yougottalovesydney

Sydney’s asylums are haunting monuments to a shameful chapter in our criminal and medical history. Shut away from a public that was fearful of the “wild-eyed lunatic”, the city’s poorly-funded asylums became a dragnet that would catch the forgot, the poor, the criminal and, of course, the mentally ill. There were plenty of success stories,…

Located in front of the Western Sydney University building in central Parramatta is a piece of pulci art with quite an incredible story behind it. This work of art is a statue of a boy, so lifelike that he seems about to step down from his low pedestal and stride off into the distance. His…

Monumental in scale and ambition, The Eyes of the Land and the Sea by Alison Page and Nik Lachajczak commemorates the 250th anniversary of the 1770 encounter between Aboriginal Australians and Lt James Cook’s crew of the HMB Endeavour at Kamay Botany Bay National Park, Australia. The artwork is cast in bronze and takes the…

Hanging Rock, a large sandstone object hanging out from a sandstone cliff, is one of the most iconic landmarks in the greater Blue Mountains region. It is situated a few moments away from the Baltzer Lookout, from where visitors can enjoy eye-dropping views of the Grose Valley and surrounding escarpments. These two beautiful sights can…

Marrickville in Sydney’s Inner West has been named No. 10 in the top 40 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out – and, despite living in Sydney all my life I’m ashamed to say, I haven’t really explored it properly. Here is why you must add Faversham Lane to your list of things to…

Post war in the 1950’s and 60’s there was a wave of mass migration from Italy to Australia, and specifically from the lesser-known hillside town of San Fele (located in the southern region of Basilicata), to the then Drummoyne Municipality of Sydney, Australia. Thousands of men and women arrived to this new land, and bandied…

The date is 5th July, 1938. The place is Rose Bay, Sydney. An Empire Class flying boat rumbles and bobs towards its departure point and then turns slowly into the wind. As the engines roar, the plane gradually gathers speed before skimming across the sparkling, blue waters and starting its lazy climb into the sky….

Barrenjoey Lighthouse sits majestically on Sydney’s most northern point – Barrenjoey Head at Palm Beach. Positioned 91m above sea level, the lighthouse can be reached by a couple of walks and offers breathtaking views. It’s an easy day trip from Sydney and a great place to bring overseas visitors – they may recognise the lighthouse…

Before the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour was filled with ferries and punts plowing their way across the blue waters to join the north to the south of the city. There were private and public punts with them all providing a simple, small and spectacular journey. With the opening of the bridge…

On a recent wander through the city one quiet evening my wife and I stumbled upon a small bird sitting still on a railing within Macquarie Park. The dull light of the evening dusk obscured our view and we thought that this small bird was such a brave little thing, standing ever so still as…