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Sydney in Australia is a dream destination for most travelers, and for many, a visit starts down under with enjoying the metropolitan city, beautifully located and with some of the country’s most famous landmarks. Sydney’s Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge are icons most do recognize. The two works are centrally located close to the old town of The Rocks and the city’s skyscrapers.
Sydney is where the first fleet of settlers went ashore, and the place where the colony of New South Wales took some of the first steps from the foundation towards modern Australia.
Sydney is the country’s largest city, and perhaps the most important place for tourism to the country, and here is also a lot to see and do. The history of the colony becomes very vivid when you go downtown, where buildings such as churches, office towers and administrative buildings often were built in dimensions that were then worthy of a much larger city.
Sydney has grown over time and widely around the Sydney Harbor and Port Jackson natural harbor. From the observation platform of Sydney Tower you can get an overview, and on a boat trip in the harbor you can see it all from the sea side that has been crucial to the city’s location and growth. All very close to the beginning that took place in nearby Botany Bay.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the world’s best-known bridges and also one of Sydney’s most distinctive buildings. The 1,150 meter long bridge connects the central business district on the south side of Sydney Harbour with the areas of the North Shore.
In 1815, the first proposal for a bridge appeared, but it was not built until 1932 and was Sydney’s tallest building until 1967. The architectural inspiration for the bridge came partly from the Hell Gate Bridge in American New York, which was completed in the same design in 1916. It is clear to see the lines of the bridge carried over to the Australian version.
With its 49 metres, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the widest bridges in the world, and the height is 134 meters to the top. The top itself is a sight to see, as you can go up there on an exciting hike with the BridgeClimb, where you get a fantastic view as one of the rewards.
Together with Sydney’s skyline and opera house, the bridge forms a fantastically beautiful whole that should also be seen in the evening in the illumination of the sights in the area. At New Year’s, the Sydney Harbour Bridge forms the setting for the city’s great public fireworks display, and these beautiful images go around the world.
A cruise in Sydney Harbour is a good way to see the big city from a different perspective than from the streets. The cruise offers a unique view of the modern skyline and not least of the city’s two landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Both during the day and in the illuminated glow of the evening, it is an unforgettable experience.
You can take different tour boats. Everything from catamarans to actual excursion boats with the option of dining on board sails here. Some of the popular excursion destinations for shorter or longer trips are Taronga Zoo on the north side of the harbour, the mouth of the Pacific Ocean at The Heads and the suburb of Manly to the north-east of the large natural harbor.
Close to the departure and north-east of the Sydney Opera House, you can also see the Fort Denison fortress, located on a small island in the middle of the harbour. Originally the island was 15 meters high, but with the help of convicts it was leveled and the materials used for the quays at Circular Quay. In 1796, a gallows was set up on the island. From 1841 the fortress Fort Denison was built, and most characteristic is Australia’s only martello tower, which was also the last tower of this type to be built in the British Empire.
Sydney’s Opera House is Australia’s most famous building, and it is famous all over the world for its unique design, which with its many white shells gives the feeling of ships in full sail. It naturally makes sense in that there is water on three sides of the building.
The history of the Sydney Opera House began in the 1940s, when Eugene Goossens, as director of the New South Wales State Conservatory of Music, advocated for a larger theater stage in the city. Joseph Cahill was the state’s premier, and he set the process in motion towards establishment in 1954.
In 1955, an architectural competition was announced, and 233 proposals from 32 nationalities came in as a result. The winner was announced in 1957, and the selected winning project was designed by the Dane Jørn Utzon, who had submitted the unconventional and iconic design we know today.
Construction began with the foundation in 1959, and the opera house was originally scheduled to open on Australia Day, 26 January 1963. Delays, disagreements and Jørn Utzon’s departure from the project delayed the opening, which did not take place until 1973. Queen Elisabeth II was present at the opening and stood for the official inauguration. Since then, the Sydney Opera House has been included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and it has repeatedly been named one of the most iconic buildings of the 20th century worldwide.
The many halls, such as the large stage, the Concert Hall, with space for 2,700 spectators, invite you to a fascinating tour of both the architect’s thoughts and the engineers’ solutions. There are also other rooms and halls such as the Joan Sutherland Theater with space for 1,500 spectators, the Drama Theater with a capacity of 550 guests and the Utzon Room, which was remodeled in 2004 according to drawings by Jørn Utzon.
The opera house is beautiful both up close and from a distance, and in the evening the illumination almost gives the building a new dimension. The height reaches 65 metres, while the ground surface is 183×120 metres. The pilot ring reaches a depth of 25 meters below sea level next to the building.
Despite its name, the Sydney Opera House is not just an opera stage. Here is a large and varied range of concerts and performances. Among other things, they are built by the house’s permanent residents; Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Theater Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The Australian Museum is Australia’s national museum of anthropology and natural history, and with its foundation in 1827 it became the country’s first and therefore oldest museum. In the years before 1836 it was known as the Kolonimuseet/Colonial Museum.
In the large permanent exhibition at the museum, you can see a number of interesting collections about, among other things, the original Australian population, the aborigines. Early clothing and weapons are some of the effects on display, and you can also see a number of examples of Australia’s varied and distinctive wildlife.
On a visit, one should also notice the main building of The Australian Museum. It was opened in 1857 after being built in local sandstone like many of the town’s other houses.
Sydney Tower is a 309 meter high observation tower that was built from 1970 with inauguration in 1981 as the southern hemisphere’s tallest tower. It was also Australia’s tallest building at the time. These records were held by the constructions of the Sky Tower in New Zealand’s Auckland 1994-1997 and the Q1 apartment building in Surfers Paradise in 2002-2005.
There are four floors in the heights. The lower three are furnished with various restaurants and function rooms, while the top floor is home to the Sydney Tower Eye, an indoor observation deck with a beautiful 360o view of both Sydney and the city’s surroundings.
The observation deck is at a height of 250 metres, and at 268 meters there is an outdoor deck with a glass bottom called the Skywalk. You can gain access to the Skywalk through a special arrangement, where you almost float in the open above the city’s buildings.
Sydney Aquarium is a centrally located experience of not least Australian fish and other animals that live in or around the country’s waters. Among the thousands of animals in the large aquarium, you can see sharks, rays, crocodiles, penguins and the unique platypus, one of the world’s few sewage animals. A large habitat has also been built here, such as the colossal Great Barrier Reef.
The aquarium is an experience, and it is located in the popular and well-visited area of Darling Harbour. In this way, you can quickly and easily take a closer look at the marine life in central Sydney.
George Street is one of the parallel streets that run through the center of Sydney from north to south. The street is Sydney’s original high street and you can still see that. It is thus in George Street that you find the city’s and the country’s highest concentration of high-rise buildings, and a walk through the street is therefore a fine metropolitan experience.
The street’s history dates back to the Sydney Cove Colony, where Captain Arthur Phillip housed the colony’s convicts and naval soldiers in the neighborhood now known as The Rocks. From here a path followed a stream to an excavated area close to the present Central Railway Station. The path may have already been used by Aboriginal people.
Over the years the path was widened, built on and developed into George Street. It was known as High Street until 1810, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie renamed it George Street after King George III. Since then, many of Sydney’s famous buildings have been erected along the street.
Some of the highlights along the way are the Sydney General Post Office, Strand Arcade, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Town Hall, Saint Andrew’s Cathedral and the Plaza Theatre. Added to this are many modern buildings, and at the southern end it is not far from popular places such as Sydney’s Chinatown and Paddy’s Market.
The Rocks is a district that was founded shortly after Sydney in the early Sydney Cove Colony after 1788. The original buildings were built as clay-lined houses with thatched roofs, but soon after the construction started in sandstone, which gave the area its name.
From the very beginning, The Rocks was the city’s working-class and sailors’ quarter, where slums, taverns and prostitutes were the order of the day, and the residents were to a large extent Aboriginal and convicts who had come to the colony. During the 1900s there were also several constructions to rehabilitate the area, which were however preserved and later restored.
At the beginning of the century, several hundred houses were demolished after a general inspection of the neighborhood, and in connection with the construction of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, several hundred houses were rehabilitated again. However, it took until the 1970s before it was decided to preserve the remaining area.
Today, The Rocks is one of Sydney’s most atmospheric neighborhoods with its many preserved historic buildings, where eateries, cafes, shops, museums and various activities are arranged. You can best see The Rocks by simply going on an adventure in the area, and most start from Circular Quay.
There are several streets in The Rocks where you can see noteworthy houses from the otherwise lost Sydney. This applies, among other things, to Cumberland Street, where the Australian Hotel and Glenmore Hotel are located, and George Street, where you can see a number of old houses including Cadman’s Cottage from 1816, which is Sydney’s second oldest surviving residential building.
Darling Harbour is a central harbor area located to the west of Sydney’s business district. It is a major recreational asset, where you can visit various museums and experiences around the harbor basin and go shopping or enjoy yourself in the harbor’s many cafes and restaurants.
The area was called Long Cove in early colonial times, and it was later named after the Governor of New South Wales in the years 1825-1831, who was Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling. It was Darling himself who oversaw the name change in 1826. The port was developed as an industrial port with large railway facilities, and it took until the end of the 1970s before changes took place.
The railways abandoned Darling Harbour in favor of larger and more modern facilities elsewhere in the city, and from the early 1980s the dilapidated harbor area was thoroughly renovated and transformed into an exciting place where locals and tourists could gather for shops, dining and tourist activities.
There are many interesting things to see and experience around Darling Harbour. You can visit a number of places such as the Australian National Maritime Museum with museum ships, the Powerhouse Museum and the places Sea Life Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Sydney Zoo, which offer opportunities to take a closer look at Australian wildlife in the middle of the big city.
There is also interesting modern architecture in Darling Harbour. The oval-rounded building named The Ribbon and the International Convention Center Sydney are probably the most characteristic structures. The entire view can be enjoyed from Pyrmont Bridge, a footbridge which opened to mixed traffic in 1902.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral is a cathedral located in a central location in Sydney, which, from the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, was a dedicated building for the Anglican Church of England. However, the cathedral was not built immediately, and it did not become Anglican.
New South Wales developed, and over the years more prisoners and settlers of not least Irish descent came to the colony, and this eventually led the Catholic Church to send priests here. In 1820, the first Catholic priests thus came to Australia. It was Father Conolly who went to Tasmania and Father Therry who stayed in Sydney. According to tradition, upon arrival, Father Therry should have seen a vision in which a mighty church with two spiers rose.
Therry was given a piece of land for a church building by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who also laid the foundation stone for the building in 1821. Then the first church was built, but it burned down in 1865.
Archbishop Polding then engaged the architect William Wardell, who was given free rein to create a grandiose work that would radiate the power and status of the Catholic Church. The foundation stone for the new and current cathedral was laid in 1868 by the archbishop. The dedication service was held in 1883, but at that time the church was far from being built.
The completion of Polding and Wardell’s church only happened in the year 2000, when the two church spiers were built after many years according to the architect’s original plan.
The church’s architecture is the 19th-century Neo-Gothic style with inspiration from English cathedrals. The length of the church is 107 metres, and the towers reach a height of 75 metres. Unlike most churches, the axis is south-north instead of east-west, which is due to the natural slope of the landscape as well as Sydney’s urban plan and previous buildings.
The large church room is in itself beautiful with many details in the decoration. Here are also worth seeing glass mosaics that were produced by Hardman & Co. in England and then transported to Australia. The many mosaics depict various biblical scenes.
Saint Andrew’s Cathedral is Sydney’s Anglican cathedral, and it is Australia’s oldest cathedral. The church attained cathedral status in 1868 and since then has been the seat of Australia’s Anglican Archbishop.
The construction of the cathedral was already planned under Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who as governor 1810-1821 foresaw that Sydney would grow large and thereby have a mighty cathedral. However, only very little of the foundation was laid at that time. Bishop William Grant Broughton laid a new foundation stone in 1837 and this project went further than Macquarie’s, but the plan was somewhat smaller and did not have the dimensions of a large cathedral.
The later colonial architect, Edmund Thomas Blacket, visited the bishop in 1842. He had a recommendation from the bishop of Canterbury and plans for a large cathedral with him. The plan included a neo-Gothic cathedral to rise from the plans of the ongoing construction. He got the project, and despite relatively small dimensions of, for example, 48 meters in length, Blacket used English Gothic to make the church appear much larger than it actually was, thereby acting like an actual cathedral.
This feature is repeated inside, where the square and the Gothic elements give the impression of a large church space. In the room you can see a series of window mosaics depicting scenes from the life of Jesus. The church’s ornate organ dates from 1866 and was produced by William Hill & Sons from England.
The Queen Victoria Building is one of Sydney’s most famous buildings. It is an imposing building with a distinctive dome, built in 1898 in a Victorian style inspired by Byzantine palaces.
The dimensions are 190 meters in length and 30 meters in width. In the large area under the roof, the Queen Victoria Building originally housed the city’s central food market, which had been on the site since 1810.
The name Queen Victoria Building was given in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Today, a modern shopping center is housed in the buildings, also known as QVB, and the shops are located in the original framework, which has been retained. This applies, for example, to the building’s beautiful staircase sections, wall tiles and the glass in the roof structure.
Outside the Queen Victoria Building’s south end you can see a statue of Queen Victoria. It was produced by the Irishman John Hughes, and until 1947 it stood before the Legislative Assembly in Dublin, Ireland. Here it was given as a gift to Sydney to avoid possible destruction in Ireland. You can also see a sculpture of Victoria’s dog Islay. It was performed by Australian Justin Robson.
The Sydney Fish Market is a large fish market located a few kilometers west of the center of Sydney. The city’s first fish market was established in 1871 in Woolloomooloo, which also became home to the local fishing fleet. Several other fish markets emerged from the 1890s to the early 1900s.
The current Sydney Fish Market has been located at Blackwattle Bay since 1966, and it is connected to the site’s active fishing harbor with sales to, among other things, shops and restaurants. There are also eateries and shops at the market, so that visitors can enjoy the fresh produce themselves, and it is very popular with both locals and tourists.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is Sydney’s museum of contemporary art. You can see a number of works with great variety by, among others, the artists Andy Warhol, Christo and Robert Rauschenberg in the exhibition. Large parts of these works come from J. W. Power’s large collection.
The impressive museum building was built in sandstone in the years 1949-1952 and was originally used by the maritime authorities. The building also stands on the spot where the first British fleet docked in 1788.
Museum of Sydney is the name of Sydney’s city museum. Here you can experience the city’s history from before the European colonization through the foundation in 1788 to the present day. The museum was built on the very site where, in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip erected the first building to house the colony’s government administration. The remains of the old building have been excavated and are just one of the many things you can see at the site.
Arthur Phillip’s building was incidentally a prefabricated construction that came here with the first fleet in 1788, and it contained, for example, Australia’s first staircase. After a number of years of inconvenience due to, among other things, moisture and poor building materials, the house was demolished in 1845-1846.
Taronga Zoo is Sydney’s interesting zoo and is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the rich and diverse wildlife of Australia. In addition to these animals, such as kangaroo and wombat, you can also experience many animals from other continents.
The garden lies beautifully down to the northern shore of Sydney Harbour, and from here there is a lovely view of the city’s skyscrapers. The easiest trip to Tarango Zoo from central Sydney is by ferry from Circular Quay, and that trip is an experience in itself.
Central Railway Station is Sydney’s main railway station and it is a station located in the area south of the central business district. The large station opened in 1906, but it was not the first railway station in the city.
In 1850, a railway line opened between Sydney and Parramatta, and five years later the line’s station could be inaugurated, also located in the area south of Devonshire Street near the present station, which originally did not have its distinctive tower.
Central Railway Station was designed by the English architect Walter Liberty Vernon, who had emigrated to Australia. The large building with the sandstone facade was built on a former cemetery area where the graves had been moved before.
Museum Railway Station is the name of one of the central stations on Sydney’s City Circle underground line. The station opened in 1926 after several years of different solutions to the increasing traffic in the Australian metropolis. The first railway opened to Parramatta in 1850, but the terminus in Sydney was across from the homes and workplaces of the city centre.
Many chose to walk from the station, but first horse-drawn and then electric trams were also established. The first plans for a railway to the center were presented in 1857, but after many years of feasibility studies the project was abandoned before being taken up again in 1896. In the year 1900 it was decided to build a main railway station, and in 1908 the initiative for the future City Circle lane taken.
The excavations for the stations Museum and St James started in 1922-1923, and these are today the two most interesting stations. The stations could almost be part of the London Underground with the interior, including tiles on the walls and details in the decoration. However, the museum is also reminiscent of the Paris metro with the open platform hall.
Paddy’s Market located at the Haymarket is a popular market that is an iconic shopping destination in Sydney. The history of the market dates back to 1834 when Governor Bourke moved existing market operations to the current site to accommodate hay and grain traders close to a newly established cattle market in Campbell Street.
Sales quickly grew to include food and a variety of products, which attracted locals, and the market also benefited from the permit to stay open until 10pm on Saturdays. More long opening days were added, and circus performances were also held, so the area became a hot spot for various reasons.
The name Paddy’s Market is believed to originate from the 1870s at the latest and from the Irish market of the same name in Liverpool, England. Today, the market is located next to Sydney’s Chinatown, and you can buy fruit, vegetables, clothes, gadgets, souvenirs and much more, just as there are both restaurants and takeaway food in the old market.
Finger Wharf is a newly developed harbor area around an old warehouse building on the harbor in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo. Today it is an area with a marina, apartments, hotel and restaurant, and it is set in and around Henry D. Walsh’s beautiful magazine from 1910-1915.
Finger Wharf is close to the center of Sydney and historically a lot of wool was exported from here. Australian troops also sailed from here for the two world wars of the 20th century, and from 1956 a number of immigrants have also passed through the building on their entry to the country.
The area’s buildings were abandoned over time, and demolition was set for 1991. However, locals blocked access, and due to great opposition, it was decided instead to renovate the buildings into a hotel with bars and restaurants. This also preserved the industrial history that lies along the old wharves.
Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. It is approximately one kilometer long, and the beautiful and wide sandy beach is close to the center of Sydney. With its close distance to the big city, Bondi Beach always attracts lots of locals and tourists alike.
During the Olympic Games in the year 2000, the Beach Volleyball competition was held on Bondi Beach, and as a tourist you can try various activities along the beach, which is also popular with surfers. During the bathing season, the beach is protected by a shark net that secures the marked swimming area against invading sharks.
Bondi Beach is located along a bay, where you can enjoy a good meal at one of several cozy eateries. At the beach you can also see the Bondi Pavilion building, which was built in 1928-1929 with, among other things, changing facilities for the many men and women who visited the beach.
Sydney Heads is the name of the entry from the Pacific Ocean to Sydney Harbor and thus also to the city itself. The water between the lands that make up Sydney Heads itself is approximately two kilometers in width.
To the north are North Head and Quarantine Head close to the suburb of Manly. The name Quarantine Head comes from the quarantine station that was established here in 1828, and which was in operation until 1984. Over time, for example, settlers and refugees were accommodated here, and with the stay, you could minimize the risk of outbreaks of disease epidemics in the country.
To the south are South Head and Dunbar Heads at the suburb of Watsons Bay, and they include land for two interesting lighthouses. Hornby Lighthouse is the third oldest in Australia, while Macquarie Lighthouse a few kilometers to the south is the oldest.
You can enjoy the area’s beautiful scenery on a boat trip from Circular Quay in central Sydney or on walks along some of the trails that have been established here over the years.
The suburb of Manly is located on the north side of Sydney Harbor close to the entrance from the Pacific Ocean through Sydney Heads. The town’s name was given by Arthur Phillip, who found the Aborigines of the place manly.
Manly’s history took off from the mid-19th century, when Henry Gilbert Smith wanted to develop the town into a fashionable excursion destination. Smith bought several pieces of land and later built a wharf, which brought scheduled sailing traffic to the site as replacements for Smith’s chartered tour boats.
Over time, several interesting things and facilities for tourists have been established. Among other things, you can visit the Manly Sea Life Sanctuary (West Esplanade), which is an aquarium with marine life such as penguins, sharks, rays and turtles.
The Blue Mountains National Park is a national park in a mountainous region inland to the west of the city of Sydney. The area got its name because of the bluish glow from vapors that the park’s forests of eucalyptus trees give off. The beautiful area was established as a national park, but originally the mountains were the western border of the Australian colony for the Europeans until 1813. This year the first road was built over the mountains.
The city of Katoomba is a good starting point for a trip in the beautiful nature. Here you can see the historic mines at Narrowneck and Mount Solitary. The Katoomba Scenic Railway is a very interesting railway ride with one of the old mining trains. The park’s renovated Zig Zag Railway is also an exciting ride.
At Katoomba there are also other things to see. It is here that the beautiful natural scenery Katoomba Falls and the rock formation De Tre Søstre/The Three Sisters are located.
Bay Street 1
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450 George Street
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Darling Harbour
harbourside.com.au
Pitt Street Mall
imperialarcade.com.au
Pitt Street Mall 193-195
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King Street, Pitt Street, Martin Place, The Rocks
Luna Park
Milsons Point
lunaparksydney.com
National Maritime Museum
Darling Harbour
anmm.gov.au
Sydney Aquarium
Darling Harbour
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Taronga Zoo
Bradsley’s Head Road
zoo.nsw.gov.au
Wild Life Sydney
Aquarium Pier
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The area where Sydney is today has been inhabited for over 40,000 years by Australia’s indigenous population; Aborigines. They came with boats from present Indonesia to northern Australia. From here they migrated and settled all over the Australian land area.
Around Sydney, several tribes lived and, with some of the world’s finest rock carvings in the local sandstone, left clear traces to the present.
The European interest in the area began with the arrival of British explorer James Cook to Botany Bay in 1770. He directed his ship to the site south of Sydney, where fellow traveling botanist, Joseph Banks, was so overwhelmed by the species of nature that the name became Botany Bay.
Cook sailed further north and proclaimed possession of the Australian East Coast in the name of King George III. It happened on Possession Island, and with that deed an actual colonization could take place.
The British Government decided to establish a new colony on the site, and in 1788 a penitentiary colony was established by Captain Arthur Phillip. Phillip arrived in January 1788 with the so-called first fleet, which consisted of 11 ships with settlers and prisoners. In total there were more than 1,000 people on the ships, and they constituted a volume on which a colony could be established. The fleet had sailed to Botany Bay, but after a few days they settled in Port Jackson at the location of the present city.
Arthur Phillip named the city after British Minister Thomas Townshend, who was titled Lord Sydney. Townshend had initiated the new colony following the loss of part of Britain’s North American territories to the new country, the United States.
Arthur Phillip hoisted the flag of Britain and within a few years three large fleets of colonists arrived. Their labor could only to a limited extent help on the very hard life of the colony, where there was food shortages and only very rare supplies.
In 1792 there were already 4,000 people living in Sydney, and during the first years of the colony, prisoners were in the majority. They were sent here so a larger city that could survive the harsh conditions could be built as soon as possible.
The city extended to the areas around the Parramatta River, which provided better food production than at Sydney Cove, which developed as the central port as well as the administrative and economic center.
Development was strong in the young colony, and politically the governor was the controlling force. It came to an uprising; best known is the Rum Rebellion, where the Army’s New South Wales Corps ousted Governor William Bligh in 1808. After Bligh came a time with military rule before the last autocratic governor was inducted in 1810 in person by Lachlan Macquarie, who came to make a great mark on city development.
Lachlan Macquarie was governor in the years 1810-1821, and London saw his rule as controversial. He had great ambitions about Sydney’s development and the size of the city’s public buildings, and in many cases he compared prisoners with newcomers. It also came to some hiring of prisoners; among the most well-known are the colonial architect Francis Greenway, who conducted to building of many of the city’s works.
Within the first 25 years, for example, banks, markets, port facilities and some new housing were established. The population also grew strongly, with many ships coming on a regular basis with settlers from primarily the UK and Ireland. In 1847, almost 40,000 people lived in Sydney, and the number of prisoners was down to about 3%.
With the cessation of the self-ruling governors, several political institutions were established in the 1820s. In 1825, a council was appointed as advisers to the governor, whose powers had changed. In 1829, the colony’s parliament was housed in the Rum Hospital, the largest building in the city at the time.
Eleven years later, Sydney’s City Council was established. It was not democratic in our opinion of today, as only wealthy people could stand for power and landowners were granted up to four votes.
In the 1850s an elected parliament was introduced in accordance with British system, and from 1857 all male Britons could vote here, which over the years stabilized political development.
Time was not only characterized by political development, but also by economic and population growth. The big boom started in connection with the gold discovery in Bathurst in New South Wales in 1851. Immigrants came in colossal numbers and many of them traveled to the area where the gold fever ravaged. However, Sydney’s population also more than quadrupled in just twenty years, and about 200,000 inhabitants lived here in 1870.
The state made a lot of money in issuing temporary licenses to dig gold, and it helped to develop Sydney even more than before the valuable raw materials were dug up from the underground.
With the improved economy, the city’s industrialization also began rapidly to develop in the 1850s. The first railway was inaugurated in 1855 and it connected Sydney with the nearby town of Parramatta.
Several major buildings and projects were completed to complement the already existing Sydney in the last decades before 1900. Saint Mary’s Cathedral was already planned as a large construction during the Lachlan Macquarie rule, and the foundation stone for the present and second cathedral was laid in 1868. The city’s art museum and the distinguished market building, the Queen Victoria Building, are other examples.
Thus, it was a modern Sydney that held the British Intercolonial Exhibition in 1870, and already nine years after that the city was once again the center of a worldwide event, the Great Sydney International Exhibition, which was the pinnacle of the work of many years of unbroken growth and development.
In the 1890s, the Australian colony experienced an economic decline after years of prosperity through, not least, natural deposits and new migrants’ initiative and activity.
The decades were also the time for the development of Sydney’s network of trams, which at its peak became the largest in the Commonwealth outside London. From the first horse-drawn carriage in 1861, expansion and technological development went hand in hand. In 1879 steam-powered trams started, and from 1898 an electrification of the routes occurred, eventually linking most neighborhoods and suburbs with central Sydney.
In 1901, the new state, the Commonwealth of Australia, was established, and Sydney and New South Wales were part of it. Among other things, it was celebrated with fireworks at the town hall.
From a colony capital status, Sydney now became the capital of the state of New South Wales. The two big cities, Sydney and Melbourne, were rivals in the fight to become the country’s capital; a status none of them gained with the agreement to establish Canberra as a federal territory and the nation’s capital.
Despite independence, however, ties to Britain remained strong, not least during World War I, when more than 60,000 Australian soldiers died during the fighting in Europe.
In the first decades of the 20th century, Australia’s economy flourished again. Large public institutions were established and new rich natural deposits were found in the great land. Growth was high until the depression in the late 1920s.
However, the economic downturn did not last long, and already in 1932 there were good times again, not least due to an increase in the prices of wool, which was one of the country’s major export products. That same year, Sydney Harbor Bridge was completed. It was a great engineering feature and one of the things that established new jobs in a time of unemployment. Today, the bridge is one of the city’s most distinctive constructions and stands as the center of the city’s New Year’s celebration, which is shown worldwide.
In World War II Australia again joined the British side, but with Japan’s expansion into the Pacific region, the country also increased its own defense, including a fortification of Sydney’s port. In 1942, battles took place in the city as Japanese submarines entered the harbor, but despite a few bombardments, Sydney escaped the war time relatively unscathed.
After the end of the war, a new wave of immigration started in Sydney and Australia. The many new inhabitants brought growth and renewed prosperity to the country. Sydney grew once again sharply in a short time, and primarily the western suburbs were developed in the following decades.
After World War II, Australia formed closer ties with the United States, which until then had mainly been with Britain. Australian participation in the Vietnam War of the United States established the city as a recreation site for American soldiers from the mid-1960s, and it left its natural mark on the street scene. In 1972, the Australian troops were drawn home again.
One of the world’s best-known buildings, Sydney’s Opera House, was completed in 1973 by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s designs. Since the inauguration, the building has been the city’s landmark and stands as one of the world’s most iconic buildings.
The 1980s became a decade of investment in many new skyscrapers. It was during this time that the current skyline of the city was established, and at the top the Sydney Tower was built; it is still widely seen with its location centrally in the business district.
Growth in the city continued through major events; first in connection with the city’s 200th anniversary in 1988 and later in 2000 when Sydney hosted the Olympic Games. It emphasized the city’s capacity, and the many fine offers for tourists were displayed around the world. Sydney’s near-constant growth has so far given way to the now nearly five million inhabitants, and every year tourists arrive in great number to the Australian metropolis, which has emerged from nothing since just 1788.
Overview of Sydney
Australia is a dream destination for most travelers, and for many, a visit starts down under with enjoying the metropolitan city of Sydney, beautifully located and with some of the country’s most famous landmarks. The city’s Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are icons most do recognize. The two works are centrally located close to the old town of The Rocks and the city’s skyscrapers.
The city is where the first fleet of settlers went ashore, and the place where the colony of New South Wales took some of the first steps from the foundation towards modern Australia.
About the upcoming Sydney travel guide
About the travel guide
The Sydney travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Australian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Sydney is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Sydney and Australia
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Sydney you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Opera House • Harbour Bridge • Sydney Tower • Bondi Beach
Overview of Sydney
Australia is a dream destination for most travelers, and for many, a visit starts down under with enjoying the metropolitan city of Sydney, beautifully located and with some of the country’s most famous landmarks. The city’s Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are icons most do recognize. The two works are centrally located close to the old town of The Rocks and the city’s skyscrapers.
The city is where the first fleet of settlers went ashore, and the place where the colony of New South Wales took some of the first steps from the foundation towards modern Australia.
About the upcoming Sydney travel guide
About the travel guide
The Sydney travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Australian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Sydney is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Sydney and Australia
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Sydney you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
The Rocks is a district that was founded shortly after Sydney in the early Sydney Cove Colony after 1788. The original buildings were built as clay-lined houses with thatched roofs, but soon after the construction started in sandstone, which gave the area its name.
From the very beginning, The Rocks was the city’s working-class and sailors’ quarter, where slums, taverns and prostitutes were the order of the day, and the residents were to a large extent Aboriginal and convicts who had come to the colony. During the 1900s there were also several constructions to rehabilitate the area, which were however preserved and later restored.
At the beginning of the century, several hundred houses were demolished after a general inspection of the neighborhood, and in connection with the construction of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, several hundred houses were rehabilitated again. However, it took until the 1970s before it was decided to preserve the remaining area.
Today, The Rocks is one of Sydney’s most atmospheric neighborhoods with its many preserved historic buildings, where eateries, cafes, shops, museums and various activities are arranged. You can best see The Rocks by simply going on an adventure in the area, and most start from Circular Quay.
There are several streets in The Rocks where you can see noteworthy houses from the otherwise lost Sydney. This applies, among other things, to Cumberland Street, where the Australian Hotel and Glenmore Hotel are located, and George Street, where you can see a number of old houses including Cadman’s Cottage from 1816, which is Sydney’s second oldest surviving residential building.
Darling Harbour is a central harbor area located to the west of Sydney’s business district. It is a major recreational asset, where you can visit various museums and experiences around the harbor basin and go shopping or enjoy yourself in the harbor’s many cafes and restaurants.
The area was called Long Cove in early colonial times, and it was later named after the Governor of New South Wales in the years 1825-1831, who was Lieutenant-General Ralph Darling. It was Darling himself who oversaw the name change in 1826. The port was developed as an industrial port with large railway facilities, and it took until the end of the 1970s before changes took place.
The railways abandoned Darling Harbour in favor of larger and more modern facilities elsewhere in the city, and from the early 1980s the dilapidated harbor area was thoroughly renovated and transformed into an exciting place where locals and tourists could gather for shops, dining and tourist activities.
There are many interesting things to see and experience around Darling Harbour. You can visit a number of places such as the Australian National Maritime Museum with museum ships, the Powerhouse Museum and the places Sea Life Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Sydney Zoo, which offer opportunities to take a closer look at Australian wildlife in the middle of the big city.
There is also interesting modern architecture in Darling Harbour. The oval-rounded building named The Ribbon and the International Convention Center Sydney are probably the most characteristic structures. The entire view can be enjoyed from Pyrmont Bridge, a footbridge which opened to mixed traffic in 1902.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral is a cathedral located in a central location in Sydney, which, from the founding of the colony of New South Wales in 1788, was a dedicated building for the Anglican Church of England. However, the cathedral was not built immediately, and it did not become Anglican.
New South Wales developed, and over the years more prisoners and settlers of not least Irish descent came to the colony, and this eventually led the Catholic Church to send priests here. In 1820, the first Catholic priests thus came to Australia. It was Father Conolly who went to Tasmania and Father Therry who stayed in Sydney. According to tradition, upon arrival, Father Therry should have seen a vision in which a mighty church with two spiers rose.
Therry was given a piece of land for a church building by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who also laid the foundation stone for the building in 1821. Then the first church was built, but it burned down in 1865.
Archbishop Polding then engaged the architect William Wardell, who was given free rein to create a grandiose work that would radiate the power and status of the Catholic Church. The foundation stone for the new and current cathedral was laid in 1868 by the archbishop. The dedication service was held in 1883, but at that time the church was far from being built.
The completion of Polding and Wardell’s church only happened in the year 2000, when the two church spiers were built after many years according to the architect’s original plan.
The church’s architecture is the 19th-century Neo-Gothic style with inspiration from English cathedrals. The length of the church is 107 metres, and the towers reach a height of 75 metres. Unlike most churches, the axis is south-north instead of east-west, which is due to the natural slope of the landscape as well as Sydney’s urban plan and previous buildings.
The large church room is in itself beautiful with many details in the decoration. Here are also worth seeing glass mosaics that were produced by Hardman & Co. in England and then transported to Australia. The many mosaics depict various biblical scenes.
Saint Andrew’s Cathedral is Sydney’s Anglican cathedral, and it is Australia’s oldest cathedral. The church attained cathedral status in 1868 and since then has been the seat of Australia’s Anglican Archbishop.
The construction of the cathedral was already planned under Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who as governor 1810-1821 foresaw that Sydney would grow large and thereby have a mighty cathedral. However, only very little of the foundation was laid at that time. Bishop William Grant Broughton laid a new foundation stone in 1837 and this project went further than Macquarie’s, but the plan was somewhat smaller and did not have the dimensions of a large cathedral.
The later colonial architect, Edmund Thomas Blacket, visited the bishop in 1842. He had a recommendation from the bishop of Canterbury and plans for a large cathedral with him. The plan included a neo-Gothic cathedral to rise from the plans of the ongoing construction. He got the project, and despite relatively small dimensions of, for example, 48 meters in length, Blacket used English Gothic to make the church appear much larger than it actually was, thereby acting like an actual cathedral.
This feature is repeated inside, where the square and the Gothic elements give the impression of a large church space. In the room you can see a series of window mosaics depicting scenes from the life of Jesus. The church’s ornate organ dates from 1866 and was produced by William Hill & Sons from England.
The Queen Victoria Building is one of Sydney’s most famous buildings. It is an imposing building with a distinctive dome, built in 1898 in a Victorian style inspired by Byzantine palaces.
The dimensions are 190 meters in length and 30 meters in width. In the large area under the roof, the Queen Victoria Building originally housed the city’s central food market, which had been on the site since 1810.
The name Queen Victoria Building was given in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Today, a modern shopping center is housed in the buildings, also known as QVB, and the shops are located in the original framework, which has been retained. This applies, for example, to the building’s beautiful staircase sections, wall tiles and the glass in the roof structure.
Outside the Queen Victoria Building’s south end you can see a statue of Queen Victoria. It was produced by the Irishman John Hughes, and until 1947 it stood before the Legislative Assembly in Dublin, Ireland. Here it was given as a gift to Sydney to avoid possible destruction in Ireland. You can also see a sculpture of Victoria’s dog Islay. It was performed by Australian Justin Robson.
The Sydney Fish Market is a large fish market located a few kilometers west of the center of Sydney. The city’s first fish market was established in 1871 in Woolloomooloo, which also became home to the local fishing fleet. Several other fish markets emerged from the 1890s to the early 1900s.
The current Sydney Fish Market has been located at Blackwattle Bay since 1966, and it is connected to the site’s active fishing harbor with sales to, among other things, shops and restaurants. There are also eateries and shops at the market, so that visitors can enjoy the fresh produce themselves, and it is very popular with both locals and tourists.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is Sydney’s museum of contemporary art. You can see a number of works with great variety by, among others, the artists Andy Warhol, Christo and Robert Rauschenberg in the exhibition. Large parts of these works come from J. W. Power’s large collection.
The impressive museum building was built in sandstone in the years 1949-1952 and was originally used by the maritime authorities. The building also stands on the spot where the first British fleet docked in 1788.
Museum of Sydney is the name of Sydney’s city museum. Here you can experience the city’s history from before the European colonization through the foundation in 1788 to the present day. The museum was built on the very site where, in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip erected the first building to house the colony’s government administration. The remains of the old building have been excavated and are just one of the many things you can see at the site.
Arthur Phillip’s building was incidentally a prefabricated construction that came here with the first fleet in 1788, and it contained, for example, Australia’s first staircase. After a number of years of inconvenience due to, among other things, moisture and poor building materials, the house was demolished in 1845-1846.
Taronga Zoo is Sydney’s interesting zoo and is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the rich and diverse wildlife of Australia. In addition to these animals, such as kangaroo and wombat, you can also experience many animals from other continents.
The garden lies beautifully down to the northern shore of Sydney Harbour, and from here there is a lovely view of the city’s skyscrapers. The easiest trip to Tarango Zoo from central Sydney is by ferry from Circular Quay, and that trip is an experience in itself.
Central Railway Station is Sydney’s main railway station and it is a station located in the area south of the central business district. The large station opened in 1906, but it was not the first railway station in the city.
In 1850, a railway line opened between Sydney and Parramatta, and five years later the line’s station could be inaugurated, also located in the area south of Devonshire Street near the present station, which originally did not have its distinctive tower.
Central Railway Station was designed by the English architect Walter Liberty Vernon, who had emigrated to Australia. The large building with the sandstone facade was built on a former cemetery area where the graves had been moved before.
Museum Railway Station is the name of one of the central stations on Sydney’s City Circle underground line. The station opened in 1926 after several years of different solutions to the increasing traffic in the Australian metropolis. The first railway opened to Parramatta in 1850, but the terminus in Sydney was across from the homes and workplaces of the city centre.
Many chose to walk from the station, but first horse-drawn and then electric trams were also established. The first plans for a railway to the center were presented in 1857, but after many years of feasibility studies the project was abandoned before being taken up again in 1896. In the year 1900 it was decided to build a main railway station, and in 1908 the initiative for the future City Circle lane taken.
The excavations for the stations Museum and St James started in 1922-1923, and these are today the two most interesting stations. The stations could almost be part of the London Underground with the interior, including tiles on the walls and details in the decoration. However, the museum is also reminiscent of the Paris metro with the open platform hall.
Paddy’s Market located at the Haymarket is a popular market that is an iconic shopping destination in Sydney. The history of the market dates back to 1834 when Governor Bourke moved existing market operations to the current site to accommodate hay and grain traders close to a newly established cattle market in Campbell Street.
Sales quickly grew to include food and a variety of products, which attracted locals, and the market also benefited from the permit to stay open until 10pm on Saturdays. More long opening days were added, and circus performances were also held, so the area became a hot spot for various reasons.
The name Paddy’s Market is believed to originate from the 1870s at the latest and from the Irish market of the same name in Liverpool, England. Today, the market is located next to Sydney’s Chinatown, and you can buy fruit, vegetables, clothes, gadgets, souvenirs and much more, just as there are both restaurants and takeaway food in the old market.
Finger Wharf is a newly developed harbor area around an old warehouse building on the harbor in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo. Today it is an area with a marina, apartments, hotel and restaurant, and it is set in and around Henry D. Walsh’s beautiful magazine from 1910-1915.
Finger Wharf is close to the center of Sydney and historically a lot of wool was exported from here. Australian troops also sailed from here for the two world wars of the 20th century, and from 1956 a number of immigrants have also passed through the building on their entry to the country.
The area’s buildings were abandoned over time, and demolition was set for 1991. However, locals blocked access, and due to great opposition, it was decided instead to renovate the buildings into a hotel with bars and restaurants. This also preserved the industrial history that lies along the old wharves.
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