Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the major landmarks of Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district (CBD) with the North Shore commercial and residential areas, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. The dramatic water vista of the bridge together with the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. The bridge is also known as “the Coathanger” on account of its arch-based design, although that name is hardly referred to by locals.

The bridge was the city’s tallest structure until 1967. According to Guinness World Records, it is the widest long-span bridge in the world. It is the world’s largest single-arch bridge, but not the longest (as millions of Australian school children were erroneously taught). The Bayonne Bridge in the United States, opened four months earlier on 15 November 1931, is 2.3 feet (70 cm) longer.

The design bears a marked resemblance to that of the New York Hell Gate Bridge. Its design was later used as a basis for the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Description

The bridge’s two ends are located in at Dawes Point (in Sydney’s Rocks area) and Milsons Point (in Sydney’s lower North Shore area). It carries six lanes of road traffic on its main roadway, two lanes of road traffic (formerly two tram tracks) and a footpath on its eastern side, and two railway tracks and a bicycle path along its western side.

The road across the bridge is known as the Bradfield Highway and is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, making it one of the shortest highways in Australia. (The shortest, also called the Bradfield Highway, is found on the Story Bridge in Brisbane). At 151.3 feet (48.8 m) wide, it is the widest bridge in the world (Guinness World Records, 2004).

The bridge deck portion of the highway is 0.71 miles (1.1497 km) long. It is concrete and lies on trimmers (beams that run along the length of the bridge). The trimmers themselves rest on steel beams that run along the width of the bridge. The trimmers and beams are visible to boats that pass underneath the bridge.

The arch is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses. Their heights vary from 55.8 feet (18 m) at the center of the arch to 176.7 feet (57 m) (beside the pylons).

The arch span is 1,559 feet (503 m) and the weight of the steel arch is 39,000 tons. The arch’s summit is 415.4 feet (134 m) above mean sea level, though it can increase by as much as seven inches (180 mm) on hot days as the result of steel expanding in heat. Two large metal hinges at the base of the bridge accommodate these expansions and contractions and thereby prevent the arch from being damaged.

The two pairs of pylons at each end are about 276 feet (89 m) high and are made of concrete and granite. Abutments, which support the ends of the bridge, are contained at the base of the pylons. They prevent the bridge from stretching or compressing due to temperature variations. Otherwise, the pylons serve no structural purpose and are primarily to visually balance the bridge itself. They were originally not part of the design but were added later to allay concerns about structural integrity - ironically, as the pylons do not actually touch the bridge (except at road level). Although inserted into the designs for their aesthetic value all four pylons have now been put to use, a museum and tourist centre with a lookout of the harbour is contained in the south eastern pylon. The south western pylon is used by the New South Wales traffic authority as a base for their cctv cameras overlooking the bridge and the roads around that area. The two pylons on the north shore are now venting chimneys for fumes from the tunnel under the harbour.

The steel used for the bridge was largely imported. About 79% came from Redcar in the North East of Britain, the rest was Australian-made. The granite used was quarried in Moruya, New South Wales, and the concrete used was also Australian made.

The total weight of the bridge is 52,800 tonnes, and six million hand-driven rivets hold the bridge together.

Access

From the Sydney CBD side, motor vehicle access to the bridge is normally via Grosvenor Street, Clarence Street, Kent Street, the Cahill Expressway, or the Western Distributor. Drivers on the northern side will find themselves on the Warringah Freeway, though it is easy to turn off the freeway to drive westwards into North Sydney or eastwards to Neutral Bay and beyond upon arrival on the northern side.

Pedestrian access from the northern side involves climbing an easily-spotted flight of stairs at Milsons Point. Pedestrian access on the southern side is more complicated, but signposts in the Rocks area now direct pedestrians to the long and sheltered flight of stairs that leads to the bridge’s southern end. These stairs are located near Gloucester Street and Cumberland Street in the Sydney Rocks area.

The bridge can also be accessed from the south by getting on Cahill Walk, which runs along the Cahill Expressway. Pedestrians can access this walkway from Circular Quay by a flight of stairs, or a lift, alternately it can be accessed from The Botanical Gardens.

Since 1998, BridgeClimb has made it possible for tourists to climb the southern half of the bridge. Tours run at dawn, throughout the day, and at twilight.

The bridge lies between Milsons Point and Wynyard railway stations, located on the north and south shores respectively, with two train lines running along the western side of the bridge. Both stations are part of the North Shore line.

Tolls

To travel across the bridge there is a toll for vehicles of AUD$3.00. This toll is only charged for traffic headed into the CBD (southbound). No toll is charged for any other northbound traffic.

There are toll plazas at the northern and southern ends. The eastern-most southbound lanes (which continue over the Cahill Expressway after leaving the bridge) have their tollbooths at the northern end of the bridge, with the remainder being at the southern end of the bridge.

The toll was originally placed on bridge travel, in both direction, to recoup the cost of its construction. This cost was recovered in the 1980’s but the toll has been kept (indeed increased) as the State Government’s main roads infrastructure department (the RTA) does not want to lose the significant amounts of revenue the bridge brings in.

When the decision to build the Sydney Harbour Tunnel was made in the early 80’s, the toll was increased from 20 cents to $1, $1.50 then $2 by the time the Tunnel opened, to pay for its construction. The Tunnel also had an initial toll of $2 southbound. After the increase to $1, the concrete barrier on the Bridge separating the Bradfield Highway from the Cahill Expressway was increased in height, due to the large numbers of drivers crossing it illegally from lane 7 to 6, so they could avoid the toll. The Toll was increased to $3 around 2004 to penalize drivers of SUVs (who mostly live north of the city) for the extra damage they inflict on Sydney’s roads. This was met with similar protests from communities north of the city as were earlier increases.

Use of the bridge by bicycle riders (provided that they use the cycleway) and pedestrians is free.

History

Planning

The building of the current bridge can be said to have started in 1890, when a royal commission determined that there was a heavy level of ferry traffic in the Sydney Harbour area, best relieved with the construction of a bridge. Vehicular access to the north shore was undertaken with a series of smaller bridges located further westwards in the harbour, but this was insufficient for the traffic in the Sydney/North Sydney area.

Designs and proposals were requested in 1900, but a formal proposal was not accepted until 1911. In 1912, John Bradfield was appointed chief engineer of the bridge project, which also had to include a railway. He completed a formal design - the now familiar single arch shape - in 1916, but plans to implement the design were postponed until 1922, primarily because of World War I.

In November 1922 the NSW parliament passed laws that allowed the bridge’s construction. Construction tenders for the bridge were requested the same year, and the British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd, Middlesbrough won. To offset concerns about a foreign firm participating in the project, assurances were given by Bradfield that the workforce building the bridge would all be Australians.

The building of the bridge coincided with the construction of a system of underground railways in Sydney’s CBD, known today as the City Circle, and the bridge was designed with this in mind. The bridge was designed to carry six lanes of road traffic, flanked by two railway tracks and a footpath on each side. Both sets of rail tracks were linked into the underground Wynyard railway station, on the south side of the bridge, by symmetrical ramps and tunnels. The eastern-side railway tracks were intended for use by a planned rail link to the Northern Beaches; in the interim they were to be used to carry trams from the North Shore into a terminal within Wynyard station.

Construction

The building of the bridge was under the management of Bradfield. Three other persons were involved in the bridge’s design and construction: Laurence Ennis, the engineer-in-charge at Dorman Long and Co was the main supervisor (Bradfield visited occasionally throughout the project, and in particular at the many key stages of the project, to inspect progress and make managerial decisions); Edward Judge was Chief Technical Engineer of Dorman Long and later became President of the British Iron and Steel Federation; Sir Ralph Freeman was hired by the company to design the accepted model in further detail. Later a bitter disagreement broke out between Bradfield and Freeman as to who actually designed the bridge. Another name connected with the bridge’s design is that of Arthur Plunkett.

The construction project itself began in 1923, with the demolition of 800 homes. The owners of these homes received compensation, but their occupants did not.

The first stage of the bridge project was the building of two worksheds at Milson’s Point to assist in building the bridge - the light and heavy workshops. Their purpose was to build the bridge’s many parts.

The first sod for the bridge was turned that same year. In January 1925, the excavations to build the abutments and approach spans began. In October 1925, the building of the abutments and approach spans themselves began, and these were completed in September 1928. Construction of the bridge itself began in December 1928, with the construction of the bridge parts in the workshops.

Construction of the arch of the bridge began in 1929, with two separate teams building the arch on each side using creeper cranes. The first panel was erected on the southern side in March 1929. The southern end of the bridge was worked on a month ahead of the northern end, in order to detect any errors and to ensure that they did not happen on the northern side.

During construction the two halves of the arch were held up by numerous support cables. Once the arch halves were completed the cables were slowly released to bring the two halves of the arch together. This was finalised on the afternoon of 19 August 1930. Ennis and four associates personally witnessed this whilst standing on top of the bridge. Following a parting that occurred due to the contracting of metal in the evening, the ends were rejoined at 10 pm, and have remained joined since then. The support cables were then surplus to the design and removed. They were subsequently used to provide the support cables for the Walter Taylor Bridge, over the Brisbane River in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland.

The road and the two sets of tram and railway tracks were completed in 1931. Power and telephone lines, and water, gas and drainage pipes were also all added to the bridge in that year. On 19 January 1932, the first test train, a steam locomotive, safely crossed the bridge. About 90 others also crossed the bridge in the months that followed as part of a series of tests to ensure the bridge’s safety.

The construction worksheds were demolished after the bridge was completed, and the land that they were on is now occupied by Luna Park and the North Sydney swimming pool.

The standards of industrial safety during construction were poor by today’s standards. Sixteen workers died during construction, mainly from falling off the bridge. Several more were injured from unsafe working practices undertaken whilst heating and constructing its rivets, and deafness experienced by many of the workers in later years was blamed on the project.

The total financial cost of the bridge was £10,057,170 7 shillings and 9 pence (double the original quote). This was not paid off in full until 1988.
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Beaches in Sydney

Sydney’s two types of beach (harbour and Ocean) are some of its greatest assets. They’re hugely popular on warm weekends but Sydneysiders also swim before or after (or instead of) going to work. The beaches are easily accessible and usually good, although some post warnings that swimming is inadvisable after heavy rains because of stormwater run-off.

Swimming is generally safe, but at the ocean beaches you’re only allowed to swim within the ‘flagged’ areas patrolled by the famed surf life-savers. Efforts are made to keep surfers separate from swimmers.

Shark patrols operate during the summer, and ocean beaches are generally netted. Many of Sydney’s beaches are ‘topless’, but check to see what the locals are doing first. There are also a couple of nude beaches.

Harbour Beaches - South

Lady Bay Beach There are great views of the harbour for the nudists who frequent this little beach.

Camp Cove Near Lady Bay, this is a quiet family-friendly beach.

Shark Beach Despite the name, this beach is perfectly safe, as it’s been netted. It’s popular for picnics and family groups.

Harbour Beaches - North

Manly Cove A good suburban beach, with netting.

Reef Beach On the Scenic Walkway, this beach is not nudist, despite what you may have heard.

Clontarf Another popular and pretty beach for families.

Chinaman’s Beach Gorgeous, peaceful and serene.

Balmoral Lovely, but the crowds can be a little too much.

Ocean Beaches - South

Bondi Beach Maybe not the biggest, nor the best, but there’s something about Bondi that keeps thousands flocking here on a hot day.

Tamarama Also known as ‘Glamarama’. Popular with models and the generically gorgeous. Watch out for the infamously strong rips here.

Bronte A fantastic beach, with lots of room for picnics and a good stretch of nearby cafes.

Clovelly Safe for swimming and a great spot for snorkelling.

Maroubra A large beach with good surf breaks, although the locals can be fierce about out-of towners dropping in on their waves.

Ocean Beaches - North

Freshwater This is a nice beach, not too rough, and popular with local teenagers.
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Sightseeing in Sydney

Overview

Who can argue with the claim that Sydney has the most magnificent harbor in the world? Its intricate coastal geography of headlands and secluded bays is the stunning setting for two of the modern world’s most ambitious architectural achievements – the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is therefore hardly surprising that much tourist attention is focused on the harbor, with the revived cobbled charm of The Rocks, the perpetual motion of people arriving and departing Circular Quay and the enduring awe that visitors experience at the steps of the Opera House.

But behind these modern monoliths, there is a wealth of history, culture and tradition. In inner-city Sydney, Macquarie Place and Macquarie Street are characterized by their imposing Victorian banking chambers and municipal buildings, while further afield, the areas of Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Paddington are thriving cosmopolitan communities, each with their own distinct character. Kings Cross, renowned more for its red light district, has a bustling café society, while Darlinghurst comes alive every March for the world-famous Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Paddington has a more genteel feel, with its fashionable restaurants, galleries, antique shops and restored Victorian terraces complete with wrought-iron lace verandahs.

Passes

The All Day Pass & Tower & Aquarium package from Captain Cook Cruises incorporates entry to Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Tower and a hop-on, hop-off harbor cruise departing from Circular Quay. Tickets are available from any of these attractions and cost A$59.

The Darling Harbour Super Ticket, costing A$62 and available at the Sydney Aquarium, includes entry to the Sydney Aquarium and the Chinese Garden, Matilda Rocket Harbour cruise, a monorail ride, a meal at the Aqua Bar and Grill, discount entry to the Powerhouse Museum and IMAX Theater and discount travel on the People Mover train.

Combined ferry and attraction admission passes are available from the Sydney Ferries ticket office at Circular Quay. For example, the A$33.50 Zoo Pass includes return ferry and bus transport to Taronga Zoo, entry to the zoo and an aerial cable ride.

Key Attractions:

Sydney Opera House

In April of 1966, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, Jørn Utzon, left Australia, never to return. His grand architectural vision was only half completed, but arguments with the State government over the spiralling cost of the project meant that the interior complex of auditoria, theaters, restaurants and bars was completed by other architects. In spite of its compromised genesis, the building instantly became a world icon on opening in 1973. Utzon has never seen the completed building but in recent years has collaborated on a A$70 million interior refurbishment that will bring the building closer to his original vision – including a 14-meter long tapestry that was installed in September 2004. The four main auditoria (the Concert Hall, the Playhouse, the Opera Theater and the Drama Theater) stage a total of 3,000 performances per year.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Not to be outdone by the imposing grandeur of the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is, in its own right, a feat of engineering genius. Affectionately known as ‘the Coathanger’, it took 1,400 workers (16 of whom perished in the process) eight years to complete the bridge, which opened in 1932. If the views from the Pylon Lookout across Sydney Harbour and over the Opera House are not spectacular enough, the Bridge Climb gives thrill-seekers the chance to walk to the top of the 50-story-high bridge (over the cars and trains rumbling across the deck below) and down the other side. Paul ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Hogan, a bridge-painter in a former lifetime, was one of the first to climb the bridge.

The Rocks

Nestled at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Rocks (Sydney’s historical birthplace) is a neighborhood of winding streets, sandstone cottages and some of Sydney’s oldest pubs. The site of the first landing from Plymouth in England, in 1788, the area is now a busy tourist enclave, with cafés, restaurants, galleries, museums and countless souvenir shops.

Among the district’s historic buildings are the Hero of Waterloo inn (built over a tunnel that was originally used for smuggling), the Sydney Observatory (on the site of the colony’s first windmill), Cadman’s Cottage (Sydney’s oldest building, built in 1816) and Susannah Place (a museum of working-class life). Other attractions include the Museum of Contemporary Art and The Rocks Toy Museum.

The Rocks, Sydney Harbour
Transport: CityRail or ferry Circular Quay.

Darling Harbour

A former dockside area, this small harbor has been transformed into a major tourist site. The vast, paved and landscaped recreation ground is packed with restaurants and shops, as well as a number of tourist attractions. These include the Powerhouse Museum, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, IMAX Theater and the Chinese Garden of Friendship, a gift to Sydney from its sister city of Guangdong in China.

Bondi Beach

Bondi is one of the world’s most perfect beaches, a white crescent of sand strung between two rocky headlands, situated just 15 minutes from the city center. The waterfront scene, with its street musicians, surf shops and bars is ideal for a summer evening’s prowl or a lazy saunter past Campbell Parade’s restaurants, cafés and Sunday markets. Topless sunbathing is tolerated and swimmers should stick to the patrolled areas of North Bondi or Bondi Baths, on the southern rocks. The coastal walk takes in the whole gamut of beach cultures, from the wild surf and gleaming bodies at Tamarama to the palm-fringed views of Bronte and the soothing sea pools at Coogee.

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Featuring the Yiribana Gallery, the world’s largest permanent exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is one of Australia’s foremost art museums. Among its most impressive exhibitions is its Australian art collection, extending from the early colonial period to the mid-20th century. The recently completed Asian Galleries showcase the gallery’s significant Asian collection and touring exhibitions. Shortlisted portraits in the Archibald Prize (Australia’s most prestigious art award) are exhibited here annually.

Sydney Tower

Standing 250m (820ft) above Market Street, Sydney Tower is the city’s tallest building, with views over the city, the Harbour, the Olympic Park and as far as Terrigal Beach, 100km (62 miles) to the north. Entry to the observation deck includes the Skytour – a 35-minute virtual tour/ride on the podium level.

Royal Botanic Gardens

A short walk from the Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens sits on a slope overlooking the harbor and covers 30 hectares (74 acres) in the heart of the city. Established in 1816, it is Australia’s oldest scientific institution and home to over one million specimens. Highlights include the Sydney Tropical Center and the Rose Garden; there is a hop-on hop-off trackless train to get around them all.
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Activities in Sydney

Sydney’s cultural life is uniquely diverse, from high classical at the Sydney Opera House to the most cutting-edge contemporary and experimental performance art. The Opera House is the major focus of attention for classical music, opera, theater and dance.

Cultural productions and events are listed in ‘Metro’, the Friday edition entertainment section of the Sydney Morning Herald (website: www.smh.com.au). Further listings and information are provided online (website: www.sydney.citysearch.com.au).

Music: The Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point , is the premier performance venue for classical music. The Sydney Symphony , the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs , Opera Australia and the Australian Chamber Orchestra hold most of their performances at the Opera House.

The Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Ultimo Center, Harris Street , tends to be used for smaller performances, as does Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street , and City Recital Hall, Angel Place . The Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie Street , hosts symphony, wind and chamber concerts as well as jazz big bands.

Theater: The Sydney Theater Company is the city’s stylish flagship theater company. Performances take place at the Wharf Theaters, Pier 4, Hickson Road , the brand new Sydney Theater, 22 Hickson Road ( and the Opera House, Bennelong Point. Acting luminaries, such as Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchett, have performed at the highly respected Belvoir Street Theater, 25 Belvoir Street . The Performance Space, 199 Cleveland Street , and the Seymour Theater Center, Cleveland Street and City Road , are the main venues for more left-field contemporary performance.

Musicals are staged at the Capitol Theater, 13 Campbell Street , the State Theater, 49 Market Street , and the Lyric Theater, Star City, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont . Newer Australian playwrights stage their work at the Stables Theater, 10 Nimrod Street . Sydney’s longest established theater is the Ensemble, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli .

Dance: The Australian Ballet performs mainly traditional pieces during its summer and winter season at the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point . Similarly, the Sydney Dance Company , the city’s leading contemporary dance group, performs at the Opera House for two seasons per year. The Bangarra Dance Theater, Pier 4/5 Hickson Road , performs a fusion of contemporary and traditional dance at various venues throughout the city. The company also tours extensively, both nationally and internationally.

Film: The city’s central cinemas, situated near Town Hall, have all merged into the 17-screen Village Greater Union Hoyts George Street, 505 George Street . Fox Studios Australia, Lang Road, Moore Park , is home to two cinema complexes - Hoyts, which includes the luxury La Premiere cinema , and the arthouse, Cinema Paris . Other arthouse cinemas include the Academy Twin, 3a Oxford Street , home to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Film Festival , the Chauvel, Paddington Town Hall , and the Art Deco Hayden Orpheum, 380 Military Road . First-run movies open on Thursday and discount night is on Tuesday.

The Sydney Film Festival takes place every year in June, with most screenings in the magnificent marble auditorium of the State Theater, 49 Market Street . Makers of short films enter Tropfest every February/March, with finalists shown on open-air screens set up in the Domain - a large park on the fringe of the city center.

Notable films set or partially set in Sydney include Peter Weir’s The Last Wave (1977), P J Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding (1993), Stephan Elliot’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1993), Ray Lawrence’s Lantana (2001) and Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich’s animated feature Finding Nemo (2003).

Cultural Events: Sydney Festival, held in January, features open-air concerts and theater from around the world, alongside Sydney’s best. The Biennale of Sydney, held from May to July of even-numbered years, is an international contemporary art festival held in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a month-long festival in February/March, which is famous for its colorful parade along Oxford Street, attracting over half a million spectators every year.

Royal Easter Show is a traditional 12-day show that brings farm life to the city during April. The Festival of the Winds is Australia’s largest kite-flying competition, held annually in September at Bondi Beach. Manly Jazz Festival, held on the Labor Day long weekend in October, is Australia’s largest, longest and best-known jazz festival, featuring traditional, big band, fusion, pop and contemporary jazz. Sleaze Ball, a fundraiser for the Mardi Gras Festival, is also held on the Labor Day long weekend in October. Up to 16,000 gay and lesbian revelers dress to a theme and party all night at Fox Studios.

Literary Notes: ‘One of the finest, most beautiful, vast and safe bays the sun had ever shone upon,’ wrote inveterate traveller Joseph Conrad in 1906. Sydney Harbour continues to inspire eulogies from writers, including Miles Franklin who, in 1946, wrote: ‘A month would not be long enough to imbibe such beauty.’ More recently, Clive James, the writer, satirist, broadcaster and critic, was rather more blunt: ‘Sydney is like Venice without the architecture but with more sea.’

Sydney’s literary luminaries include Peter Carey, who lived in the city before moving to New York, and set his Booker Prize-winning Oscar and Lucinda (1988) in 19th-century Sydney, where country girl Lucinda dreams of self-reliance and an industrial utopia. David Williamson, Australia’s most successful playwright, calls Sydney home. His Emerald City (1987) is a comedic hymn to the city’s temptations.

Patrick White, Australia’s Nobel laureate, lived in Sydney for most of his life, and passionately evoked the city’s artistic life in The Vivisector (1970). An idiosyncratic streak led Sydney-born Thomas Keneally from the priesthood to the life of a full-time novelist. He published his first novel in 1964 and was awarded the Booker Prize for Schindler’s Ark (1982).

Teenagers Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette wrote Puberty Blues (1979) as an expose of the sexual rites of passage of teens at the beach suburb of Cronulla. Robin Dalton’s Aunts Up the Cross (1965) is an affectionate memoir of Kings Cross in the 1930s, while John Birmingham’s Leviathan (2000) takes a more cynical look at the city’s history of criminals, ‘razor gangs’ and corruption.

Modern Sydney receives a sanction of sorts from one of its favorite sons, world famous art critic Robert Hughes, who wrote: ‘The provinciality that seemed to characterize Australian society, and could be plainly seen in Sydney 25 years ago, is all but gone. To a striking degree, the city’s habits have softened … Sydney is no longer quite so keen on the ‘ocker’ (Pacific redneck) image of the Australian: beer gut, thongs, nasal foghorn voice and a truculent certainty that, short of Paradise itself, Australia is the only ticket and that the rest of the world only displays its inferiority by not necessarily wanting to come here.’

Sport:

Sydney’s acres of coastline and parkland make it a dream destination for sports enthusiasts and lovers of the great outdoors. During the summer, Bondi shows off the bodies beautiful of surfers, rollerbladers and sunbathers. The region boasts some of the world’s top surfing conditions and the best beaches for beginners are Manly, Curl Curl, Freshwater or North Bondi. Surf aficionados in search of bigger waves should head for the beaches of North Narrabeen, South Maroubra, Newport, South Bondi and Queenscliff.

Waves aside, the ocean pools offer swimmers a spectacular alternative to chlorinated lanes. Scuba divers are also well served, with a number of local marine parks. For the international yachting set, Sydney Harbour is the starting point for one of the biggest fixtures of the year, the 2,000km (1,240-mile) Sydney to Hobart race.

Australians adore cricket and Sydney is no exception. The cricket season (October to March) includes Test and World Series Cup matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Driver Avenue . During the rugby and football season (March to September) soccer games, rugby league and rugby union matches are held at the Aussie Stadium, Moore Park . Sydney’s Aussie Rules football team, the Sydney Swans , plays at the Sydney Cricket Ground and enjoys considerable support.

Bush-walking: The national parks in and around Sydney offer some spectacular bush-walks. Routes and information can be obtained from Sydney Harbour Parks or the National Parks and Wildlife Service . (more…)