Impressions of Sydney

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 56

Sydney is very much a mixture of styles. On first sight it appears very British: cars drive on the left, Sydneysiders can spell, they play cricket, some of the place names are very familiar, and there’s a very good public transport system; but then you gradually notice the American influence: words-only road signs, traffic lights go straight from red to green, etc.; and then there’s the bits that fit nowhere: most pubs shut at 8 p.m. on Sunday, the people are very friendly, and it’s safe for anybody to walk alone through the park at night. All-in-all, Sydney is a very attractive place. I like Sydney.

[Photograph: parkland with large trees, the city’s towers behind.] View of Sydney from Victoria Park (Between the School of Architecture and the Plenary Lecture Theatre)

I went to Sydney for the APL conference, but it seemed such a waste to go all that way and not immerse myself in the culture and surroundings. I say ‘culture’ and I mean ‘culture’ because, contrary to what we are led to believe by the media, Australia does have a flourishing culture, both of European origins and its own. On the day after I arrived there was a free classical concert in the Domain (a large park in the centre of Sydney) which was so oversubscribed that it was impossible to find anywhere decent to sit within reasonable hearing distance of the orchestra. At the other end of the scale, after the Conference had finished I decided to go to hear the ‘Magic Flute’ at the Sydney Opera House, and this was absolutely delightful. I was also impressed by the excellent air-conditioning they have in the Opera House, it was completely silent!

Pubs in Sydney generally are nothing like those in England. First of all they are a man’s world, usually the only ladies present are those serving behind the bar. Secondly the Aussies like to drink their ‘beer’ out of very small glasses. Presumably this is because their beer is chilled so that you can’t taste it, and they don’t want to give it the slightest chance of warming up. (The other thing I didn’t like about Australian beer was the excessive fizziness, making it look and taste like the soda pop I used to drink when I was very young.) Thirdly, Aussies don’t go in for ‘rounds’ like we do: although one person may order for everyone, they all pay for their own.

Having complained about the typical Australian boozer, I am now going to recommend one! Close to International House was a pub called the ‘Duck and Swan’, which sells a range of imported beer from all round the world, in addition to the local brew. They also do a very nice line in British-style beers and stout (very tasty once they had been allowed to warm up!) that are brewed in Fremantle, W.A., and are sold by the pint. The staff were very friendly, too, and I was presented with a large Australian-style beer glass (yes there are a few large ones about) as a going-away present ‘for being such a good customer’ (make of that what you will!). The food in International House reminded me of the food at Manchester, so I decided to eat out and sample several of the restaurants in Glebe Point Road, about half a mile away the other side of Victoria Park. There is a great variety of restaurants there, from Vietnamese to Italian and German. Not one of them was really expensive: you could eat a meal for $15 (about £6) and feel full. I also sampled a couple of the restaurants in Kings Cross (those of you who saw Whicker’s World will remember that Kings Cross is the red-light district), where the food is, if anything, even cheaper and just as good.

When a couple of my colleagues heard that I had a ticket for the Bicentennial Test Match they got down on their knees and prayed for rain. Sure enough, at ten past four on the Sunday, bad light stopped play, and the rain started at five o’clock. I didn’t really mind, however, because in the play that we did have, seven Australian wickets fell (including one dubious LBW decision by their umpire!) and a good time was had by all.

There isn’t enough room in a short non-technical article like this to tell of all the things there are to see and do in and around Sydney. I went to the Blue Mountains, so-called from the blue haze exuded by the eucalyptus trees; I tasted wine from the Hunter Valley which could put the equivalent wines from several European countries to shame; I travelled on the double-deck commuter trains in Sydney, I hugged a koala in the wildlife park. There wasn’t enough time to do all the things I wanted to do. I have decided: if the Australians will have me, I am going back there for a holiday sometime soon.