. This western section is popularly known as the country platforms, even though only four platforms are commonly used for long-distance trains. Most of the 15 platforms are used for CityRail's intercity services that terminate at Central, also known as Sydney Terminal.

The eastern (“suburban” or “electric”) part of Central Station, formerly known as “Central Electric”, consists of 12 through platforms, four of which are underground. These platforms are used by suburban CityRail services, and by a limited number of through intercity services during peak hours. The eight above-ground platforms were opened in 1926 as part of a large electrification and modernisation program aimed at improving Sydney’s suburban railway services. The four underground platforms were built as part of the Eastern Suburbs Railway. Construction commenced in 1948 but the underground railway line was not finished until 1979. While the plans called for four platforms, two were found to be not needed and are currently used as archival storage by the New South Wales Railways.

The architect of the Central Station was Walter Liberty Vernon, who worked on the plans from 1904 to 1906, while the terminal building was designed by George McRae, who finished its construction in 1921. The style is Federation Free Classical, an energetic vibrant and confident Edwardian Australian genre. Stone, steel and glass are freely used in the construction and the whole complex is reminiscent of large railway stations of the period in most major cities around the world. The building is a lovely reminder of Sydney’s history, yet bursting at the seam with life and vitality, contributing to the vibrancy of the City’s atmosphere. It is a wonderful building to view from our Campus windows, not to mention its usefulness as a public transport hub!

CLIMBING LADDERS AT WORK

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” - Frank Lloyd Wright

I’ve had another very full and tiring day in Sydney for work again today. However, at the end of it there was a great deal of satisfaction as much had been achieved. It was good to watch the dynamic of the team once again today and I was satisfied to have contributed in a positive manner to the business of the day. Many things come about in a way that is unexpected, and quite a lot of unplanned activities can contribute greatly to a fortuitous result. So it was today and after an impromptu group discussion that I contributed to, it was gratifying to be told by a few people that what I had talked about was inspiring. It is good to be able to do that and not really plan it. But I guess that is my job, to lead and inspire people.

One of the activities that we had to engage in today was to do some succession planning. This was part of risk-minimisation strategy where we had to think about the people in our organisation and consider possible successors to each of our roles. This of course gets harder the closer one gets to the top of the ladder. One has to consider all sorts of variables, the benefits of internal versus external appointments, performance management and training, as well as grooming of the most promising candidates. One has to give opportunities to people and provide pathways for training, further education, and the chance to get some practice at tasks that are a level above them.

In the academic field the hierarchy is fairly well defined and an able person, beginning at the bottom may gradually work their way up. Over the years, as such a person picks up experience, more knowledge and skills, ability to deal effectively with difficult situations and people, he or she is able to climb the hierarchical ladder. Its lowermost rungs are close to each other and easy to climb. The closer one gets to the top, however, the further apart the rungs become and when one is about to go for the topmost rung, it is well out of reach. There is only one way to attain this topmost position and that is to grow wings and fly to it. A good work environment provides the opportunities for the employees to sprout those wings and attain the topmost position in the hierarchy.

It is always difficult to deal with situations where a good internal candidate applies for a promotion to higher level and one also has to consider some good external applicants. My preference has always been to encourage and give chances to the internal candidates, preferring their appointment over an external applicant who is equivalent in skills and experience to them. When one has an external candidate who is better than the internal one, and one makes that external appointment, a situation could develop that is quite messy and can lead to some people management issues. One has to be assured that the human resources department is able to counsel, manage and support the unsuccessful internal candidates…

Our new campus is just opposite the Central Railway Station in Sydney so it is so easy to reach with the airport train. One avoids the traffic, pays about a third of the fare of a taxi ride and is at the airport in about 12 minutes. It is such a pity that Melbourne Airport does not have a train service. Both Sydney and Brisbane are served admirably by their airport trains. There is great efficiency and sustainability in solutions like this, which not only are beneficial for air travellers, but also reduce the road traffic considerably.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

“Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.” – Socrates

I am in Sydney for two days for work. It has been a very intensive first day with a high-powered Executive Team meeting where we’ve had a pow-wow on our new campus in the centre of Sydney. It has been an interesting and highly-charged day with talks, presentations, team-building exercises and a general bonding session. Although we’ve spent all day locked up in a room, the hours just rushed by and there wasn’t much of a chance to feel bored or distracted. The day was a great success and we now all feel more comfortable with one another and there’s a very positive team feeling.

We’ve had a great dinner out and then four of us went out to a bar for a night cap. This was another chance for building a good relationship amongst us and having a relaxed time where we could discuss a few things off the record and in a “safe” environment without any holds barred. We drank, we talked, we laughed, we had a good time.  A couple of strangers approached us and sat with us, exchanged pleasantries, socialised. Alcohol, the great social leveller ensured that conversation flowed freely and uninhibitedly, jokes were shared and no expectations were put on the table. We all got up and went back to our hotel with some rest and relaxation scheduled before tomorrow’s session.

In the morning we are starting off the day with a working breakfast, only to proceed to another full of formal proceedings with more presentation, discussion and tossing around of new ideas. This will conclude our get-together and then a return home in the evening.