It might seem surprising that Sydney, established in 1788, is
not Australia's capital. Yet the creation of Canberra in 1927 -
intended to stem the intense rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne -
has not affected the view of many Sydneysiders that their city
remains the true capital of Australia, and certainly in many
ways it feels like it. The city has a tangible sense of history in
the old stone walls and well-worn steps in the backstreets around
The Rocks, while the sandstone cliffs, rocks and caves amongst the
bushlined harbour still contain Aboriginal rock carvings, evocative
reminders of a more ancient past.
Flying into Sydney provides a thrilling close-up snapshot of the
city as the aeroplane swoops alongside sandstone cliffs and golden
beaches, revealing toy-sized images of the Harbour Bridge and the
Opera House tilting in a glittering expanse of blue water. Towards
Mascot airport the red-tiled roofs of suburban bungalows stretch
ever southwards, blue squares of swimming pools shimmering from
grassy backyards. The night views are nearly as spectacular,
skyscrapers topped with colourful neon lights while the illuminated
white shells of the Opera House reflect on the dark water as
ferries crisscross to Circular Quay.
Sydney has all the vigour of a world-class city, and a
population approaching five million people; yet on the ground
you'll find it still possesses a seductive, small-town, easy-going
charm. The furious development in preparation for the year 2000
Olympics, heralded as being Sydney's coming-of-age ceremony,
alarmed many locals, who love their city just the way it is. It was
not so much the greatly improved transport infrastructure, or the
$200 million budget which improved and beautified the city streets
and parks, but the rash of luxury hotels and apartments still
adding themselves, often contentiously, to the beloved harbour
foreshore. It's a setting that perhaps only Rio de Janeiro can
rival: the water is what makes the city so special, and no
introduction to Sydney would be complete without paying tribute to
one of the world's great harbours. Port Jackson is a sunken valley
which twists inland to meet the fresh water of the Parramatta
River; in the process it washes into a hundred coves and bays,
winds around rocky points, flows past the small harbour islands,
slips under bridges and laps at the foot of the Opera House.
Taken together with its surrounds, Sydney is in many ways a
microcosm of Australia as a whole - if only in its ability to defy
your expectations and prejudices as often as it confirms them. A
thrusting, high-rise business centre in the CBD , a
high-profile gay community in Darlinghurst , inner-city
deprivation of unexpected harshness, with the highest Aboriginal
population of any Australian city, and the dreary traffic-fumed and
flat suburban sprawl of the Western Suburbs , are as much
part of the scene as the beaches, the bodies and the sparkling
harbour. But all in all, Sydney seems to have the best of both
worlds - if it's seen at its gleaming best from the deck of a
harbour ferry, especially at weekends when the harbour's jagged
jaws fill with a flotilla of small vessels, racing yachts and cabin
cruisers, it's at its most varied in its neighbourhoods ,
not least for their lively café and restaurant scenes. Getting away
from the city centre and exploring them is an essential part of
Sydney's pleasures.
A short ferry trip across to the leafy and affluent North Shore
accesses tracts of largely intact bushland, with bushwalking and
native animals and birds right on the doorstep. In the summer the
city's hot offices are abandoned for the remarkably unspoilt ocean
and harbour beaches strung around the eastern and northern
suburbs. Day-trips away offer a taste of virtually everything
you'll find in the rest of Australia. There are magnificent
national parks and native wildlife - Ku-Ring-Gai Chase and
Royal being the best known of the parks, each a mere hour's drive
from the centre of town. North of the centre the Central
Coast is great for surfers, and has more enclosed waters for
safer swimming and sailing. Inland, the Blue Mountains offer
tea rooms, scenic viewpoints and isolated bushwalking. On the way,
and along the Hawkesbury River , are historic colonial
towns. Inland to the northwest is the Hunter Valley ,
Australia's oldest and possibly best-known wine-growing region,
amongst pastoral scenery.