Life on the Rocks

Arriving in what is now known as Australia, Cook, Phillip, and other vanguards of the British colonists declared it terra nullius - 'land belonging to no-one' - and claimed it under the international law of the same name. Disregarding the indigenous population, the British set up penal colonies on the new land, bringing convicts and free settlers, who settled initially in Sydney. In actual fact, Europeans had arrived on the shores of terra australis long before Cook's landing in 1788 - most notably the Dutch exploration of the western coast as early as 1606.

Queen Victoria and her building

One of the first areas to be settled by the British in modern-day Sydney is 'The Rocks', now occupying a prime piece of real estate on the opposite side of Circular Quay facing the Opera House. The people there literally lived 'on the rocks', as the buildings were constructed from the Hawksbury sandstone on which they still stand.

The area quickly descended into a slum, filled with boozing sailors and dockworkers, gambling, prostitution and general vice. A movement to promote temperance (the moderate cousin of outright prohibition) was started and succeeded in decreasing the saturation of pubs in the area, but largely failed to curb the consumption of alcohol in the long term. Many of the buildings were demolished following the outbreak of the bubonic plague that was visited upon the area in the early 20th century and, shortly thereafter, as collateral damage in the construction of the harbour bridge.

We discovered all this and more at the suitably named Rocks Discovery Centre before seguing (not Segwaying) into a walk over Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge, built between 1923 and 1932, is truly a multi-modal connection between Millers Point and Milsons Point, offering dedicated lanes for cyclists, pedestrians, trains, motor vehicles, and (originally but now defunct) trams. It offers an excellent aspect on the Opera House and is very much a part of Sydney life - a sponsored walk was taking place as we made our return trip.

Sydney Harbour from the bridge

At 1pm we presented ourselves at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) for a guided tour. The guide was challenging as much as she was informative. I find that interpreting modern artwork is often difficult, and so I was grateful for a second, considered opinion against which to contrast my own. However, the collection also features some modern aboriginal works, including this piece by the excellently named Gordon Bennet that sums up the treatment of the indigenous people by the European settlers in six alliterative illustrations.

A people dispossessed

After our cultural education in Australia's modernist movement, we continued educating our palette with its craft revolution at The Harts pub.

I <3 Harts

Despite the rich heritage in taverns and bars in the area, Harts occupies an ostentatious castellated building that was once a private residence, which, having survived demolition, was only very recently converted into a craft beer establishment and purveyor of Australian ales, including those from Sydney's own The Rocks.

After a 'meet the brewer' event with NSW's Nomad and Italy's Birra del Borgo on Wednesday, selections from both were still available on the taps. We threw temperance to the wind and supped two tasting paddles, which included excellent samples of Nomad's Long Trip saison, a stellar 4-way collaboration APA, Se La Reale, between del Borgo, BridgeRoad, Lervig, and To Øl, as well as the Nomad/Cigar City Ribery brown ale, which tasted of dried fruit and nuts. An honourable mention also goes to The Rocks' Butcher porter.

The Rocks is also home to the observatory, set on top of a hill overlooking the harbour bridge, which originally - like Greenwich - kept time for the local area, indicating the hour with a regular 'ball drop'. The view over the harbour and surrounding area is stunning and commands a high price ($100 per 15 minutes) for wedding photography. As it happened, a wedding party was in full swing as we strolled the grounds, and a large cruise ship hove into view and squeezed its massive bulk improbably under the bridge.

Will it fit?

The west coast of Milsons Point is currently being heavily developed, buy many of the original small houses remain, reminding me of UK south-coast harbour towns, particularly Portsmouth. There is a similar mix of low-rise, stone terraced buildings, functioning as residences, boutiques and cafés, interspersed with a few tall modern glass apartments. I am led to understand that there is increasing pressure for to yield the current properties, many of which provide social housing, to development.

Over the Pyrmont Bridge, the area was a complete contrast - being a constructed mall that runs the length of Darling Harbour. That said, the promenade allowed pedestrians to enjoy the harbour side, while the traffic was far removed on the overhead flyovers.

Darling Harbour

Our walk took us through Tumbalong Park and ended in Sydney's China Town district. We have also seen similar Thai and Korea towns signposted, but today's market along Dixon Street attracted a large crowd for the stalls selling steamed buns and cheap imported plastic items. The hard sell that we have become accustomed to in such marketplaces was conspicuous in its absence. In fact, we marvelled at the wide aisles and orderliness at Paddy's indoor market, where similar set-ups in SE Asia have stall vendors operating cheek by jowl.

In the evening, we met up with a friend, who emigrated from the UK over 6 years ago and now lives in Canberra with his Australian wife and family. Having been regular visitors to Sydney, they recommended the venue for the evening - Din Tai Fung on World Square.

Being quiet and relaxed throughout the week, the streets of Sydney came alive on Friday evening; the restaurant and its competitors were busy with people enjoying the balmy evening air.

Gao zi at Din Tai Fung

Specialising in authentic Chinese food and dim sum, the restaurant served up a selection of dishes including a "vegetarian delight" (cold salad of tofu strips, seaweed, glass noodles), vegetarian jiao zi (dumplings), vegetarian bao zi (buns), and dan dan noodles (tahini-creamy sesame chilli noodles). Washed down with one or three Coopers' Pale Ales, it was the perfect accompaniment to some catching up. Fully sated, we ventured out into the bright lights of Sydney's start to the weekend and saw the city by night.