Darling of a Harbour

We walk from our favourite adopted Italian coffee place in the Strand Arcade on George Street Sydney. They’ve changed the menu, took off my granola and brought in a muesli. Not amused . We are in Sydney, but communication with Italian waiters is frustrating.

Twenty minutes’ walk from the coffee shop, we are in Darling Harbour. From the upper road, the sight of boats is impressive, so we decide to walk the marina. We check the IMAX cinema, said to be the third largest in the world.

The Whinging Pome Random Rule No. 328: “I only go to movies if something grabs me or I get a raving review.” Neither of these apply, so we carry on our tour. Just to qualify, I live five minutes from The Shang Mall cinema on the top floor. I do six visits a year.

“Holi Plus”, an India mega event, is taking place, all within a controlled outdoor fenced area, but we get good views of the event without paying. I’ve done Holi in Jaipur on an open double-decker, where we nearly got garroted by overhead electrical wires. Here there is a massive covered stage and thousands of colourful partygoers splashing coloured powder everywhere. A unanimous decision is instantly made, we move on.

We pass a signboard that highlights what is to be seen beyond the amazing harbour area with its yachts, shops, eateries, and strolling tourists. The National Maritime Museum ships stand out with their old-style masts and rigging.

You can view the outside of the museum, it is an impressive array of ships from different eras. More of an issue the two ladies do not want to go into the museum. I wanted to check out what was new since my last visit a decade ago.

The below paragraph is for the boys:

HMAS Vampire, the largest ship in the museum, launched in 1986, saw no military action. 

HMAS Advance, a coastal patrol ship of the nineteen eighties.

HMAS Endeavour is a replica of Captain Cook’s ship of the 1770s, but is a sea-going replica.

In the 1970s, the declining industrial port was an eyesore, but in 1984 the area revitalisation programme started, bringing leisure activity, boating, cafés, and retail.

In this area called Tumbalong, years ago, it meant  “a place where seafood is found”. It was occupied by Indigenous people for decades. European smallpox tragically eradicated most of the Cadigal local people.

In the eighteen hundreds it was called Cockle Bay. Darling Harbour was renamed in memory of General Sir Ralph Darling, Governor of New South Wales.

In the 1970s, the declining industrial port was an eyesore, but in 1984 the area revitalisation programme started, bringing leisure activity, boating, cafés, and retail. There is a Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour, linked to Guangdong, with willow trees and greenery, but we do not make it.

In 1994, David Lang fired two blank shots in this area at Charles later the King Third ? Amazing to think how history might have changed had the shots not been blanks.  A late lunch is on the cards and we decide to walk around Darling Harbour to rows of seafood restaurants, bars, and ferries . We go for Great food, but the table is sticky and I refuse to eat unless they cover the table.

We walk back and catch a ferry back to Woolomooo. Arriving back, we climb the hill and head down to The Lord Nelson, the oldest pub in Sydney. We sit outside with a drop of ale and watch the world go by. I am happy in this area, it is older, more traditional, with great properties and fewer crowds.

Eight girls pedal past us on an open beer vehicle, they are pedalling. There is a bride, not sure if she is going to or from the wedding. This could be a pre-event, it is a fun time out. One sober person on the pedal machine is a man who steers the craft.