DK Travel : Sydney : Places of interest

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Town Hall

John Henry Wilson originally designed Sydney’s civic headquarters in 1868. The front steps of this Victorian building, with its 1884 clock tower, elegant 1877 vestibule and grand 1889 Centennial Hall, have been a favourite meeting place for Sydneysiders since the original porte cochère facing George Street was removed in 1934.
Turkish

Catch a train into Auburn and it’s a short stroll to the heart of the Turkish community. Try kebabs and pide , Turkish pizza, at Sofra. Finish up with a thick Turkish coffee and dondurma, traditional ice cream made from salep (orchid tubers) at Mado.
Tusculum & Rockwall Villas

“Villa conditions” were actually established in the 1830s to ensure that the hillside overlooking Woolloomooloo Bay attracted the “right sort”. All new houses had to face Government House, cost a fortune, and be approved by the governor of the day. John Verge designed both Tusculum and Rockwall. The Australian Institute of Architects now occupies the former, which has a great bookshop specializing in architectural titles. Rock-wall is a private residence originally built for engineer John Busby, whose bore delivered Sydney’s first permanent fresh water supply.
Vaucluse House

William Charles Wentworth purchased this property, built in 1803, in 1827. Wentworth was a major figure in the early colony – a barrister, explorer and statesman, he railed against the privileges enjoyed by the English-born colonists and lobbied for self-government. The Wentworths lived in this Gothic house until 1861. It has been a public museum since 1910.
Victoria Barracks

Occupying 12 ha (30 acres), these barracks were built between 1841 and 1848. They are immediately recognizable from Oxford Street by their high sandstone walls; many regard this complex of late Georgian buildings as one of the finest military barracks in the world. The architect was Major George Barney, who also designed Fort Denison. Until 1870 the barracks were home to British troops; today they are an Australian Army facility. The Army Museum is housed in the former military prison and contains several interesting exhibits tracing the military heritage of New South Wales.
Victoria Street

This leafy stretch of Victorian terrace houses in Potts Point was a major flashpoint during the 1970s Green Bans (see Builders’ Labourers Impose Green Bans). Pressure to demolish the terraces to make way for high-rise developments was resisted by residents and Juanita Nielsen, the local community newspaper publisher. On 4 July 1975, Nielsen attended a meeting at the Carousel Club in nearby Kings Cross; she was never seen again. Nobody in Sydney has any doubt as to the motive of her killer or killers.
Victorian Terrace Houses

Many of Paddington’s lovely terrace houses, with their narrow frontages, iron-work verandahs and pocket-handkerchief gardens, were erected following the construction of the Victoria Barracks in the 1840s. The area went into decline during 1931′s Great Depression, but an influx of migrants revitalized the area after WWII. Many of those migrants moved out following the suburb’s gentrification in the 1960s and ’70s. Some of the most interesting examples of the Victorian terrace style are found in Glenmore and Jersey Roads, and Cascade, Liverpool, Windsor and Paddington Streets.

Victorian terrace houses in Paddington
Watsons Bay

Named after Robert Watson, the quartermaster on the HMS Sirius (see A Walk from Circular Quay to the QVB), this bay has been the base for Sydney Harbour’s pilot boats since the 1800s. Uphill from Robertson Park are the Greycliffe Memorial Gates, which commemorate the 41 people who lost their lives when the ferry Greycliffe went down in 1927.
Whiteley Studio

Tucked down a Surry Hills backstreet, the former studio of artist Brett Whiteley is now a public museum and art gallery. Whiteley painted some of Sydney’s most iconic works. He loved the harbour and the nude, and both feature in his paintings. In 1985 he converted this former factory into a studio but, just seven years later, he was found dead from a heroin overdose in a motel room in the south coast township of Thirroul. The gallery has regular exhibitions and displays the artist’s studio much as it was before he died.
Windsor

Governor Macquarie established five towns in 1810 on the fertile land around the upper Hawkesbury River, one of which was Windsor, now a weekend tourist haven. The town’s wonderful Colonial buildings include one of Australia’s oldest pubs, the 1815 Macquarie Arms Hotel, as well as the 1823 St Mathew’s Anglican Church and Rectory, designed by Francis Greenway (see Francis Greenway: Convict Architect).