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Home to over 5
million people, Sydney is the biggest and most
cosmopolitan city in Australia and home to the world’s
largest harbor and arguably the most beautiful.
Indented with numerous bays and beaches and gilded with
a glistening Opera House, Sydney Harbour is the
presiding icon for the city and for urban Australia.
But Sydney didn’t
have an easy beginning. The first residents were
prisoners, flushed from over-crowded jails in England
and sent halfway around the world to serve out their
sentences and their lives. They began their new life
over 200 years ago at The Rocks, the area right next to
where the ship docks, in the center of the city. The
Rocks was stricken with the bubonic plague which swept
through the slums of the area, so in 1900 the entire
area was torn down and rebuilt to rid the area of slums
and disease.
The famous Harbour
Bridge, although built in 1932, was built with great
foresight as the size today accommodates six lanes of
car traffic, four lanes for trains and 2 pedestrian
lanes; and today there is also a car tunnel under the
water below the bridge. In the middle of the bridge
there is a sort of “spider web” of wires, the New Year’s
fireworks design. Every year it is different and it
takes months to hang the presentation on the bridge.
The Sydney Opera
House is of course more impressive in person than on the
screen. The Overseas Passenger Terminal (where your
cruise ship docks) sits directly between the Harbour
Bridge and the Sydney Opera House – a perfectly gorgeous
setting. A tour of the Opera House is certainly a must
when visiting the city. Originally proposed in 1955,
the Opera House was expected to cost $7 million and take
three years to build. However when the design of the
famous “sails” was decided upon, no one knew how to
build it. Queen Elizabeth II attended the opening of
the Opera House in 1973 (18 years later) and it cost
$104 million to complete.
Sydney is a beautiful
city. And expensive! Fortunately, your cruise ship docks
at Circular Quay with the downtown area of the city
easily accessible by foot or public transportation.
The free number 555
"Green Bus" stops on Alfred Street just south of
Circular Quay. Hop on in either direction and tour the
city: George Street in the west and Elizabeth Street in
the east.
There is also a bargain
day pass available for about $ 13 for transportation on
all ferries, buses and trains. Buy the ticket at any
ferry wharf ticket office. |
