Architecture sights in Australia
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Flinders Street Station
Melbourne’s first railway station, Flinders Street was built in 1854. Two railway workers won the design tender. This might explain why the station contained such fabulous facilities for railway workers, now, sadly, in disrepair. In its heyday the building buzzed with a concert hall, a library, a crèche, meeting rooms, even a ballroom. Stretching along the Yarra for a block, the station is a city landmark. You’d be hard pressed to find a Melburnian who hasn’t uttered ‘meet me under the clocks’ at one time. On any weekday, well over 100, 000 people weave through the station’s underpasses, escalators, stairs and platforms. The grand old dame’s underground tendrils conne…
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Parliament House of Victoria
The 1856 Parliament House of Victoria is a striking monolith of a structure preceded by a grand flourish of steps. Free half-hour tours take you through both houses and the library. Fascinating design features and the symbolism underlying much of the ornamentation are illuminated by the knowledgeable guides.
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Martin Place
Studded with imposing edifices, long, lean Martin Pl was closed to traffic in 1971 but has only ever been partially successful as a pedestrian mall. Once the corporate crowds go home, the ramps, stairs and fountains are converged upon by skateboarders and film crews. As iconic as the Opera House in its time (1874), 1 Martin Pl is a beautifully colonnaded Victorian palazzo that houses Sydney’s General Post Office. Beyond the stamps and envelopes, it’s been gutted, stabbed with office towers and transformed into the Westin Sydney hotel, swanky shops, restaurants and bars, including Crystal Bar and Senate Bar. Inspired by Italian Renaissance palaces, architect James Barn…
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St Patrick’s Cathedral
One of the world’s largest and finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture, St Patrick’s Cathedral was designed by William Wardell. It was named after the patron saint of Ireland, reflecting the local Catholic community’s main origin. Building began in 1863 and continued until the spires were added in 1939. The imposing bluestone exterior and grounds are but a preview of its contents: inside are several tonnes of bells, an organ with 4500 pipes, ornate stained-glass windows and the remains of former archbishops. It has been visited by two popes, Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1986.
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Historic Houses Trust
If you plan on visiting some of Sydney's Historic Houses Trust properties – including the Museum of Sydney , Vaucluse House , Hyde Park Barracks Museum , Rose Seidler House , Susannah Place Museum , Justice & Police Museum and Elizabeth Bay House – then the Ticket Through Time is great value. Buy one at any HHT property and you're entitled to access all 12 HHT properties for three months. Check the website for details.
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Australia Square
Generally acknowledged as Australia’s first major office tower, Australia Square (1968) was designed by archi-phenomenon Harry Seidler. His 50-storey design assumes a distinctive cylindrical form, with an open plaza at the base and shops below. A vibrant Sol LeWitt lobby mural (2004) replaced a rare Le Corbusier tapestry that hung here for decades before the building’s owner auctioned it off. Head up to Orbit Lounge Bar on the 47th floor – jaw-dropping views for the price of a martini.
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Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
No, you’re not in Texas. They like to do things big in Sydney too: this behemoth on Darling Harbour’s western edge, for example. It was designed by Aussie architect Philip Cox, who also did the Sydney Aquarium and the Maritime Museum (unsurprisingly he’s been quoted as saying, ‘Sydney is unimaginable without Darling Harbour ’). The Exhibition Centre on the south end has steel masts from which the roof dangles; the Convention Centre is the rounder bit nearer the harbour. Check the website for opening times and events.
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St Paul’s Cathedral
Opposite Federation Square stands the Anglican St Paul’s Cathedral. Services were celebrated on this site from the city’s first days. Built between 1880 and 1891, the present church is the work of distinguished ecclesiastical architect William Butterfield. It was a case of architecture by proxy, as he did not condescend to visit Melbourne, instead sending drawings from England. It features ornate stained-glass windows (made between 1887 and 1890) and holds excellent music programs. In summer it’s open to 6pm daily.
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Commonwealth Bank Building
Built in 1916, the 12-storey Commonwealth Bank building was Australia’s first steel-framed ‘skyscraper’. Its interiors are largely intact and clock-watching tellers still muse over the inscription on the wall: ‘The Noiseless Foot Of Time Steals Swiftly By’. Another branch has taken over the old State Savings Bank building: it’s a beaut example of interwar beaux-arts architecture, featuring green-marble Doric columns and an enclosed brass-and-marble teller area.
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Brickpit Ring Walk, Sydney Olympic Park
Other interesting things to see include Games Memories, an outdoor multimedia installation constructed of 480 decorated poles, and the silver flying saucer that burst into Olympic flame, which has been converted into a fountain. The arresting Brickpit Ring Walk is a brightly coloured circular walkway supported 18m above an abandoned brickworks on what looks like metal chopsticks. Three billion bricks were made here between 1911 and 1988.
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Minus 5
On a hot summer's day this winter wonderland is a surreal experience. Everything's made of ice, from the furniture to the intricate sculptures. Adults get a complementary first vodka cocktail (value around A$15) served in an ice glass. Even wearing the big coat and gloves provided, you won't be sorry to be booted out after 30 minutes. Children can only enter before 18:00. It's wheelchair accessible but the lounge itself isn't guide-dog-friendly.
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Nicholas Building
The Nicholas Building, designed by Harry Norris in 1926, is a classical palazzo (grand building) in terracotta tile. Built as a demonstration of the wealth of the Nicholas family, the building today is full of artists’ studios and designers. Having managed to escape being turned into apartments, it’s one of the few unrenovated buildings of its type left in the city.
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Suez Canal
One of few remaining such lanes, the Suez Canal tapers as it goes downhill until it's less than a metre wide (thus the name). Constructed in the 1840s, it was notorious as a lurking point for members of the Rocks Push gang throughout the 19th century. Where the Canal intersects Nurses Walk there's an interesting building with exposed timbers.
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Argyle Cut
Convict labourers excavated this canal-like roadway connecting Sydney Cove and Millers Point on the other side of the peninsula. The work began in 1843 with hand tools, and was completed (with the aid of dynamite) in 1867. The cut sandstone frames scenery and greenery in a dramatic fashion and makes for a very atmospheric stroll.
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Maryborough Railway Station
Maryborough’s main attraction is the magnificent 1892 Maryborough Railway Station, which Mark Twain once described as ‘a train station with a town attached’. Passenger trains don’t stop any more, but the building houses an excellent antiques and fine-art emporium, gallery, wine centre and cafe.
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St Patrick’s College
Southeast of Manly’s centre, this creepy-looking Gothic Revival college (1889) lords over the rooftops from its hillside position. It was a seminary for years and Australia’s first Catholic training college. These days it’s a school for tourism and hotel management.
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Lindesay
It's rarely open but aside from Nicole Kidman inviting you in for tea, this is probably your best chance to look inside an actual Darling Point mansion. Built in 1834, it's still got its Georgian interiors, servant's quarters and long lawn overlooking the Harbour.
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Haymarket Library
Wipe the sleaze from your sleeve on the corner of Hay St, where this 1875 Victorian sandstone library has delicate floral detailing. Inside, look for the 1910 photo of the Chung Shan Society in traditional costume on Dixon St.
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Clog Barn
Clog Barn is a bizarre miniature Dutch village with windmills, a clog barn with a ridiculously large range of collectable spoons. It makes the Big Banana look sophisticated. Kids will like it, adults will be bamboozled.
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Kelly's Steps
To reach Battery Point from Salamanca Pl you can climb up Kelly's Steps, which are wedged between two warehouses about halfway along the main block of buildings.
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Nan Tien Buddhist Temple
Along the highway, Nan Tien Buddhist Temple has weekend retreats, vegetarian cooking classes, meditation and t’ai chi.
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