Sydney - Day 3

26 Nov 2006, Sunday - Still catching up....

After the night's rest, we were refreshed and ready to explore more of Sydney again. We had our breakfast (Esmond had his fried rice from the previous night) and headed out to the Central Station to take the train to Circular Key for The Rocks Weekend Market.




Central Train Station - one of the major interchange in Sydney train networks




View from Circular Quay station....

On the way to the market, we stopped by Cadmans Cottage, a cottage dating back to the late 1700s and served as the HQ for Sydney Water Police (a.k.a coast guards), accommodation for sailors and visiting merchant ships and now as a heritage site to provide insight into the colonial past of Sydney.












The Cadmans Cottage was also the residence of John and Elizabeth Cadman. John Cadman was arrested in Brewdley, England on 19th Dec 1796 for stealing a horse and subsequently sentenced to death for his crime. Fortunately for him, King George III was busy populating his new colony in the southern hemisphere and Cadman's death sentence was changed to lifetime in exile in NSW. In 1809, he was employed in Sydney's Government Dockyard and received his condition pardon in 1814. He was appointed Government Coxwain on 01 Jan 1827 and moved into Cadmans Cottage where he lived for 17 years. He later married Elizabeth Mortimer, a 35 year old woman with 2 small daughters in 1830.













It's a little ironic to see a convict sentenced to death and subsequently appointed to be a high ranking government official who was regarded as a "honest, industrious, steady and attentive man". Either the justice system in England back then was flawed (i.e. to sentence a desperate man to death because he stole a horse) or England was so desperate to have people running his new colony that he'd appoint any convict to do the job. This scenario is not limited to John Cadman alone. There are other high ranking officials and successful businessmen who were convicts sentenced to exile who "made it" down under.

We also learnt that aboriginal occupation in Sydney dated 7500 years back from 1769. And when British's first fleet arrived on 26 Jan 1788, they have the cheek to proclaim that Sydney was a free land (a.k.a. no habitation / nobody was living there) and claimed the land to be theirs, writing off the Aboriginees' existence and right to occupy and live there.

The Rocks, a heritage site of old shops and warehouses, was spared the demolition after protests by Sydney residents in 1950s. As the area (now occupied by Sydney CBD, Opera House and Harbour Bridge) was heavily populated by the lower income group. Hence, they were strongly against the demolition of their home for fear of not being able to afford to buy another one at the suburbs surrounding the CBD. There were also another group that were protesting against the demolition of Sydney's history as the site signifies the beginning.

After much protest, discussion and ding donging, it was agreed that a small part of the area (The Rocks) will be preserved, hence this sight...


Old heritage buildings "progressing" into modern structures...

At long last, we came to The Rocks Weekend Market. It's a medium sized market packed with crowds! It's an art and crafts market with some stall selling nibbies (a.k.a. food to stuff the 'itchy' mouth). It's become so popular that it has turned into a market for tourists, with prices specially catered for the visitors too!

This monument was erected to commemorate "the Settlers". Governor Phillip (1788-1792) was given the power to grant land in small parcels to ex-convicts and any other persons who wants to settle in NSW. Not only are they given land, they are also given seed, livestock, farm implements and even convict labour! The first 11 free immigrants (i.e. not convicts, who choose to migrate to AU) arrived in Sydney in 1793, in response to repeated requests for experienced farmers, mechanics and convict supervisors. Between 1788 and 1830, 63,000 convicts and 14,000 free migrants arrived in Sydney. In 1831, land grants were abolished and land were then sold at fixed prices with the revenue going back to the Crown. Between 1830 and 1850, 83,000 convicts and 173,000 free migrants arrived - bringing Australia's population to 400,000. It was said that at that time, there were only 7 women to 10 men. During the Gold Rush period of 1850 to 1860, population increased to 1,145,000 signalling the beginning of the immigration of diverse range of nationalities that make up today's Australia.

So during those days, being a convict doesn't necessarily mean that you are doomed. In fact, quite a few of these convicts made it big in AU. To think that instead of being locked up in a prison, a convict is given land, seeds etc, some were even promoted to take charge of government positions!

And not to be left behind, even Westpac has its own museum on The Rocks!

We also visited The Rocks Musuem (Entry = FOC, any donations are welcomed) which showcased the early settlement and the development of the areas through time. There are also old artifacts , tools, clothes etc exhibited.

Next, we headed down to Sydney's famous red light district - Kings Cross.

- bustling with activities (though somewhat at a reduced level...) even in the day

Don't be mistaken, we are not there for the "shoddy" entertainment. What we are after is something that will never be found in Singapore or Malaysia. Take a guess....

No.... it's not legalised brothels / peep show / gay joints.....

It's a Jewish Museum! By the time we arrived in Kings Cross, it was already past one. So armed with a map, we headed for 146 Darlinghurst Road. On our way there, we went past....

This sign is still here! We saw it when we were visiting 4 years ago!

The overpass offers a view of Sydney CBD from another side of town

We also saw a very peculiar vending machine.

Guess what it's selling....

Shringes! For $2 each!!! This is the first time that we see them sold in vending machines! And there are no QC to check the buyer's purpose... This makes it easy for drug users (which we saw a few during our walk there....)

They even provide them with bins to throw the used needles. Very considerate....

As it was lunch time, we need to satisfy our growling stomach so we will them up with Thai Food. This is the second day in a row that we've had Thai food in Sydney. Seriously speaking, there are A LOT of Thai restaurants / eateries in Sydney.

Don't they look absolutely scrumptious?

We had beef salad, Thai green curry, and fried prawn coated with mince meat for the cheap price of $22! We were so engrossed in our food, that we forgot about the time! And by the time we are standing outside the museum, it was 10 minutes to its closing time. So we decided to return to the museum the next morning.

Waiting for the train to bring us back to Circular Quay...

With some time to kill until 7pm that night, we went back to Circular Quay and strode to the Opera House. There were performers / buskers and a lot of crowd! We had no clue as to the reason for the jammed packed situation. It wasn't exactly peak tourist season yet because it wasn't summer and school breaks were a week away.

A busker with the Didgeridoo....

The temperature dropped! It was a lot cooler compared to Day 2, so much so that we had to put on our jackets!

We ventured towards the Opera House, squeezed through the crowds, had ice cream and coffee by the bay while we enjoy the scenery...

When we got near to the Opera House, we finally knew what was going on.... it was the Australian Idols' finals! There were screaming fans all over and security was quite tight. Some people tried to get into the venue through the back door but was stopped by the guards!

Look at the amount of people there!

We went by the sides to get to the Opera House... They can't possible close off the Opera House coz thousands of tourists visit her everyday. No such thing as a "closed icon"...

Come 5.30pm, we decided to leave the crowd and head for BBQ King (again!) to pack some food for our dinner with Esmond's uncle & family in Epping.

It was great catching up with them again.