Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Philip's Church
a
3 York St (enter from Jamison St).
Map
1 A3.
Tel
9247 1071.
@
George
St routes.
#
9am-5pm Tue-Fri.
¢
1:10pm Wed,
8:30am, 10am Sun.
www
.stphilips-
sydney.org.au
26 Jan.
6
8
5
Despite its elevated site, this
Victorian Gothic church
seems overshadowed in its
modern setting. Yet, when it
was first built, the tall square
tower with its decorative pin-
nacles was a local landmark.
Begun in 1848, St Philip's is
by Edmund Blacket, dubbed
“the Christopher Wren of
Australia” for the 58 churches
he designed. In 1851, work
was disrupted when its stone-
masons left for the gold fields,
but was completed by 1856.
A peal of bells was donated
in 1858, with another added in
1888 to mark Sydney's centen-
ary. These bells are still in use.
Façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of
Contemporary
Art
o
Circular Quay West, The Rocks.
Map
1 B2.
Tel
9245 2400.
out onto a terrace with
superb views across to the
Sydney Opera House. The
MCA Store sells distinctive
gifts by Australian designers.
National Trust
Centre
p
Observatory Hill, Watson Rd, The Rocks.
Map
1 A3.
Tel
9258 0123.
@
Sydney
Explorer, 431, 432, 433 434.
#
10am-
5pm daily.
¢
25 Dec.
6
7
8
www
.mca.com.au
Sydney
Explorer, 343, 431, 432, 433, 434.
#
@
Sydney's substantial collection
of contemporary art has
grown steadily, but largely out
of public view, since 1943.
This was the year John Power
died, leaving his art collection
and a financial bequest to the
University of Sydney.
In 1991 the permanent
collection, including works by
Hockney, Warhol, Lichtenstein
and Christo, was transferred
to this 1950s Art Deco-style
former Maritime Services Board
Building. The museum also
hosts temporary exhibitions of
works by both Australian and
International artists
At the front of the building
the MCA Café
(see p195)
spills
9am-5pm Mon-Fri.
Gallery
#
11am-5pm Tue-Sun.
¢
public
hols.
7
=
-
The buildings that form the
headquarters of the con-
servation organization, the
National Trust of Australia
(NSW), date from 1815, when
Macquarie chose the site
on Observatory Hill for a
military hospital.
Today they house a café
and the S.H. Ervin Gallery,
with changing exhibitions
throughout the year, designed
to explore the richness and
diveristy of Australian Art.
The interior and pipe organ of
St Philip's Anglican church
A FLAGPOLE ON THE MUDFLATS
It is easy to miss the modest flagpole in Loftus
Street near Customs House. It flies a flag, the
Union Jack, on the spot where Australia's first
ceremonial flag-raising took place. On 26
January 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip came
ashore to hoist the flag and declare the foun-
dation of the colony. A toast to the King was
drunk and a musket volley fired. On the same
day, the rest of the First Fleet arrived from
Botany Bay to join Phillip and his men. (On
this date each year, the country marks Australia
Day with a national holiday.) In 1788, the flag-
pole was on the edge of mudflats on Sydney
Cove. Today, because of the large amount of
land reclaimed to build Circular Quay, it is
some distance from the water's edge.
The Founding of Australia
by Algernon Talmage,
which hangs in Parliament House
(see pp112-13)
