Urban Ambling

<p>At 47 years of age , James Smith paid his fare for a passage to Botany Bay with the First Fleet. The arrangement was made with Captain Sever of the Lady Penrhyn. The Captain did not consult with Captain Arthur Philip...

<p>Abused, Ignored and avoided were apt descriptions of the Cooks River over the years from 1788 to the mid 1970’s.</p><p>It started as a Arcadian Wonderland, but industrial, chemical and plastic pollution, together...

<p>A passing mention of an engineer, Moriarty, on an historical plaque by the Moruya River, leads to some enquiries. These, oddly enough, result in learning that the sandstone circular dam that created Lake Parramatta...

<p>It is apt that Martin Place, like the man after whom it is named, progressed from humble beginnings to pre-eminence.</p><p>Such was the life of James Martin, who arrived in Sydney at the age of one with his Irish...

<p>On the 22nd of September,1918 the first direct radio message from England was received in Australia.</p><p>Surprisingly, it was sent from a Transmitting Station in the NW of Wales to a radio station in a suburban...

<p>Despite the fabulous name , this is not about a Spike Milligan or Barry Humphreys character.</p><p>There really was an Eccleston Frederick Du Faur. He left a wonderful legacy to his adopted city of Sydney.</p><p><br...

<p>In 1890 the University of Sydney received 250,000 Pounds from the Estate of John H Challis.</p><p>It was the first major private benefaction. In today's money , that is $ 42,000,000!</p><p>The gift was used to create...

<p>There is a statue of Allan Cunningham on the Bent Street frontage of the Lands Department , at the corner with Loftus Street. There is an obelisk to his memory in a pond in the Botanical Gardens, just near the...

<p >Naval Surgeon, Explorer, Adventurer, and perhaps a would-be Smuggler</p><p ><br></p><p>George Bass was an extraordinary person, enormously talented and incredibly brave. It was her, together with Matthew Flinders...

<p>If you are visiting Sydney, and only have a day or two and you’re wondering what the best thing would be to do. Then I don’t think there’s much doubt that you should go up to Observatory hill.</p><p>It’s a little bit...

<p>In this episode we return to Churchill, which is on the Rocks Ridge, and move away from the valley of the tank stream heading down towards Darling Harbour, and millers point.</p><p>On the way, we mention why gas lane...

<p>An amble in Randwick gives glimpses of the founding and development of the area together with some potted histories of a number of significant early homes.</p><p>The amble leads to a reference to one, Commodore...

<p >This episode takes us up Grosvenor Street to Church Hill.</p> <p >During the 19th Century , this was a very fashionable area. This was probably due to the elevation and views. It is not easy to see those attributes...

<p>Most Australians should know this name. I suspect however, that most like me had never heard of this person.</p><p>That changed for me when I serendipitously noticed an obscure plaque near the entrance to The Scots...

<p>The imposing statue of T. S. Mort dominates the southern edge of Macquarie Place , which is opposite the Lands Department Building.</p><p>Mort was an interesting and complex person who arrived in Sydney in 1838 aged...