Architectural, Cultural sights in Sydney
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Sydney Opera House
Overcome with admiration for the Sydney Opera House, famous architect Louis Kahn said, ‘The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building.’ Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s competition-winning 1956 design is Australia’s most recognisable icon. It’s mused to have drawn inspiration from orange segments, palm fronds and Maya temples, and has been poetically likened to a typewriter stuffed with scallop shells and the sexual congress of turtles. While viewed from any angle it’s architecturally orgasmic, the ferry view approaching Circular Quay is hard to beat.
The predicted four-year construction started in 1959. After a tumult…
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Vaucluse House
Sydney’s last remaining 19th-century harbourside estate, Vaucluse House (1828) is an imposing, turreted specimen of Gothic Australiana set among 10 hectares of lush gardens. Decorated with beautiful European period pieces including Bohemian glass, heavy oak ‘Jacobethan’ furniture and Meissen china, the house offers visitors a rare glimpse into early (albeit privileged) colonial life in Sydney. Vaucluse House was built and occupied from 1827 to 1862 by William Charles Wentworth, his wife, Sarah, and their children. The son of a convict mother, Wentworth became a barrister and co-wrote the first NSW colonial constitution, but was outcast from high society because of his dem…
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Balmain Historic Buildings
Balmain’s hibiscus-scented streets contain dozens of historically significant buildings, most of which are privately owned. The most notable is the graciously proportioned Hampton Villa, a Georgian marine villa (1847). NSW Premier Sir Henry Parkes, the ‘Father of Federation’, lived here from 1888 to 1892. Nearby is the squat, shingle-roofed Clontarf Cottage, an impressively restored house (1844) saved by protests in the late 1980s; and the semiderelict St Mary’s Hall, built around 1851 and now full of someone’s junk. Darling St has the Watch House, Sydney’s oldest surviving lockup (1854), Waterman’s Cottage, built in 1841, and Cathermore, Balmain’s first bak…
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Parliament House
Twin building to the Mint, the puce-coloured Parliament House has been home to the Parliament of New South Wales since 1816 – the world’s oldest continually operating parliament building. And like the Mint, its front section (which now blends into a modern addition on the eastern side) was originally part of the Rum Hospital. You need to pass through a metal detector to access the inner sanctum, where you can check out art exhibitions in the lobby, and the historical display in the wood-panelled Jubilee Room. On nonsitting days both assembly chambers are open, but when Parliament’s sitting, you’re restricted to the Public Gallery. Good wheelchair access.
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St James’ Church
Built from convict bricks, Sydney’s oldest church (1819) is another Francis Greenway extravaganza. It was originally designed as a courthouse, but the brief changed: ‘Hey Frank, we need a church!’ The cells became the crypt. Check out the dark-wood choir loft, the sparking copper dome, the crypt shop and the cool retro stained-glass ‘Creation Window’ from renovations in the 1950s. Repairs to the spire are planned – don’t say we didn’t warn you if the scaffolding is unphotogenic. Free concerts happen at 1.15pm on Wednesdays between March and December; free tours 2.30pm weekdays. See the website or call for details on daily services.
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Great Synagogue
The heritage-listed Great Synagogue (1878) is the spiritual home of Sydney’s longest-running Jewish congregation, established in 1831. It’s considered the Mother Synagogue of Australia and architecturally is the most important in the southern hemisphere. Tours include the AM Rosenblum Museum’s artefacts and a video presentation on Jewish beliefs, traditions and history in Australia. Don’t miss the starry gold-leaf ceiling (supported by 12 arches representing the tribes of Israel), and the French Gothic wrought-iron gates.
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Government House
Encased in English-style grounds within the Royal Botanic Gardens, this Gothic sandstone mansion has sensational harbour views. The governor, who now resides in Admiralty House, still uses it for weekly meetings and hosting visiting heads of state and royalty. Unless there’s a bigwig in town, you can tour through the fussy furnishings – look for paintings by Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts and Russell Drysdale. Disabled access is OK, but it’s best to call in advance.
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Elizabeth Farm
Elizabeth Farm contains part of Australia’s oldest surviving European home (1793), a lovely homestead built by renegade pastoralist and rum trader John Macarthur. Macarthur is heralded as the founder of Australia's wool industry; he was a ruthless capitalist whose politicking made him immensely wealthy and a thorn in the side of successive governors. his home is now a hands-on museum – recline on the furniture and thumb voyeuristically through Elizabeth Macarthur’s letters.
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St Mary’s Cathedral
Built to last, this 106m-long Gothic megalith is one of the world’s largest cathedrals. The first service was held here in 1833, but the massive, 75m-high spires weren’t finished until 2000 (that’s gotta be some kind of record). The crypt’s mosaic floor depicting The Creation was inspired by the ‘Book of Kells’. The best time to visit is in the early morning and late afternoon, when the sun streams through the side stained-glass windows (made in Birmingham, England).
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Rose Seidler House
Iconic Sydney architect Harry Seidler designed this modest 50-sq-m house (1950) for his mother and father, Rose and Max. It’s a modernist gem, with free-flowing open spaces, retro colour schemes and hip furnishings. Every year the Historic Houses Trust holds a Fifties Fair (usually in August) on the grounds. The house is around 30km north of the city and a fair hike from the train station (approximately 40 minutes; around 3km) − you’re better off with your own wheels.
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Old Government House
The country residence of the early governors, this elegant Georgian Palladian building is situated in Parramatta Park. The earliest part was Parramatta’s first farm and dates from 1799, making it the oldest remaining public building in Australia. It’s now a preciously maintained museum; entry is by way of an interesting hour-long tour around rooms furnished with original colonial furniture and painstaking reproductions. Phone for details about monthly ghost nights.
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Elizabeth Bay House
Completed in 1839 for Colonial Secretary Alexander Macleay, this elegant neoclassical mansion by architect John Verge was one of the finest houses in the colony (and still is). Its grounds – a sort of botanical garden for Macleay, who collected plants from around the world – extended from the harbour all the way up the hill to Kings Cross. Ugly 20th-century apartments now surround it, but the exquisite oval salon and stairwell are timeless architectural delights.
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The Mint
The stately Mint building (1816) was originally the southern wing of the infamous Rum Hospital, built by two Sydney merchants in return for a monopoly on the rum trade (Sydney’s currency in those days). It became a branch of the Royal Mint in 1854, the first outside England. It’s now head office for the Historic Houses Trust, with a small historical collection and an upstairs cafe – not a whole lot to see or do, but a serene diversion nonetheless.
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St Philip’s Church
Completed in 1856 by architect Edmund Blacket in high Victorian Gothic style, St Philip’s is the latest incarnation of a line descending from Sydney’s original Anglican parish church (1793). It’s an unobtrusive structure dwarfed by surrounding skyscrapers, and is usually kept locked, but the parish workers at the neighbouring office are happy to open up the doors to visitors. On Saturdays wedding parties fill the pews.
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Juniper Hall
Paddington’s oldest home (1824), this restored Georgian mansion was built by Robert Cooper with profits from his gin business (he named it after the essential gin-making ingredient). It’s owned by the National Trust but tenanted by an antiques shop; there’s nothing to stop you having a stickybeak inside during opening hours (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday).
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History House
This beautiful Victorian townhouse, completed in 1872 by architect George Allen Mansfield, has housed the Royal Australian Historical Society since 1970. The library is open to researchers, for a fee; otherwise there's no public access. Just down the block at 145 Macquarie St is a similar building quartering the Royal Australian College of Physicians.
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Experiment Farm Cottage
An 1835 colonial bungalow, Experiment Farm Cottage was built by Governor Phillip in 1791 for emancipist farmer James Ruse as an experiment to see how long it would take him to wean himself from government supplies. Ruse subsequently became Australia’s first private farmer; his life is depicted in the musty cellar museum.
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