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Hyde Park Sydney Australia

The Archibald Fountain

Hyde Park is in the centre of Sydney and is a fantastic retreat from the hustle and traffic of the city. It is cool and shady and there is plenty of seating set around the park.  Park Street divides Hyde Park in two, however there are pedestrian crossings at the lights at either end and the centre.

ANZAC Memorial

The ANZAC Memorial was built  to commemorate the Australian Imperial Force of World War I. It is the focal point of the southern section of Hyde Park,  along with the Pool of Reflection.  On ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day the memorial is the central focus of the ceremonies, so can be extremely busy..

120,000 gold stars covered the domed ceiling, representing all those from New South Wales who served in World War One. The centre piece of the interior is a bronze statue of a deceased youth, representing a soldier, held aloft on his shield.

To the north is the pool of reflection and a long tree-lined pathway. It is very shady and cool in the Australian summer. A great place to sit quietly and relax.

This is one of the must-see places in Sydney.

The ANZAC Memorial
The ANZAC Memorial
Pathway to ANZAC Memorial
Pathway to ANZAC Memorial

Emden Gun

This gun is a  4″ Gun taken from the German raider “Emden” destroyed by H.M.A.S. Sydney in 1914. A gift from the Commonwealth Government to the citizens of Sydney. Historically important, to Australia as a whole and Sydney in particular.

The Emden Gun
The Emden Gun

The Munitions Statue

This statue consists of four individual seven-metre tall steel and marble bullets, sitting next to three fallen shells, all on a large boomerang-shaped concrete base.  They represent the reality of war. Specifically they depict the sculptor’s (Tony Albert) grandfather and six companions.  The three fallen shells represent those who were killed.

The Munitions Statue
The Munitions Statue
The Munitions Statue
The Munitions Statue

Hyde Park Obelisk

The Hyde Park Obelisk is on the intersection of Elizabeth and Bathurst Streets.  Built in 1857 the obelisk was a vent for the sewer system.  It is now used to ventilate the storm water system.  At 22m it’s hard to miss.  Interesting for what it is, but not worth taking too much time over.

Hyde Park Obelisk
Hyde Park Obelisk

Statue of Fire, Water and Earth.

Located on the western side of the park, near Elizabeth street, is a three-piece sandstone sculpture representing the three elements, by Gerard Havekes.  A creative and interesting piece of art work and worth finding to have a look at it.

Earth Wind and Fire
Earth Wind and Fire

Captain Cook Statue

This bronze statue commemorates Captain James Cook, the first Englishman to chart the east coast of Australia. It was officially unveiled in 1879. Worth looking at for the  historical significance of Cook.

Captain Cook Statue
Captain Cook Statue

Archibald Fountain

The focus of the northern park is the Archibald Fountain. Named after the editor of the Bulletin Magazine who donated the funds to have it built. It was designed by a French sculptor, both because of Archibald’s love of French culture and to commemorate the ties between Australia and France from the First World War.

Seats surround the fountain making it a very restful place, right in the middle of Sydney.

The Archibald Fountain
The Archibald Fountain

Sandringham Gardens

Near Park Street are the Sandringham Gardens. They surround a circular fountain and commemorate King George V and King George VI.  It is an attractive setting and a beautiful place to walk around.

Sandringham Gardens
Sandringham Gardens

Statue of William Bede Dalley

Dalley was born to convict parent and rose to be the first Australian appointed to the Privy Council. He was well-respected and this monument was erected to honor him. Located on the northern edge of Hyde Park it is easy to find.

Statue of William Bede Dalley
Statue of William Bede Dalley

Cannon

Sitting among the flower beds on College Street is a bronze cannon.  It used to form part of Sydney’s defense at Bennelong Point.  Dating from 1808 it is worth a look as you pass by.

Cannon
Cannon

Governor Lachlan Macquarie Statue

The most northerly Statue in the Gardens is that of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.  He was Governor from 1810  to 1821 and was responsible for the social, economic and architectural development of the colony. Located looking down the road named after him, it is very easy to find. As a major figure in Australia’s history, the statue is worth looking for.

Major General Governor Lachlan Macquarrie
Major General Governor Lachlan Macquarie

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert Statues

Although not in the park, there are two statues located just to its northern boundary in Queen’s Square. To the West is Queen Victoria and to the east is her consort, Prince Albert. If you are in Hyde Park, it is worth crossing the road to have a look at them.

Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria
Prince Albert
Prince Albert

St Mary’s Cathedral

Dominating the eastern side of the park is St Mary’s Cathedral. The Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney and is the Cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Beautiful inside as well as out, this is one of the great buildings in Sydney. As well as the interior you can visit the crypts.  To visit the crypts, buy tickets from the gift shop. We were the only ones there when we went. Many early bishops of Sydney are interred in the crypt, so it is interesting historically. In addition,  the architecture is fantastic and well worth spending time down there to admire it.

Saint Mary's Cathedral
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
Saint Mary's Cathedral
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
Saint Mary's Cathedral
Pope Statue , Saint Mary’s Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral
St Mary’s Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral Crypt
St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt

Hyde Park

So if you are in Sydney, you can easily spend most of a day looking around Hyde Park and its surrounding areas. Nearby is the Australian Museum and  Macquarie Street with most of central Sydney very close as well. For other places to see in Sydney, please read some of our other stories.

Normandy D-Day Battlefields

Memorial Omaha Beach

To get to the Normandy D-Day battlefields, we booked a bus trip through a well-known internet site.  The trip was 14 hours in duration, with about three and a half each way journey from Paris.  When lunch and other times are taken out, we had about four hours in Normandy.  The tour touched on most of the major D-Day sites, but only that.  We would have appreciated more time to explore for ourselves.  As a result, we would have enjoyed ourselves more had we stayed in the area and combined this with other attractions, or tours we did, such as Mont Saint Michel.

Why Did We Go?

The D-Day landings and battlefields are historically very important and seeing them first hand would give us a good understanding of what happened.  It would also allow us to see the American Memorial near Caen, where many of the soldiers are buried. 

Our holiday was on a tight timeframe, so we did not have the time to see all of Normandy and experience what it had to offer.  Instead, we decided to do the bus trip.  It would take us to the specific areas of interest for D-Day and we could see the other aspects of Normandy on a return visit.

Unfortunately, we re-discovered that bus trips can be hit and miss, missing some sites, or limiting time at them.

Caen Memorial

The Caen Memorial has film and photographic exhibits covering World War Two, with an emphasis on D-Day.  This was all very interesting and comprehensive.  We specifically liked the underground bunker that exists on the same site.  You are able to walk through it at your own pace and see the displays of how it was set up to control the German troops in the area.

D-Day Museum Flags Normandy D-Day Battlefields
D-Day Museum Flags

For anyone wanting to know the story of D-Day and the preceding years of World War 2, this is an excellent place to visit.  You should probably go here before visiting the D-Day sites in the area.

Pointe du Hoc

This is the area where high cliffs with fortified gun emplacements overlooked the invasion beaches.  American Rangers scaled these cliffs on D-Day morning and disabled them, enabling the invasion to be a success.  Several of the gun emplacements are still intact, to you get to see a genuine fortification and what the soldiers had to contend with.  More impressive is looking over the cliffs to see what they had to scale before assaulting the guns.

German Bunker Omaha Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
German Bunker Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach Today Normandy D-Day Battlefields
Omaha Beach Today

The bunkers can be entered, giving you the viewpoint of the defending Germans.  The surrounding area has generally been left untouched so that the effect of the allied bombardment can be seen and many bomb craters are still visible.

Omaha Beach

We walked down to Omaha Beach where we could look up to some of the cliffs overlooking the invasion beach.  In 1944 these would have been defended by German soldiers.  This perspective really drives home what the Rangers had to climb to reach the German fortifications.  The beach is very peaceful now with no signs of what happened over 70 years ago.  Some Americans in the group took samples of sand home with them.

Omaha Beach Today Normandy D-Day Battlefields
Omaha Beach Today
Canadian Memorial Juno Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
Canadian Memorial Juno Beach

American Cemetery and Memorial near Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer

This is the final resting place of nearly 10,000 members of the US military. The cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach, where many of them fell.  The graves of many men who were killed in the surrounding area are also here.  There is a stunning sculpture of a soldier ascending to heaven as you enter the cemetery.  This sets an excellent atmosphere for the rest of the memorial.  It is a very peaceful place, with the numerous rows of headstones set in beautiful gardens.  Many of the graves hold the body of an unknown soldier, with the inscription stating that they are known only unto God.

US War Cemetery Memorial Omaha Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
US War Cemetery Memorial Omaha Beach
US War Cemetery Omaha Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
US War Cemetery Omaha Beach

Juno Beach

Juno Beach is where a combined British and Canadian army landed.  The Canadian Memorial consists of a howitzer, and stylised sculpture of two soldiers and flags of the participating Canadian Provinces.  We walked on the sand, which was very peaceful unlike June 1944.

Memorial at Juno Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
Memorial at Juno Beach
Howitzer at Juno Beach Normandy D-Day Battlefields
Howitzer at Juno Beach

Arromanches Harbour

We had hope to stop here and inspect the remains of the artificial harbour, as it was on of the great planning and engineering feats of the invasion.  Unfortunately, being on a bus trip and constrained by time tables, we were running late and had to miss this part, so only saw it as we drove by.

This is one of the great drawbacks of participating in a bus trip.  An area of specific interest to you can be missed, and cut from the tour due to circumstances.  Had we been travelling by ourselves, this would have been something we would not have missed.

What Did We Think?

What we saw was excellent.  From the Memorials to the fortifications and the beaches, we gained a great understanding of the events of June 1944.  If we had more time, spending more time in the area and not travelling back to Paris in the same day would have been better.  We would have combined this with our trip to Mont Saint Michel and the Loire Valley Chateaux.

Bus trips will always be problematic, as you can’t control who you go with, or the time-table if things go wrong.

HMAS Newcastle Arriving in Newcastle Harbour

HMAS Newcastle FFG 06 Entering Newcastle Harbour Royal Australian Navy Warships Warship Ship Ships

HMAS Newcastle FFG 06 arrived in Newcastle Harbour today for what will probably be its final visit before decommissioning.  

We arrived early and spent a relaxing afternoon walking on the foreshore.  We had a very nice steak pie at Harry’s Cafe De-Wheels and an ice cream from across the road.  The foreshore was a very pleasant backdrop to sit and eat lunch next to.

While eating we watched the coal ships coming and going and had a great view of Nobby’s Headland.  Then we walked up to Nobby’s Surfhouse and had a nice coffee until the ship was due.

HMAS Newcastle arrived around 3:30PM, to a large crowd all along the break water and foreshore.

An in all a very relaxing afternoon.

Nobby's Headland
Nobby’s Headland
Tug Boat Newcastle Harbour
Tug Boat Newcastle Harbour
Coal Ship Newcastle Harbour
Coal Ship Newcastle Harbour
HMAS Newcastle FFG 06
HMAS Newcastle FFG 06

To see what else there is to do in the Hunter Valley, please see some of our other stories.