Sydney Insiders Blog

Maria Ann Smith arrived in Australia with her husband Thomas in 1830. She had already three children when they established their family home and orchard in North Road. Maria would go on to conceive another 13 children! When her fruiting trees were in season and bearing and there were sufficient vegetables and eggs from her…

Callan Park has a storied past. Its sandstone buildings and expansive grounds were originally a mental health facility. The myth that echoed through these halls is that there was an underground tunnel system that transported unsightly patients from ship ports to the Callan Park facility. It’s rumoured that an intricate water tunnel system stretched from…

Ex-convict Michael Gannon was a carpenter, and given how profitable death was in The Rocks in those days, he focused especially on coffins. This led to him beginning work as an undertaker (a natural career progression, of course) in the rear of the property. Today the building houses the Gannon House Gallery, which showcases incredible…

A new favourite of one of our guides is this Wonka-esque playground. With one of the most epic super slides you’ve ever seen (it stands at 3-stories high!), colourful climbing towers, multiple observation decks, climbing nets, swings, and a large nearby lawned area with a handball court and two tennis tables, this is one of Sydney’s…

Strange rumours surround the Wakehurst Parkway on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, but the standout tale is of a ghost who hops into the backseat of unsuspecting cars driving down it after midnight. Stories vary, but most centre around a section of the road near Oxford Falls, where it’s been reported that a young girl opens a…

Sydney’s Oxford street has not always been the rainbow capital of Australia. Once this street was the centre for high fashion for the gentleman and the common man. One of the first was Zink & Sons (est. 1895) which grew to be the busiest tailors’ shop in Sydney, making suits, coats and trousers for every…

Non-Indigenous Australia has a pretty brief culinary history. The First Fleet arrived here in 1788, when Chinese cuisine was already well over a millennium old. But while many of our chefs can’t draw on generations of tradition, they’re also not constrained by it. They can experiment as much as they like.  Despite this, Sydney’s superb…

Just what constitutes a small bar? In NSW, the small bar licence caters for up to 100 people; when we think about small bars, Melbourne bars more broadly — spring to mind. But what about Sydney? Set inside a garage down the end of an alleyway off Clarence Street in the CBD, Cantina OK! (that…

The triangular-shaped Fairy Bower Pool, found on Marine Parade, is a shallow rock pool that’s enticingly calm and clear compared to the waves at Manly Beach. Swimmers may find the shape and depth of the pool too tricky for laps – it’s 20 metres long, but only if you want to swim to one side. But the beauty of this swimming hole is that most people come to cool off or sun-bake, so you won’t be in the way if all you fancy is elbows on the side staring out at the ocean. One of the other distinctive features about this pool is the bronze sculptures on the ocean side, created by St Ives-based artist Helen Leete. The Manly Sea Nymphs or Sea Spirits are inspired by dolphins and mythic sprites cavorting in the waves @24hoursinSydney. We know Sydney PHOTO…

Tucked away in Sydney’s central Westfield Shopping Centres is Sydney’s best currency exchange. Many unaware tourists and locals often get ripped off by the currency exchanges located in obvious places. With just a little extra walking, you will find the Crown Currency Exchange on the 5th floor (Food court floor), just down from the Sydney…

In a city obsessed with water views, Bantry Bay remains a comparatively little-seen wonder. This gangly strip of water at the top of Middle Harbour is cradled by the bushland of Garigal national park. Along the bay’s western shores are historical magazines, once used to store explosives, but these days, Bantry Bay is a repository…

Only in Sydney can you turn loose change into something worth a small fortune. Many Sydney locals used to drop their “shrapnel”, 1 and 2-cent coins, into ash trays, fruit bowls many into the boxes of Salvation Army collectors. The coins were phased out in 1992 but still remain legal tender as long as you…