Central Railway Station is located at the southern end of the Sydney CBD and is the largest railway station in Australia. It services almost all of the lines on the Sydney Trains network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services; it houses the operations of The Rail Corporation New South Wales; it sits adjacent to Railway Square and is officially located in Haymarket. It is also the closest station to the University of Technology Sydney at Broadway.
There have been three terminal stations in Sydney. The original Sydney Station was opened on 26 September 1855 in an area known as "Cleveland Fields." This station (one wooden platform in a corrugated iron shed), called Redfern, had Devonshire Street as its northern boundary. When this station became inadequate for the traffic it carried, a new station was built in 1874 on the same site and also called Redfern. This was a brick building with two platforms. It grew to 14 platforms before it was replaced by the present-day station to the north of Devonshire Street.
The new station was built on a site previously occupied by the Devonshire Street Cemetery, a convent, a female refuge, a police barracks, a parsonage and a Benevolent Society. The remains exhumed from the cemetery were re-interred at a number of other Sydney cemeteries including Rookwood Cemetery and Waverley Cemetery. Bodies were moved to Botany by steam tram motors and flat cars. The new 15-platform station, still in use, opened on 4 August 1906, and included the previous Mortuary railway station used to transport funeral parties to Rookwood Cemetery.
The last train departed platform 5 of the 1874 station at midnight. During the remainder of that night the passenger concourse was demolished and the line extended through the old station into the new station. The Western Mail train that arrived in Sydney at 5:50am on 5 August 1906 arrived at the new station. Devonshire Street, which separated the two stations, became a pedestrian underpass to allow people to cross the railway line and is now known by many as the Devonshire Street Tunnel.
A 75-metre clock tower in the Free Classical style was added at the north-western corner of the station, opened in 3 March 1921. Central Station was designed by the Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon, and has been described as the "grandest railway station in Australia." It is listed on the Register of the National Estate.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
Rundle Mall in the Adelaide city centre is the premier retail area of South Australia. It was opened as Australia's first pedestrian street mall in September 1976 by closing Rundle Street to traffic between King William Street and Pulteney Street. The street continues as Rundle Street to the east and Hindley Street to the west.
There are several items of modern sculpture in the mall. The best-known is the 4m tall The Spheres by Bert Flugelman; two large stainless steel spheres with a diameter of 2.15 metres balanced one on top of the other. They are most commonly referred to as the Mall's Balls or Rundle Mall balls. "The Mall's Balls" are a common meeting place for visitors. Erected in 1977, they were commissioned by the then Hindmarsh Building Society (subsequently absorbed into the Adelaide Bank) and donated to the City of Adelaide to mark the building society's 1977 centenary.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.
Calendula or marigold, is a genus of about 15–20 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. They are native to southwestern Asia, western Europe, Macronesia, and the Mediterranean.
The name calendula is a modern Latin diminutive of calendae, meaning "little calendar", "little clock" or possibly "little weather-glass". The common name "marigold" possibly refers to the Virgin Mary.The most commonly cultivated and used member of the genus is the pot marigold (Calendula officinalis). Popular herbal and cosmetic products named 'calendula' invariably derive from C. officinalis.
Calendula species have been used traditionally as culinary and medicinal herbs. The petals are edible and can be used fresh in salads or dried and used to colour cheese or as a replacement for saffron. A yellow dye has been extracted from the flowers. Double forms such as the one illustrated are common garden flowers.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Darling Harbour is
intended to be one of Sydney’s trendy places, although some visitors find it
lacking in character (and greenery). It used to be a former dockside area, but
now the small functional harbour of yore has been transformed into a major
tourist site and a leading convention and exhibition centre.
A monorail
service used to run from the Central Business District to Darling Harbour and
skirted the harbour, making stops at points around the harbour. However, this
year the monorail is being dismantled and its skeletal remains are to be seen
in various parts of the city. Until now, Darling Harbour has been a place that
has appealed more to kids, due to the number of children’s attractions, but the
advent of the Cockle Wharf restaurant and cafe complex has added a new
dimension to Darling Harbour.
A number of water features characterise the environs, while a wonderful walled Chinese Garden is a must-see attraction. The birds shown here are the Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis moluccus), is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and black legs.
This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville.
The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm tall to trees 35 m tall. Common names include grevillea, spider flower, silky oak, bottle brush and toothbrush plant. Closely related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae.
The brightly coloured, petal-less flowers consist of a calyx tube that splits into 4 lobes with long styles. They are good bird-attracting plants, honeyeaters in particular are common visitors. They are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Dryandra Moth.
This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.
These fish are part of the décor in a restaurant in Melbourne's Southbank entertainment complex. The obvious question for all passers-by is: "Are they just decorative or part of the fresh fish menu?" Not a good question to ask, especially if the fish look at the camera and smile obligingly!
This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.
Sydney is Australia’s largest city, and capital of the state of New South Wales. Located on Australia’s southeastern coast, Sydney has a magnificent harbour and a strategic position, making it one of the most important ports in the South Pacific. In the early 19th century, when it was still a small convict settlement and the first settlers had barely penetrated the interior, it had already established trade with the Pacific Islands, India, China, South Africa, and the Americas.
The first sight of Sydney, whether from the sea or the air, is always spectacular. Built on low hills surrounding a huge harbour with innumerable bays and inlets, the city is dominated by the bulk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, one of the longest steel-arch bridges in the world, and the Opera House, with its glittering white shell-shaped roofs that seem to echo the sails of the many yachts in the adjacent harbour. The intricate confusion of water and buildings makes a striking impression either by day or by night.
Because of its history as a great port and its status as the site of the country’s main international air terminal, Sydney is perhaps the only city in Australia with a genuinely international atmosphere. Yet it remains a very Australian city, with a nice compromise between the Anglo-Saxon efficiency of its British heritage and the South Seas attractions of its climate and environment. The area of the City of Sydney is 26.2 square km; while the Sydney Statistical Division is 12,406 square km. The population of greater Sydney is nearly five million people.
This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme,
On the 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the landing of the Australians at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, a fund was opened to raise money to erect a permanent memorial to those from NSW who served in The Great War 1914 - 1918.
By the end of the year the fund had reached £60,000. In 1923 the Institute of Architects suggested the Memorial be erected in Hyde Park. During 1929 a competition was held for the design of the memorial and 117 designs were received from all over the world. The first prize was awarded to Mr Charles Bruce Dellit, which did not include sculptures by Raynor Hoff at the time that it won the prize.
Building commenced in 1930 during the height of the Great Depression, and the Memorial was officially opened on 24 November 1934 by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester.
In 1984, following a proposal by the Trustees, the ANZAC Memorial (Building) Act 1923 was amended to enable the Memorial to be rededicated as a Memorial to include all Australians who serve their country in war.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Pink Saturday meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.
Earlier this week I was in Sydney for work. I was staying in a hotel facing onto Hyde Park and looking out from the roof terrace, I was reminded a little bit of New York City and Central Park (OK, in a much smaller scale!)...
The tower in the first photo is Sydney Tower, which is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia (with the Q1 building on the Gold Coast being the tallest). It is also the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere (after Auckland's Sky Tower, though Sydney Tower Eye's main observation deck is almost 50 m higher than that of Auckland's Sky Tower).
The name Sydney Tower has become common in daily usage, however the tower is also known as the Sydney Tower Eye, AMP Tower, Westfield Centrepoint Tower, Centrepoint Tower or just Centrepoint. The Sydney Tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers. The tower stands 309 m above the Sydney central business district (CBD), located on Market Street, between Pitt and Castlereagh Streets.
It is accessible from the Pitt Street Mall, and sits upon the newly refurbished Westfield Sydney (formerly centrepoint arcade). The tower is open to the public, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs.
The building in the centre of the park is the Anzac Memorial.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
Bacopa (or water hyssop), is a member the Scrophulariaceae family. The cultivar 'Mauve Pink' is a low-growing perennial which produces a profusion of tiny, mauve-pink flowers and is usually grown as an annual. Leaves are rounded and mid-green. Flowers are pink and star-shaped. Great in hanging baskets, or as a companion plant in pots and borders. Thrives in very moist soil and full sun.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
The Galah, Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.It is endemic on the mainland and was introduced to Tasmania, where its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour make it a familiar sight in the bush and increasingly in urban areas. It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo in parts of its range.The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word found in Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages.
This post is part of the Wild Bird Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.
These mandarins are still on the tree in one of the neighbourhood gardens, even though it is a little late in the season. They certainly would not have survived if this tree were in our own garden!
The first image is the photographed one, while the other two are photoshopped somewhat to get a more painterly effect.
This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
And also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.
