There's so much to see and learn in the east and west sides of Sydney, writes Hanna Hussein
MID-YEAR is the coolest season in Sydney, with the average temperature dropping to between 8 and 17°C. It is actually an excellent time for Malaysians to visit, especially to take advantage of the chilly weather to explore the city.
However, Sydney's rainfall is also the highest in June. And unfortunately, I'm caught in one of its wet days just after my arrival.
Still, this capital of New South Wales (NSW) and one of Australia's largest cities has plenty of indoor attractions. If you are into art, you must check out the Art Gallery of NSW.
Located on the eastern side of the Central Business District (CBD), next to the Royal Botanic Gardens, the gallery has flashy architecture overlooking the harbour and is undergoing a massive expansion that is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Luckily, our small group of four journalists from Italy, France, Indonesia and Malaysia is able to get a glimpse of what the stately project is all about, and a private tour of the gallery's most stunning Grand Courts.
CLASSIC MEETS CONTEMPORARY
Housed in a historic fine sandstone building that was built between 1896 and 1909, the Art Gallery of NSW is an iconic architecture designed by government architect Walter Liberty Vernon.
He was instructed to make the "art temple" as classical as possible, and came up with an elegant architecture with neoclassical designs.
However, the new expansion is truly a modern transformation. It is being helmed by Sanaa, a Japanese architectural firm based in Tokyo, which was founded by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.
The Sydney Modern Project will create a new art museum across two buildings connected by a public art garden.
However, the new space will be a more dynamic structure with a series of glass walls to lighten up the galleries, and also open up the premises to the vast view of the city's natural beauty.
The project also boasts a stunning existing infrastructure — the refurbishment of World War 2-era underground naval oil tanks to turn them into an immersive art space.
Well, the project will take another half a year to complete, so in the meantime, we have to enjoy the current galleries at the Art Gallery of NSW.
Our day continues with a tour by our volunteer guide Jackie, a sweet lady who is knowledgeable about the gallery as well as the artworks it showcases.
Jackie ushers us into a large room with soaring high ceiling and parquet floor, very much like a classic revival architecture that reflects what you see when you enter the gallery through the main entrance.
The first space with beautiful pale blue walls is where local collections from the late 19th century are showcased.
She then shows us a small plein-air artwork of the Circular Quay painted in 1888 by a young artist named Charles Connor, who arrived here from Great Britain when he was just 16 years old.
Walking through, we enter another room on the right side, which leads to the smallest room in the gallery with a slightly different atmosphere painted in deep red.
There's a plaque up on the doorway that says that it was opened by the governor on June 22, 1897 — which was Queen Victoria's 60th anniversary on the throne —, and it is actually the first room to have been completed in the gallery.
The Grand Courts is quite an amazing gallery showcasing an extensive art collection that takes us through time, human stories and contested histories.
There are also other rarely seen colonial works, such as Conrad Martens' watercolours of Sydney Harbour, and fascinating images of the early mining and pastoral exploits featured alongside new displays of iconic Australian paintings.
LOCAL CHARM IN THE EAST
The sky starts to clear up a bit the next day, which is perfect for outdoor exploration. So, here we are, waiting in front of the Ovolo Woolloomooloo Hotel to meet up with Benjamin, our guide for the morning's tour.
Representing the Splendour Tailored Tour (a tour company offering high-end tours, unique experiences and personalised itineraries), he will take us on a private walkabout to see some of the city's interesting suburbs in the east side of the CBD.
From our meeting point, we slowly stroll to the east along Cowper Wharf Roadway, while Benjamin breaks the ice by giving us a little background of himself.
A spunky award-winning architectural urbanist, Benjamin is very passionate about all things design and sustainability. He loves to share his knowledge of Sydney with other people.
Today, he says, we will get a real sense of the city's orientation, settlement and evolution from a unique perspective.
Our walk goes uphill through the McElhone Stairs, a straight flight of stairway rising over 12 metres (with 113 steps).
Constructed in 1870 using solid sandstone blocks, the stairway creates a well-used pedestrian access connecting Woolloomooloo to the higher grounds of Potts Point, a small, densely populated suburb filled with 19th century buildings.
Some of Sydney's earliest apartments built in the Art Deco style with rich colours and geometrical designs, as well as decadent detail works, are also located here. These buildings give the suburb a glamorous vibe.
Our walk continues south and we stop by at one of the famous coffee shops for a cuppa, and then head towards Kings Cross, the entertainment precinct famous for its small bars and pumping nightclubs.
Here, we get to see a stunning landmark of the dandelion-shaped El Alamein Memorial Fountain.
Built in 1961, the fountain commemorates the deeds of Australian soldiers from the 9th Division, who fought against the Germans and Italians near the Egyptian town of El Alamein during WW2.
We then make a turn to Elizabeth Bay to get a view of the Elizabeth Bay House, which is said to be the first house of the British colony. Built between 1835 and 1839, this stunning heritage building sits on top of a hill, giving it a breathtaking view of Sydney Harbour.
Before we head back to our hotel, we stop by Benjamin's favourite eatery called Ezra, located in Kellett Street that offers Middle Eastern flavours — Sydney style!
WEST SIDE HIDDEN GEMS
Wanting more, we go for another walking tour that will take us to the western part of the CBD. This time, we're guided by Justin, the founder of Local Sauce Tours.
Kicking off our walk from the Australian National Museum, Justin leads us up north towards Pyrmont Bay to see the replica of HMB
Endeavour.
According to him, the Australian-built replica of James Cook's ship is one of the world's most accurate maritime vessels that the English captain sailed in to reach Australia.
Along the bay, overlooking Barangaroo, Justin begins to introduce Pyrmont, which is one of the oldest parts of Sydney with a rich history.
This is the early industrial area where everything was basically built or mined before it went into decline in the 1960s. All the industries that operated around here had to shut down or move out.
The area became a ghost town, and it was not until the 1980s when the NSW government realised that it needed to revive the area.
It was given a facelift for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and since then, the area has been experiencing a revival.
The demography of Pyrmont changed a lot as it used to be a working-class neighbourhood, and now it's being inhabited by young professionals and a few empty-nesters in nice new apartments.
Pyrmont is also one of the most diverse and multicultural parts of the city, in which two-thirds of the people living here were born outside of Australia.
Justin then takes us to the backlanes to explore the local neighbourhoods that are so close to the city, but usually ignored by tourists.
"Sometimes, if you walk around the neighbourhood, you can look at the buildings and architecture, and work out what type of people used to live here, or maybe the social class they came from," he says.
To prove his point, he shows us a row of terrace houses and asks us to guess who used to live there in the past.
The upper-class people live in the main streets, he says, in houses that are made of local Pyrmont sandstone blocks with some kind of pattern like little dimples and bumps on it.
"These patterns are not naturally made, and they require a lot of time, effort and money," he says, adding that the upper-class houses are mostly two stories high.
"Looking next door, now we go one step down the social ladder," says Justin.
Although the houses are still located on the main street and made of local Pyrmont sandstone, he says, the blocks are arranged in odd shapes and sizes, and they're single-storey houses.
Next, we head towards the neighbouring suburb called Ultimo, but on the way, we pass by a huge building which used to be a wool store on Harris Street.
The iconic building with ornate mass brick facade was owned by Richard Goldsborough & Co. It was built in 1882 and operated up until Pyrmont's wool palaces closed for good. Today, it has been converted to apartments known as the M Central.
Here in Ultimo, Justin says, about 80 per cent of its population are also not originally from Australia.
It is an attractive suburb, especially for city workers as well as students, especially those who are into technical education as the Sydney Technical College — built in 1892 — is located nearby.
At the end of our tour, we stop by a local pub called the "Friend in Hand Hotel" in Cowper Street, Glebe, where Justin treats my colleagues to a jar of local beer. For me, it is just a glass of the popular non-alcoholic Aussie mocktail of Lemon Lime and Bitters.
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