SYDNEY AREA BY AREA - Sydney - page 61

Hero of
Waterloo q
81 Lower Fort St, The Rocks. Map
1 A2. Tel [phone].

regiments, stationed at Dawes
Point fort, attended morning
prayers here until 1870.
Henry Ginn designed the
church and, in 1840, the foun-
dation stone was laid. In 1855,
the architect Edmund Blacket
was engaged to enlarge the
church to accommodate up to
600 people. These extensions,
minus the spire that Blacket
proposed, were completed in
1878. Regimental plaques
hung along interior walls
recall the church's
military associations.
Other features to
look out for are the
brilliantly coloured
east window and the
carved red cedar
pulpit. The window
was donated by a
devout parishoner,
Dr James Mitchell,
scion of a leading
Sydney family. The
church also houses a museum
displaying early Australian
military and historical items.

@ 431, 432,

433, 434. 10am-11pm Mon-Tue,

10am-11:30pm Wed-Sat, 10am-
10pm Sun.

#

¢ Good Fri, 25 Dec. 6

7 ground floor only

This picturesque old inn is
welcoming in the winter,
when its log fires and
cosy ambience offer
respite from the chill
outside. Built in
1844 from sandstone
excavated from the
Argyle Cut, this was
a favourite drinking
place for the nearby
garrison's soldiers.
Unscrupulous sea
captains were said
to use the hotel to
recruit. Patrons who
drank themselves into a stupor
were pushed into the cellars
through a trapdoor. From here
they were carried along under-
ground tunnels to the wharves
nearby and onto waiting ships.

The corner façade of the Hero of
Waterloo hotel in Millers Point

20th-century finger wharf at
Walsh Bay in 1984. Pier 4/5 is
one of four finger wharves at
Walsh Bay, reminders of the
time when this was a busy part
of the city's maritime industry.
The site fulfilled the Sydney
Theatre Company's need for a
base large enough to hold
theatres, rehearsal rooms and
administration offices. The
ingenious conversion of the
once-derelict heritage building
into a modern theatre complex
is recognized as an outstand-
ing architectural achievement.
Since then, the main theatre
has been a venue for many of
the company's productions. It
has seen premieres of plays
from leading Australian play-
wrights such as Michael Gow
and David Williamson, as well
as performances of new works
from overseas.
At the tip of the wharf, the
bar area and Wharf Restaurant
(see p185) command superb
harbour views across to the
Harbour Bridge (see pp70-71) .

East window,
Garrison Church

Sydney
Observatory 0
Watson Rd, Observatory Hill,
The Rocks. Map 1 A2.
Tel [phone].

Wharf Theatre w
Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay. Map
1 A1. Tel [phone].

@ Sydney Explorer,

343, 431, 432. 10am-5pm daily.

Night viewings Call to book.
¢

# 430, 431,

432, 433, 434. Box office Tel 9250
1777.

@

www .sydneyobservatory.com.au

25 Dec. & 6 7 8 9am-7pm Mon, 9am-

8:30pm Tue-Fri, 11am-8:30pm Sat.
6

#

phone in advance.
www .sydneytheatre.com.au
See Entertainment p210.

7

In 1982, this domed building,
which had been a centre for
astronomical observation and
research for almost 125 years,
became the city's astronomy
museum. It has interactive
equipment and games, along
with night sky viewings; it is
essential to book for these.
The building began life in
the 1850s as a time-ball tower.
At 1pm daily, the ball on top
of the tower dropped to signal
the correct time. A cannon
was fired simultaneously at
Fort Denison. This custom
continues today (see p107) .
In the 1880s, some of the
first astronomical photographs
of the southern sky were taken
here. From 1890-1962, the
observatory mapped 750,000
stars as part of an international
project that produced an atlas
of the entire night sky.

The then recently formed
Sydney Theatre Company
took possession of this early

The Wharf Theatre, a former finger wharf, jutting on to Walsh Bay