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SYDNEY ESCORTS TRAVEL GUIDE

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The museum sits on Cadigal land.  A new gallery explores the culture, history, continuity and place of Sydney's original Aboriginal inhabitants, and the  "turning point"  of colonization invasion.  Collectors' chests hold items of daily use such as flint and ochre, each piece painstakingly catalogued and evocatively interpreted.  There are two audio-visual exhibits which explore the history of indigenous peoples from a contemporary perspective.  In the square at the front of the complex, the acclaimed Edge of the Trees sculpture, a collection of 29 sandstone, steel and wooden pillars, symbolizes the first contact between the Aboriginal peoples and Europeans.  Haunting voices in the Eora tongue fill the space.  Inscribed in the wood are signatures of the First Fleeters and names of botanical species in both the indigenous language and Latin.  Incisions made in the pillars are filled with organic materials such as ash, feathers, bone, shells and human hair. 

HISTORY OF SYDNEY
Outside the museum, a paving pattern outlines the site of first Government House.  Original foundations, lost under street level  for many years, can be seen here through a window.  Inside the entrance a viewing floor reveals more foundations.  A segment of wall has been reconstructed using sandstone excavated during archaeological exploration of the site.

The Colony display on Level 2 focuses on Sydney during the critical decade of the 1840's when convict transportation ended, the town officially became a city and suffered an economic depression.  There is also a set of scale models of the 11 First Fleet ships.  The Museum presents stories of the Fleet's journey, arrival, first contacts with Indigenous people and the survival challenges faced by those on board.

On Level 3, 20th-century Sydney is explored with panoramic images of the developing city providing a vivid backdrop.  The Museum of Sydney has a changing exhibition program every four months.

ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL, St Mary's Road.
Although Catholics arrived with the First Fleet, the celebration of Mass was at first prohibited in case the priests provoked civil strife among the colony's large Irish Catholic population.  The first priests were appointed in 1820 and services allowed.  In 1821, Governor Macquarie laid the foundation stone for St Mary's Chapel on the site of today's cathedral, the first land granted to the Catholic Church in Australia.

The initial section of the Gothic Revival style cathedral was opened in 1882.  In 1928, the building was completed, but without the twin southern spires proposed by the architect, William Wardell.  By the entrance steps are statues of  Australia's first cardinal, Moran, and Archbishop Kelly who laid the stone for the final stage in 1913.  They were sculpted by Bertram MacKennal, also responsible for the Martin Place Cenotaph and the Shakespeare group outside the State Library.  The crypt's Celtic-inspired terrazzo mosaic floor took 15 years to complete.
Open:  6:30am - 6pm Monday - Friday, 6:30am - 7pm Saturday - Sunday.
Tel:  92 - 20 - 04 - 00.

GREAT SYNAGOGUE, 187 Elizabeth Street.
The longest established Jewish Orthodox congregation in Australia assembles in this synagogue, consecrated in 1878.  Although Jews had arrived with the First Fleet, worship did not begin until the 1820's.  With its carved entrance columns and magnificent stained-glass windows, the synagogue is perhaps the finest work of Thomas Rowe, the architect of Sydney Hospital.  The panelled ceiling is decorated with hundreds of tiny gold leaf stars.
Open:  for services and tours.
Closed:  public and Jewish holidays.
Tel:  92 - 67 - 24 - 77.

HYDE PARK
"Fenced and named after its London equivalent by Governor Macquarie in 1810, Hyde Park marked the out-skirts of the township." It was a popular exercise field for garrison troops and later incorporated a racecourse and a cricket pitch.  Though much smaller today than the original park, it still provides a peaceful haven in the middle of the hustling city centre.

ANZAC MEMORIAL
The 30m (98ft) high Art Deco memorial, reflected in the popular-lined Pool of Remembrance, commemorates those Australians who were killed at war in the service of their country.  Opened in 1934, the Anzac Memorial now includes a photographic and military artifact exhibition downstairs.

SANDRINGHAM GARDEN
In spring, the pergola in this sunken garden is a cascade of mauve-flowering wisteria.  The garden, a memorial to the English kings George V and George VI, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.

ARCHIBALD FOUNTAIN
This bronze and granite fountain commemorates the French and Australian World War I alliance.  It was completed by Francois Sicard in 1932 and donated by JF Archibald, one of the founders of the Bulletin, a popular literary magazine which encouraged the work of Henry Lawson and  "Banjo"  Patterson, among many others.  It was Archibald's bequest that established the Archibald Prize for portraiture.

OBELISK
This monument was dubbed  "Thornton's Scent Bottle"  after the mayor of Sydney who had it erected in 1857.  The mock-Egyptian edifice is in fact a ventilator for a sewer.

EMDEN GUN
Standing at the corner of College and Liverpool Streets, this monument commemorates a World War I naval action.  HMAS Sydney destroyed the German raider Enden off the Cocos Islands on November 9th, 1914, and 180 crew members were taken prisoner.

CITY CIRCLE RAILWAY
The park we see today bears very little resemblance to the Hyde Park of old.  In fact, the dictates of city railway tunnels have largely created its present landscape.  Tunnels were excavated through an open cut that ran through the park, and after the rail system was opened in 1926 the entire area had to be remodelled and replanted.

BUSBY'S BORE FOUNTAIN
This is a reminder of Busby's Bore, the city first piped water supply opened in 1837.  John Busby, a civil engineer, conceived and supervised the construction of the 4.4km tunnel.  It carried water from bores on Lachlan Swamp, now within Centennial Park, to horse-drawn water carriers on the corner of Elizabeth and Park Streets.

SYDNEY TOWN, 483 George Street.
The steps of this sandstone building, central to George Street's Victorian architecture, have been a favourite Sydney meeting place since it opened in 1869.  Walled burial grounds had originally covered the site.

It is a fine example of high Victorian architecture, even though the plans of the original architect, JH Wilson, proved beyond the builders' capabilities.  A rapid succession of designers was brought in.  The vestibule - an elegant salon with intricate plasterwork, lavish stained glass and a crystal chandelier - is the work of Albert Bond.  The Bradbridge brothers completed the clock tower in 1884.  From 1888 - 1889, other architects were used for the Centennial Hall, with its coiffured zinc ceiling and the imposing 19th-century Grand Organ with over 8,500 pipes.

On the facade, you will see numerous carved lion heads.  Just to the north of the main entrance, facing George Street, a lion has been carved with one eye shut.  This oddity appeared because of the head stonemason's habit of checking the line of the stonework by closing one eye.  The sly joke was not found until work was finished.

Some people have concluded that Sydney Town Hall became the city's most elaborate building by accident, as each architect strove to outdo his predecessors.  Today, it makes a magnificent venue for concerts, dances and balls.
Open:  8:30am - 6pm Monday - Friday.
Closed:  public holidays.
Tel:  92 - 65 - 93 - 33.

ST ANDREWS CATHEDRAL, Sydney Square,  Corner of George and Bathurst Streets.
While the foundation stone or the country's oldest cathedral was laid in 1819, almost 50 years elapsed before the building was consecrated in 1868.  The Gothic Revival design is by Edmund Blackert, whose ashes are interred here.  Inspired by York Minster in England, the twin towers were completed in 1874.  In 1949, the main entrance was moved to the eastern end near George Street.

Inside are memorials to Sydney pioneers, including Thomas Mort.  A 1539 bible and beads collected in the Holy Land are among the religious memorabilia.

The southern wall incorporates stones from London's St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the House of Lords.
Open:  contact the cathedral for opening hours and tour times.
Tel:  92 - 65 - 16 - 61.

AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM
The Australian Museum, the nation's leading natural science museum, founded in 1827, was the first museum established and remains the premier showcase of Australian natural history.  The main building, an impressive sandstone structure with a marble staircase, faces Hyde park.  Architect Mortimer Lewis was forced to resign his position when building costs began to far exceed the budget.  Construction was completed in the 1860's by James Barnet.  The collection provides a journey across Australia and the near Pacific, covering prehistory, biology, botany, environment and cultural heritage.  Australian Aboriginal traditions are celebrated in a community access space also used for dance and other performances.

PLANET OF MINERALS
This section features a walk-through re-creation of an underground mime with a display of gems and minerals.

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
From the Dreaming t the struggle for self-determination and land rights, this exhibit tells the stories of Australia's first peoples.

SEARCH AND DISCOVER
Sydneysiders bring bugs, rocks and bones to this area for identification.  The public can also access CD-Roms for research.

BIRDS AND INSECTS
Australia's most poisonous spider, the male of the funnel-web, species.

KIDS' ISLAND
Displays designed especially for children ages five and under are heartily enjoyed both by kids and their families.

MORE THAN DINOSAURS
Discover Australia's ancient megafauna in this exhibition that features a time line beginning 4,600 million years ago, and includes some impressive dinosaur skeletons looming alongside the giant prehistoric relatives of Australia's marsupials.

MUSEUM GUIDE
The Indigenous Australians Gallery is on the ground floor, as is the skeleton gallery.  Mineral and rock exhibits are in two galleries on level 1.  On level 2 are Birds and Insects, Human Evolution, Kids' Island, Biodiversity;  Search and Discover and More Than Dinosaurs.

SYDNEY           

THE HISTORY OF SYDNEY
The first inhabitants of Australia were the Aboriginal peoples.  Their history began in a timed called the Dreaming when the Ancestor Spirits emerged from the earth and gave form to the landscape.  Anthropologists believe the Aboriginal peoples arrived from Asia more than 50,000 years ago.  Clans lived in the area now known as Sydney, until the Europeans caused violent disruption to this world.

In 1768, Captain James Cook began a search for the fabled  "great southland".  Travelling in the wake of other European explorers, he was the first to set foot on the east coast of the land the Dutch had named New Holland, and claimed it for King and country.  He landed at Botany Bay in 1770, naming the coast New South Wales.

At the suggestion of Sir Joseph Banks, Cook's botanist on the Endeavour, a penal colony was established here to relieve Britain's overflowing prisons.  The First Fleet of 11 ships reached Botany Bay in 1788, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip.  He felt the land there was swampy and the bay wind-swept.  Just to the north, however, he found  "one of the finest harbours in the world," naming it Sydney Cove, after the Home Department's Secretary of State.  Here, 1,485 convicts, guards, officers, officials, wives and children landed.  This marked the beginning of the rapid devastation of the Aboriginal peoples, as they fell to introduced diseases and battled an undeclared war against the settlers.  Full citizenship rights were finally granted to the Aboriginal peoples in 1973, and their traditions are now accorded respect.

The city of Sydney soon flourished, with the construction of impressive public buildings befitting ans emerging maritime power.  In 1901, amid a burgeoning nationalism, the federation drew the country's six colonies together and New South Wales became a state of Australia.

In its two-centuries of European settlement, Sydney has experienced alternating periods of growth and decline.  It has weathered the effects of gold rush and trade booms, depressions and world wars, to establish a distinctive city marked by a vibrant eclecticism.  The underlying British culture, married with Aboriginal influences and successive waves of Asian and European migration, has produced today's modern cosmopolitan city.

SYDNEY'S ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
Anthropologists believe that Aboriginal peoples reached Sydney Harbour at least 50,000 years ago.  One of the clans of coastal Sydney was the Eora.  Their campsites were usually close to the shore, particularly in the summer when fish were plentiful.  Plant and animal foods supplemented their seafood diet.  Artistic expression was a way of life, with their shields decorated with ochre, designs carved on their implements, and their bodies adorned with scars, animal teeth and feathers.  Sacred ans social ceremonies are still vital today.  Oral traditions recount stories of the Dreaming and describe the Eora's strong attachment to the land.

ABORIGINES FISHING  (1819)
Sixty-seven Eora canoes were counted in the harbour on a single day.  Spears were used as tools and weapons.

GLENBROOK CROSSING
The Red Hand Caves near Glenbrook in the lower Blue Mountains contain stencils where ochre was blown over outstretched hands.

RED OCHRE AND SHELL PAINT HOLDER
Ochre was a commonly used material in rock painting.  Finely ground, then mixed with water and a binding agent, it would be applied by brush or hand.

ABORIGINAL ROCK ART
There are approximately 5,5000 known rock art sites in the Sydney basin alone.  Early colonists such as Watkin Tench said that paintings and engravings were on every kind of surface.  The history of colonization was also recorded in rock engravings, with depictions of the arrival of ships and fighting.

HUNTING AND FISHING IMPLEMENTS
Multi-pronged Eora spears were used for fishing, while canoes were shaped form a single piece of bark.  Boomerangs  are still used today for hunting and music making.

FISH CARVING AT WEST HEAD
This area in Ku-ring-gai Chase has 51 figures and is acknowledged as one of the richest sites in the greater Sydney region.

WATER CARRIER
These bags were usually made of kangaroo skin.  The skin was removed in one piece and either turned inside out or tanned with the sap from a gum tree.

WHERE TO SEE ABORIGINAL ROCK ART AND ARTIFACTS
The soft sandstone of Sydney was a natural canvas.  Much of the rock art of the original inhabitants remains and can be found on walking trails in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Royal National Park.  The National Parks and Wildlife shop at Cadman's Cottage has a range of pamphlets about Aboriginal sites.

THE EARLY COLONY
The colony's beginnings were rugged and hungry, imbued with a spirit that would give Sydney its unique character.  Convicts were put to work establishing roads and constructing buildings out of mud, reeds, unseasoned wood and mortar made from a crushed shell mixture.  From these simple beginnings, a town grew.  Officers of the New South Wales Corps became farmers, encouraged to work their land alongside convict labour.  Because the soldiers paid for work and goods in rum, they soon became known as the Rum Corps, in 1808 overthrowing Governor Bligh  (of Bounty fame) when he threatened their privileges.  By the early 1800's farms were producing crops, with supplies arriving more regularly - as were convicts and settlers with more appropriate skills and trades.

SCRIMSHAW
Engraving bone or shell was a skillful way to pass time during long months spent at sea.

KANGAROO  (1813)
Naturalists were amazed at Sydney's vast array of strange plant and animal species.  The first pictures sent back to England caused a sensation.

EXPERIMENT FARM COTTAGE
An early dwelling displays marked convict-made bricks.  Masons also marked each brick, as they were paid according to the number laid.

ELIZABETH FARM
At Parramatta is the oldest surviving building in Australia.  It was built by convicts using lime mortar from the penal colony of Norfolk Island.

WHERE TO SEE EARLY COLONIAL SYDNEY
The rocks was the hub of early Sydney.  Wharves, warehouses, hotels, rough houses and even rougher characters gave it its colour.  Dramatic cuts were made in the rocky point to provide building materials and filling for the construction of Circular Quay, and allow for streets.  The houses are gone, except for Cadman's Cottage, but the irregular, labyrinthine lanes still give the flavour of convict history.

THE GEORGIAN ERA
Sydney's early decades were times of turbulence and growth.  Lachlan Macquarie, governor from 1810 to 1821, was one of the most significant figures.  He took over a town-cum-jail and left behind a fully fledged city with a sense of civic pride.  Noted for his sympathetic attitude to convicts and freed women and men, he commissioned many fine buildings, including work by convict Francis Greenway.  When Macquarie left in 1822, Sydney boasted main roads, regular streets and an organized police system.  By the 1830's, trade had expanded and labour and land were plentiful.  In 1840, transportation of convicts was abolished.  A decade of lively debate followed: on immigration, religion and education.

THE MACQUARIES
Governor Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth arrived in the city with a brief to "improve the morals of the Colonists".

ELIZABETH BAY HOUSE
This extravagant Regency villa was built from 1835 - 1839 for Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay.  After only six years' occupancy, lavish building and household expenses forced him into bankruptcy.

LYEBIRD  (1813)
As the colony continued to expand, more exotic birds and animals were found.  The male of this species has an impressive tail that spreads into the shape of a lyre.

HIGH FASHION  (1838)
Stylish ladies would promenade through Hyde Park in the very latest London fashions, now available from the recently opened David Jones department store.

OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE
The oldest surviving public building in Australia, was erected in 1799.  Additions ordered by Governor Macquarie were completed in 1816.

WHERE TO SEE GEORGIAN SYDNEY
Governor Macquarie designated the street now bearing his name as the ceremonial centre of the city.  It has an elegant collection of buildings:  the Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church, the Sydney Mint.  Parliament House and Sydney Hospital.  Other fine examples are the Victoria Barracks, Vaucluse House and Macquarie Lighthouse.

VICTORIAN SYDNEY
In the 1850's, gold was discovered in New South Wales and Sydney came alive with gold seekers, big spenders and a new wave of settlers.  It was the start of a peaceful period of solid growth.  Esucation became compulsary, an art gallery was opened and the Australian Academy of Arts held its first exhibition.  The city skyline became more complex, with spires and  "tall" buildings.  Terrace houses proliferated.  Victorian decorum and social behaviour borrowed from the mother country flourished, with much social visiting and sporting enthusiasm.  It was an age of pleasure gardens and regattas, but also a time of unruliness and political agitation.  In the 1890's, as the country moved towards Federation, fervent nationalism and an Australian identity began to take shape.

MRS MACQUARIES CHAIR  (1855)
This prime harbour viewing spot, with the seat carved from rock for the governor's wife, was  "the daily resort of all the fashionable people in Sydney".

BOER WAR
The first Australian Horse division was praised for its brushcraft, horsemanship and accurate shooting.

THE GARDEN PALACE
Built in the Botanic Gardens especially for the occasion, in 1879 - 1880, the Garden Palace hosted the first international exhibition held in the southern hemisphere.  Twenty nations took part Sadly, the building and most of its contents were destroyed by fire in 1882.

THE "STRASBURG" CLOCK
In 1887, Sydney clockmaker Richard Smith began work on this astronomical model now in the Powerhouse Museum.

ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL
Built in Gothic Revival style, is thought to be the largest Christian church in the former  "Empire" outside Britain.

VICTORIAN TERRACE HOUSES
Decorated with iron lace, began to fill the streets of Paddington and Glebe from the 1870's onwards.

WHERE TO SEE VICTORIAN SYDNEY
Sydney's buildings reflect the spirit of the age.  The Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Town Hall and Martin Place mark grand civic spaces.  In stark contrast, the Argyle Terraces and Susannah Place in The Rocks give some idea of the cramped living conditions endured by the working class.

SYDNEY BETWEEN THE WARS
Federation took place on January 1st, 1901 and New South Wales became a state of the Australian nation.  In Sydney, new wharves were built, roads widened and slums cleared.  The 1920's were colourful and optimistic in  "the city of pleasure".  The skyline bristled with cranes as modern structures replaced their ornate predecessors.  The country was hit by the Great Depression in 1931, but economic salvation came in the form of rising wool prices and growth in manufacturing.  The opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 was a consolidation of all the changes brought by Federation and urbanization.

MAKING DO
This chair, made in 1910, used packing case timber, cotton reels, fencing wire and the mouldings of picture frames.

THE ANZAC MEMORIAL
Is in Hyde Park.  The Art Deco memorial,  with its reflecting pool, commemorates all Australians killed in wars.

THE WIRELESS
Became almost a fixture in sitting rooms in the 1930's.  This 1935 AWA Radiolette is held at the Powerhouse Museum.

WHERE TO SEE EARLY 20TH-CENTURY SYDNEY
The years after Federation yielded stylish and sensible buildings like Central Railway Station, the Commonwealth Bank in Martin Place and the State Library of New South Wales.  The suburbs of Haberfield and Strathfield best exemplify the Federation style of gentrified residential housing.

POSTWAR SYDNEY
The postwar baby boom was accompanied by mass immigration and suburban sprawl.  The hippie movement gave youth an extrovert voice that imbued the 1960's with an air of flamboyance.  Australian involvement in the Vietnam War led to political unrest in the early 1970's, relieved for one seminal moment by the 1973 opening of the Sydney Opera House.  In the 1980's, vast sums were spent on sky-scrapers and glossy redevelopments like Darling Harbour, and on bicentennial celebrations.  The city's potential was recognized in 1993 with the announcement that Sydney would host the year 2000 Olympics.

NEW MARDI GRAS FESTIVAL
What began as a protest march involving 1,000 people in 1978 is now a multi-million dollar boost for Australian tourism.  While the parade lasts for one rude and riotous night only, the surrounding international festival offers a month of art, sporting and community events.

GREEN BANS
In the 1970's, the militant building union placed work bans on developments in the inner city considered destructive to the environment or cultural heritage.

MR ETERNITY
Arthur Stace  (1885 - 1967), a reformed alcoholic, was inspired by an evangelist who said that he wanted to  "shout eternity through the streets of Sydney".  "I felt a powerful call from the Lord to write  'Eternity' ".  At least 50 times a day, for over 30 years, he chalked this word in perfect copper-plate on the footpaths and walls of the city.  A plaque in Sydney Square pays tribute to Mr Eternity's endeavours.

ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE        

SYDNEY'S BEST - ARCHITECTURE
For such a young city, Sydney possesses a remarkable diversity of architectural styles.  They range from the simplicity of Francis Greenway's Georgian buildings to Jorn  Utzon's Expressionist Sydney Opera House.  Practical Colonial structures gave way to elaborate Victorian edifices such as Sydney Town Hall and the same passion for detail is seen on a smaller scale in Paddington's terraces.  Later, Federation warehouses and bungalows brought in a particularly Australian style.

COLONIAL CONVICT
The first structures were very simple yet formal English-style cottages with shingled roofs and no verandas.  Cadman's Cottage is a fine representative of this style.

COLONIAL GEORGIAN
Francis Greenway's courthouse design was ordered to be adapted to suit the purposes of a church.  St James Church is the result.

CONTEMPORARY
Governor Phillip Tower is a modern commercial building incorporating a historical site.

AMERICAN REVIVALISM
Shopping arcades connecting streets, such as the Queen Victoria Building, were 1890's vogue.

VICTORIAN
The Town Hall interior includes Australia's first pressed metal ceiling, installed for fear that the organ would vibrate a plaster one loose.

CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSIONISM
Innovations in sports stadiums and museum architecture, such as the National Maritime Museum, emphasize roof design and the silhouette.

INTERWAR ARCHITECTURE
Bruce Dellit's Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, with sculptures by Raynor Hoff, encapsulates the spirit, form and detail of Art Deco.

MODERN EXPRESSIONISM
One of the world's greatest examples of 20th-century architecture, Jorn Utzon's Sydney Opera House beat 234 entries in a design competition.  Work commenced in 1959 and despite the architect's resignation in 1966, it was opened in 1973.

EARLY COLONIAL
The first buildings of character and quality, such as Hyde Park Barracks, were for the government.

COLONIAL GRECIAN
Greek Revival was the major style for public buildings, such as the Darlingburst Court House, designed by the Colonial Architects in the 1820 - 1850 period.

AUSTRALIAN REGENCY
During the 1830's the best designed villas were the work of John Verge.  Elizabeth Bay House was his masterpiece.

COLONIAL MILITARY
Victoria Barracks, designed by engineers, is an impressive example of a well-preserved Georgian military compound.

VICTORIAN IRON LACE
Festooned with a filigree of cast-iron lace in a wide range of prefabricated patterns, Paddington verandas demonstrate 1880's workmanship.

EXPLORING SYDNEY'S ARCHITECTURE
While European settlement in Sydney has a relatively short history, architectural styles have rapidly evolved from provincial British buildings and the simplicity of convict structures.  From the mid-19th-century until the present day, architectural innovations have borrowed from a range of international trends to create vernacular styles more suited to local materials and conditions.  The signs of affluence and austerity, from gold rush to depression, are also manifested in bricks and mortar.

COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
Little remains of the Colonial buildings from 1790 - 1830.  The few structures still standing have a simple robustness and unassuming dignity.  They rely more on form, proportion and mass than on detail.

The Rocks area has one of the best collections of early Colonial buildings: Cadman's Cottage  (1816), the Argyle Stores  (1826)  and Susannah Place  (1844).  The Georgian Hyde Park Barracks  (1819)  and St James Church  (1820),  by Francis Greenway, as well as the Greek Revival Darlinghurst Court House  (1835)  and Victoria Barracks  (1841 - 1848)  are excellent examples of this period. 

AUSTRALIAN REGENCY
Just as the Colonial style was reaching its zenith, the city's increasingly moneyed society abandoned it as undignified and unfashionable.  London's residential architecture, exemplified by John Sloane under the Prince Regent's patronage, was in favour from the 1830's to the 1850's.  Fine examples of this shift towards Regency are John Verge's stylish town houses at 39-41 Lower Fort Street  (1834 - 1836), The Rocks, and the adjoining Bligh House built for a wealthy merchant in 1833 in High Colonial style complete with Greek Classical Doric veranda columns.

Regency-style homes often had Grecian, French and Italian details.  Elizabeth Bay House  (1835 - 1838), internally the finest of John Verge's works, is particularly noted for its cantilevered staircase rising to the arcaded gallery.  The cast-iron Ionic-columned Tusculum Villa  (1831) by the same architect at Potts Point is unusual in that it is encircled by a double-storeyed veranda, now partially enclosed.

VICTORIAN
This prosperous era featured confident business people and merchants who designed their own premises.  Tracts of the city west of York Street and south of Bathurst Street are testimony to these self-assured projects.  The cast-iron and glass Strand Arcade  (1891)  by JB Spencer originally included a gas and electricity system, and hydraulic lifts.

Government architect James Barnet's best work includes the  "Venetian Renaissance"  style General Post Office, Martin Place  (1864 - 1887), and the extravagant Lands Department Building  (1877 - 1890)  with its four iron staircases and originally, patent lifts operated by water power.  The Great Dynagogue  (1878), St Mary's Cathedral  (1882), St Patrick's Seminary  (1885), Sydney Town Hall and Paddington Street are also of this period.

AMERICAN REVIVALISM
After Federation in 1901, architects looked to styles such as Edwardian, American Romanesque and Beaux Arts from overseas for commercial buildings.  The former National Mutual Building  (1892)  by Edward Raht set the change of direction, followed by warehouse buildings in Sussex and Kent Streets.  The Romanesque Queen Victoria Building  (1893 - 1898)  was a grand council project by George McRae.  The Beaux Arts Commonwealth Savings Bank  (1928)  features an elaborate chamber in Neo-Classical style.

INTERWAR ARCHITECTURE
Architecture between World Wars I and II produced skyscrapers such as the City Mutual Life Assurance Building  (1936), by Emil Sodersten.  This building exhibits German Expressionist influences such as pleated or zigzag windows.

Two important structures are the ANZAC Memorial  (1929 - 1934)   in Hyde Park and Delfin House  (1938 - 1940), by the Art Deco architect Bruce Dellit.  The latter, a skyscraper, features a vaulted ceiling and a granite arch decorated with an allegory of modern life.

MODERN ARCHITECTURE
From the mid-1950's, modern architecture was introduced to the city through glass-clad curtain-walled office blocks, proportioned like matchboxes on their ends.  The contrasting expressed frame approach of Australia Square  (1961 - 1967)  gives structural stability to one of the world's tallest light-weight concrete office towers.  This city block was formed by amalgamating 30 properties, Harry Seidler's MLC Centre  (1975 - 1978)  is a 65-storey office tower comprising a reinforced concrete tube structure with column-free floors.

Jorn Utzon's Sydney Opera House  (1959 - 1973)  is widely regarded as one of the architectural wonders of the world.

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
The elliptical Aussie Stadium, or Sydney Football Stadium  (1986 - 1989), and the Australian National Maritime Museum  (1986 - 1990), both by Philip Cox, make use of advanced steel engineering systems.  Detailed masonry has made a return to commercial buildings such as the highly regarded Governor Phillip Tower  (1989 - 1994).  The dictates of office design do not detract from the historical Museum of Sydney, ingeniously sited on the lower floors.

The ABN-AMRO Tower at Aurora Place  (2000)  was designed by Renzo Piano and was awarded the Sulman Prize for Architecture in 2004.

FEDERATION ARCHITECTURE
This distinctly urban style of architecture was developed t meet the demands of the prosperous and newly emerging middle classes at the time of Federation in 1901.  Particular features are the high-pitched roofs, which form a picturesque composition or architectural tableau incorporating intricate gables, wide verandas and chimneys.  The decorative timber fretwork of the verandas and archways and the leadlight windows reveal the influence of the Art Nouveau period, as do the vibrant red roof tiles.  The patriotic references are seen throughout, and Australian flora and fauna are recurring decorative motifs.

SYDNEY'S MANY CULTURES
Sydney has one of the world's most cosmopolitan societies, reflected in the extraordinary variety of restaurants, religions, community centres and cultural activities to be found throughout the city and its environs.  Over 235 birthplaces outside Australia were named in the last census.  Indeed, the Sydney telephone directory lists interpreting services for 22 languages, including Greek, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Korean and Arabic, and many of these groups have their own newspapers.  While immigrants have settled all over the city, there are still pockets of Sydney that retain a distinctive ethnic flavour.

THAI COMMUNITY
Thai culinary traditions have caused a revolution in Sydney eating houses.  The Loy Krathong Festival in Parramatta celebrates the transplanted Thai culture.

AUBURN MOSQUE
This lavish mosque rises above the thriving Turkish business nearby.  Halal meat markets and sweet shops are proof of their influence.

CAMBODIAN
Cabrammatta is the hub of the Cambodian community.  Songkran, the three-day new year celebration is held at Bonnyrigg.

FILIPINOS
Over 60 per cent of this rapidly expanding migrant group arrive as the brides of Australian men.

VIETNAMESE
The sculpture of a cow stands in Cabramatta's Freedom Plaza, an area offering all the sights, smells and street life of Southeast Asia.

LAKEMBA
A living monument to Islam, the fastest growing religion in Australia, this centre is a meeting place for local Lebanise people.

LITTLE ITALY
Long home to the Italian community.  Leichhardt evokes the flavour of Europe with its bars cafes, restaurants and a sprawling annual street fair.

ST NICHOLAS CHURCH
Marrickville's Greek Orthodox church is the home of worship for the community;  mostly based in the southern suburbs.

IRISH PARADE
Sydney's first settlers, many of them Irish, made their home in The Rocks.  With its proliferation of pubs, it is the focal point for jubilant St Patrick's Day celebrations on March 17th each year.

JEWISH DELICATESSEN
The sizable Jewish community in the city's eastern suburbs, about half of whom were born in Australia, is well served by kosher supermarkets and butchers' shops.

CHINESE NEW YEAR
Each year, revellers pack Dixon Street, at the heart of Chinatown, to celebrate with fireworks and Chinese dragons.

ABORIGINAL PEOPLES
Redfern park hosts a Survival concert every January 26th, the culmination of a week of cultural exchange.

SPORTING SYDNEY       

Throughout Australia sport is a way of life and Sydney is no exception.  On any day you'll see locals on golf courses at dawn, running on the streets keeping fit, or having a quick set of tennis after work.  At weekends, during summer and winter, there is no end to the variety of sports you can watch.  Thousands gather at the Aussie Stadium  (Sydney Football Stadium)  and Sydney Cricket Ground every weekend while, for those who cannot make it, sport reigns supreme on weekend television.

CRICKET
During the summer months Test cricket and one-day internationals are played at Sydney Cricket Ground  (SCG).  Tickets are weekday sessions of the Tests can often be bought at the gate, although it is advisable to book well in advance  (through Ticketek)  for weekend sessions of Test matches and for all the one-day international matches.

RUGBY LEAGUE AND RUGBY UNION
The popularity of rugby league knows no bounds in Sydney.  This is what people are referring to when they talk about  "the footie".  There are three major competition levels: local, State of Origin - which matches Queensland against New South Wales - and Tests.  The  "local"  competition fields teams from all over Sydney as well as Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast and Far North Queensland.

These matches are held all over Sydney, although the Aussie Stadium is by far the biggest venue.  Tickets for State Origin and Test matches often sell out as soon as they go on sale. 
Call Ticketek to check availability.

Rugby union is the second most popular football code.  Again, matches at Test level sell out very quickly.  For some premium trans-Tasman rivalry, catch a Test match between Australia's  "Wallabies"  and the New Zealand  "All Blacks"  at the Sydney Football Stadium. 
Phone Ticketek for details.

GOLF AND TENNIS
Golf enthusiasts need not do without their round of golf.  There are many courses throughout Sydney where visitors are welcome at all times.  These include Moore Park, St Michael's and Warringah golf courses.  It is sensible to phone beforehand for a booking, especially at weekends.

Tennis is another favoured sport.  Courts available for hire can be found all over Sydney.  Many centres also have floodlit courts available for night time.  Try Cooper Park or Parkland Sports Centre.

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
Although not as popular as in Melbourne,  "Aussie Rules"  has a strong following in Sydney.  The local team, the Sydney Swans, plays its home games at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the season.

Rivalry between the Sydney supporters and their Melbourne counterparts is always strong.  Busloads of die hard fans from the south arrive to cheer on their teams. 
Tickets can usually be bought at the ground on the day of the game.

BASKETBALL
Basketball has grown in popularity as both a spectator and recreational sport in recent years.  Sydney has male and female teams competing in the National Basketball League.  The games, held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Haymarket, have much of the pizazz, colour and excitement of American basketball.
Tickets can be purchased from Ticketek, on the phone or on the internet.

CYCLING AND INLINE SKATING
Sydney boasts excellent, safe locations for the whole family to go cycling.  One of the most frequented is Centennial Park.  You can hire bicycles and safety helmets from Centennial Park Cycles.

Another popular pastime in summer is inline skating.  Total Skate, located opposite Centennial Park, hires skates, and protective gear by the hour and offers tuition.

For those who like to keep both feet firmly on the ground, you can watch skateboarders and inline skaters practising their moves at the ramps at Bondi Beach.

HORSE RIDING
For a leisurely ride, head to Centennial Park or contact the Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre.  They will give you details of the four riding schools that operate in the park.  Samarai Park Riding School conducts trail rides through Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.