Day 64 – Sydney, Australia – 1:20 PM

I landed in Sydney two days ago after a quick flight from Bellina, south of Byron Bay.  On my last day in Byron Bay,  I walked to the Byron Bay Lighthouse.  Aside from being the most eastern point in Australia, the walk provided opportunities to photograph the rocky cliffs and beaches that lined the coast.  The out-and-back trek measured just under 6 miles and was a perfect way to wrap up my time in Byron Bay.

The sunny skies that I trekked under to the Byron Bay Lighthouse faded as I flew south and landed in Sydney.  Raindrops danced against the windows of my Virgin Australian flight as we pulled up to our gate and deplaned.  That was thirty-eight hours ago and the rain has not slowed since.  It is a bit frustrating when you are in a major world city on the other side of the globe and rain falls for your entire stay.  However, I am not going to let it confine me to my hostel.  Yesterday, I pulled on my rain gear, laced up my hiking shoes and decided to walk along Woolloomooloo Bay and Farm Cove.  My goal was to wander in the direction of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Being such photographed landmarks, I needed to see these institutions up close, even if I became inundated with rain in the process.

As I approached the opera house, I was surprised by its size.  Again, I’ve only seen it in photographs and it is quite different when viewed in person.  I stood at a distance to fit the entire structure into the frame of my camera.  After some time wiping rain drops from my lens, I climbed the steps and entered the main foyer.  Before me stood the box office with people queued to purchase tickets. Tour groups meandered in all directions while others browsed the opera house gift shop.  I approached the box office in hopes of attending a live performance during my stay.  There was a concert scheduled for later that night, but the tickets were already sold out.  There was an opera scheduled for tonight, but the cheapest tickets were close to $300 Australian Dollars.  I settled for the $37, hour-long tour.

Our tour guide, a Scotsman, led us through many areas of the opera house that are restricted otherwise.  He explained to us the history of the structure, while pointing out many key features that the common man would miss.  Completed in 1973, the Sydney Opera House first grew in the imagination of Denmark’s Jørn Utzon some eighteen years earlier.  In 1955, the government of New South Wales held an international competition to design a structure that would house large scale theatrical and musical productions.  It would sit atop Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, the present day location of the Sydney Opera House.  Utzon’s design was originally cast aside until a 4th individual was added to the judging panel.  They revisited Utzon’s drawing and declared him the winner in 1957.  Construction began later that year.

For the next sixteen years, Utzon, along with a large team of architects and engineers struggled to fine tune the design and make it structurally sound.  Changes in government in New South Wales and their desire to alter the original design led to Utzon’s resignation from the project in February 1966.  Peter Hall, along with a group of other architects, was brought in to bring the Sydney Opera House to completion.  Seven years later, in 1973, construction on the Sydney Opera House was completed and the venue was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II.  Sadly, there was no mention of Jørn Utzon during the opening ceremonies.  Nor did he ever return to Sydney to see his structure completed prior to his death in 2008.

However, in 1999, hoping to reconcile with Utzon, the Sydney Opera House Trust consulted him on future restoration projects.  Utzon’s son, Jan, remains closely linked with the Trust and has taken on the roll of ensuring his father’s design principles remain at the forefront of future projects at the Sydney Opera House.  In 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

* Additional pictures from Noosa & Byron Bay can be viewed within the Australia Portfolio section located on the Perpetual Footsteps homepage.