"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." RLS
Set back a couple of hundred metres from Circular Quay, Macquarie Place is a delightful little oasis right in the centre of Sydney’s central business district and is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Circular Quay and the Harbour, especially on a hot summer day. Continue reading “Macquarie Place – An Oasis in the City”
By way of explanation, what soon became known as the Tank Stream was a small stream that ran from a swamp to the west of present day Hyde Park to Sydney Cove (now Circular Quay). This stream was the original source of fresh water for Sydney. In fact, its existence was the reason Sydney Cove became the site of Australia’s first European Settlement in 1788, as opposed to Botany Bay, the other location considered for the initial establishment of Sydney. Continue reading “Tank Stream Fountain”
On 26 January 1788 the First Fleet, a flotilla of eleven ships from Britain, anchored in Sydney Cove – named after Lord Sydney the British Home Secretary (now called Circular Quay). Captain Arthur Phillip, in charge, stepped ashore and, in a simple ceremony, hoisted the Union Flag (Jack), saluted it, and proclaimed the settlement of the colony of New South Wales for His Majesty King George III. The remainder of the continent was subsequently settled and claimed for Britain and today the 26th January, Australia Day, is a public holiday across Australia, marking the birthday of modern Australia. Continue reading “Australia Proclaimed For Britain”
I feel sure you do not need me to tell you that the Sydney Opera House is Australia’s, and indeed one of the world’s, most iconic and recognisable buildings. Continue reading “Sydney Opera House”
My observant reader will have noticed that this is the second building to which I have ascribed the accolade of ‘Sydney’s first skyscraper’. You may have noticed though that there was a question mark behind the title of the other review – Culwulla Chambers – Sydney’s First Skyscraper?. As it happened the Culwulla Chambers, while being the tallest building in the city (and remaining so until 1961), actually did not fit the then definition of a skyscraper as it lacked the requisite steel frame. Continue reading “AMP Building – Sydney’s First Skyscraper”
Universal free education is a trademark of most socialist countries and North Korea is no exception in this regard. Free Pre-school, primary, secondary and higher level education is offered to all. Compulsory primary and secondary education was introduced in 1956 and 1958 respectively and from 2012 minimum education requirements became 12 years (formally 11) – one year of pre-school, five years of elementary school, three years of primary middle school, and three years of advanced middle school. Continue reading “Sinuiju School Visit”
Across the road from the Eternal Life Monument is a duo of murals commonly found throughout North Korea and, in fact, the only murals that I have seen in multiple locations, including in Pyongyang and at Mt Myohyang in addition to this one in Sinuiju. The slogans on these murals are in keeping with the Eternal Life Monument and read “The great comrade Kim Il-sung will be with us forever” and “The great comrade Kim Jong-il will be with us forever”. Continue reading “Come Into Our Tender Embrace”
Following the death of the Great Leader, Kim Il-sung, in 1994 and his subsequent elevation to the role of Eternal President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea his son and successor, Kim Jong-il decreed that eternal life monuments (Yeong Saeng) be erected throughout North Korea. These monuments, found in all cities and towns and in workplaces, at sports centres and anywhere people congregate, are thought to number around 3,000 thousand and had the single purpose of reminding the people that Kim Il-sung is with them for ever. When built they were typically inscribed with the words, “Great Leader Comrade Kim Il-sung is with us for eternity”. Continue reading “Eternal Life Monument”
North Korean flower shows are not quite the same as flower shows elsewhere. Well, that’s not really a surprise as nothing is quite the same in North Korea. Continue reading “What did we say about the Flower Show?”
I have to say I wasn’t prepared for this. While we had seen numerous large mosaics on our trip to North Korea these mosaics surpassed all others and are truly amazing both in terms of quality and size. Yes, that is a 9 storey apartment block behind them. Continue reading “Mosaics of the Leaders”
The Rambling Wombat 