Sydney Insiders Blog

Today’s Australia has been shaped by migration. We’ve come from all the lands on earth to build this great country. The National Maritime Museum collects the stories of migrants to Australia, and the National Monument is one of our most important and visible ways of recognising the people behind these stories. Over 30,000 names already…

Nothing says warm weather in Sydney like the full bloom of purple jacaranda trees. For six or so weeks (usually from mid-October before a peak in mid-November) the streets become filled with beautiful purple flowers gently falling on the footpaths like purple rain… it’s just stunning. Here are a few places you must check out. What better place…

If you’ve ever peered into the murky waters of a pond in Centennial Park chances are you’ve seen one of their long, slimy occupants flopping about. The long-finned eels seem pretty content in their picturesque sludge, but apparently, they migrate as far as New Caledonia or the Solomon Islands to lay their eggs. Autumn is…

Looking like something, you might see in Medieval Europe, but the Greystanes Aqueduct is instead one of Western Sydney’s best kept secrets. The stunning aqueduct was completed in 1888 and can be found just minutes from Parramatta and less than 45 minutes from Sydney’s CBD. The Aqueduct was originally constructed to bring water over a…

The Willoughby Incinerator building was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and completed in 1934. This incinerator is a remarkable piece of early Australian Industrial heritage. Designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Eric Nicholls, the building is sited at the edge of what is now the Willoughby Centennial Parklands. In 1967 the incinerator was switched off, and the…

There are still some hidden places within Sydney. Most locals can find a cemetery nearby, but there are some that even locals did not know existed and they live with 100m of the spot! Considering Camperdown Cemetery’s location right off King Street, smack-bang in the middle of Newtown, it’s incredible how few people know it…

Coogee Beach is one of the most beautiful, serene beaches in Sydney. I was once home to an aquarium that housed a massive tiger shark in 1935 for a week. This predator of the deep was caught three kilometres off the beach by fishermen. While families gazed at the shark located inside its tank, they…

If you are willing to walk through some of Sydney’s beautiful bushland (and climb a few stairs) the reward is one of Sydney’s best secret beaches. Accessed only by walking track or boat, Resolute Beach in Northern Beaches’ Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park is as remote a beach as they come. A small stretch of sand…

In a quiet alleyway off George Street, Angel Place holds an art installation with such a magical quality. Hanging high above the alley is an array of mismatched empty birdcages, and while you’re looking up to appreciate the display, you may hear the sound of birdsong quietly drifting through the air. This creation was originally…

To the casual passer-by, this small general store on the corner of Redfern and George Streets looks fairly commonplace. In reality, it’s a lolly-lovers nirvana and an Instagram sensation with more than 24,000 followers. People venture from all over Sydney to visit this local corner store with a cult-like fan base. Owner Hazem Sedda was…

The heritage-listed Sydney Harbour Bridge is as iconic to the Emerald City as the shell-like white sails of the Sydney Opera House. But you might not know that the design for the ‘Coathanger’, as Sydney locals affectionately call it, which is the largest steel arch bridge in the world, was not decided upon very easily. In…

There is a hidden slice of vintage Australiana that reveals a big idea which was never fully realized. Most people would probably be aware located in front of the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, in the heart of Hollywood, is a footpath bearing the handprints and signatures of cinema’s biggest stars, dating all the way back to…