Dulcineasdiarycontinued: Saturday 8th - Monday 10th June 2019

So much on in Sydney this Queens Birthday long weekend.

Saturday 8th June 2019
First thing which is on all long weekend is The Transport Heritage Expo 2019 @ Grand Concourse Central Station and Mortuary Station. Vintage steam trains & old electric red rattler train rides out to the suburbs and back as well as vintage single and double decker bus rides around the city circle and back were on offer.

First stop was to hop on a vintage double decker bus for a free by donation 20 minute ride around the city. I was surprised that there were no crowds. I managed to get a seat on the top deck of the bus without any problem around lunch time. The bus ride was pretty rough and a little stinky from the exhaust fumes however it was enclosed - just as well as it was quite cold, very foggy and overcast all day. How I survived my childhood riding these buses everyday I don't know - the suspension on the buses was shocking! As we rode the vintage buses looking out the windows, people walking past around the city looked curiously as the buses drove past. Unused to riding on the top deck of a double decker bus, it was a bit of a shock to me as to how close the gap was between it and the roof of an overpass tunnel as the vintage double decker bus drove through it. Yiks I thought the double decker bus was going to crash into the arch of the tunnel!

Next stop Mortuary Station. I have been meaning to visit this landmark station on several ocassions ( refer previous blogs) but always missed the opportunity. Finally made it today - free entry and open to the public during the day, it was a short walk down Lee Street from Central Station. A steam train was parked alongside it's beautifully restored platform. A must visit when open to the public, it is magnificently restored. A former station to transport the dead out to Rockwood Cemetery by rail is now used for open days, special events and as a filming venue. Open at night over the long weekend from 6 pm as a special tour for $10, it is a photographer's opportunity. I decided not to go to this as it sounds a little spooky.

No train rides today as I had previously gone on one ( refer previous blog on Transport Heritage Expo 2018). Most of the entire day's timeslots for all train rides had sold out by 12 noon and forget trying to get a ticket to go on the steam boat rides which sold out completely way in advance of today. May think about a vintage train ride on Sunday or Monday out to Chullora or East Hills.

Also at Central Station in the Grand Concourse was a live performances of 1920's music and replicas of past transport for kids to climb into and have photos taken in as well as a ticket & merchandise stall.

I have also uploaded a video onto YouTube of a vintage train travelling from Central Station's Grand Concourse chugging past Redfern Station.

Next stop a quick chicken kebab and lettuce on brown bread sandwich from a small cafe outside of Central Station before heading by train to Redfern and walking to
to view the third and final precinct of The National 2019 New Australian Art exhibition.

Again I had my favourites but some art installations were so bizarre I just didn't understand them. I am waiting for the activation of Ghost Line @ 4 pm but may have to return on 22nd of June closing day as the annual Curve Ball is on tonight and some art installations are blocked off from view.

Some listed art installations were actually not present today or substituted unfortunately.

Photos below.

Loved this art installation - it is a geographical map of where different fruits (and vegetables) are grown in Queensland using a large collection of cardboard cartons. I had no idea how much of Queensland produced bananas, I always though mangos rules there. More bizzare dragon fruits yes but taros?!

This was one of my favourites however you can't take a selfie - I tried but in the end had someone else take one for me.

One of my favourite art installations

I didn't get this art installation either - "Oh Yeah" - was that a suggestion of something sexual?

This art installation was colourful to look at

Great black and white photography but the subject is a little personal - a family's funeral

Interesting 3D art installation - you need to view this from different angles

I just didn't get this art installation - quite morbid actually.

I didn't get this swing neon sign which looks as if it will hit you as you walk past into the next art installation but I loved the other part of it - very clever projection of a female hoisting herself towards the ceiling and dropping household appliances to the ground with sound effects amongst real disgarded household appliances scattered on the ground below

May have to return to view this again when the the live performance is on nearer to closing date - no sign of the artist setting alight the art installation on the day I visited.

Sunday 9th June 2019
What a beautiful day today - perfect for spending a day out at La Perouse. If you liked my blogs on Cockatoo Island, Barrenjoey Light House and Chowder Bay then you will love Bare Island - another must visit tourist destination with a bit of a difference.

It is a day trip but this time heading out to the "End Of The World" Eastern suburbs of Sydney. Forget Bondi Beach or Manly - La Perouse has something for everyone. Yes there is a partly secluded beach that you hike down to, there is the museum with free entry, The Boatsheds which is just one of the places you can purchase fish and chips from dine in or takeaway, kyaking, scuba diving, recreational fishing along the rock pooled coastline or off the bridge connecting the mainland of La Perouse to Bare Island , historical buildings and of course Bare Island.

My day starts with catching the bus and train to Central Station where I walk across the road on Eddy Ave to Stand C. I just missed a 391 bus all the way to Anzac Parade terminus at La Perouse which is the very last stop so wait for the next one. Alternatively I could have caught the L94 from Town Hall which departs before the next 391 but did not think I would make it to Town Hall in time to connect with it eventhough Town Hall is just 1 stop from Central Station. I made the right decision. It is a very long way from the city to La Perouse.

I arrive at La Perouse around 12.17 pm. The first tour of Bare Island is not until 1.30 pm so I toss and turn as to prebook online a ticket to go on the tour in case it is fully booked out when I arrived.

I went online to book but it wanted so much information and took so long I abandoned it until I arrived at La Perouse.

Once I arrived I headed straight down to the bridge and walked across it towards Bare Island. A sign behind the gated Bare Island Fortification entrance advises of days and tour times and how you can purchase tickets at the gate. I assume I have to pay by cash so count out $15 in coins in a snaplock bag for the entry fee. It worked out to be the right decision not to book online. Quite a few people booked online about 30 minutes before the tours started. The bookings therefore were not captured in time for the tours.

Just exploring the rock pools and formations under the bridge to Bare Island was exciting. A little like Balmoral Beach except with a few more historical landmarks to explore.

At 1.30 pm the first walking tour of Bare Island Fortification begins. There was a list of prebookings however I was still able to get on the tour. The tours after this one were probably fully booked as there was a long queue of people already waiting for the 2.30 pm tour outside the gate.

So why is this island a little different to other islands? Mainly because most people get it incorrect and think it is another convict colony or prison as answered incorrectly by a young Asian boy when the question was asked by our guide. Bare Island was never used as a convict colony or prision but as a fort to protect Sydney's coastline and resources such as its main water supply across the island on the mainland. As we walked around the island there is the main 2 storey building which now houses the island's caretakers on the bottom storey and where the top storey of the building is used for educational and display of artifacts found by scuba divers purposes. The island was once used as a retirement home for war veterans. I can't imagine living in these dark underground dormitory style rooms without any electricity or proper running water. The water was collected and stored in a large tank above and pumped down when needed. Candles were the light source but they had to be careful of naked flames as there were very large quanities of flammables around eg gun powder. The island fort is full of markings, corridors, lookouts, windows, doors , rooms , secret nooks and crannies and attachments such as metal rings and holes in walls All of which were engineered with for a purpose - for the number of oversized canons stationed within the fortification. The large rings attached around the concrete walls and the huge circular troughs in the grounds of the fortification were used to house and manouver the canons. The numeric markings on the walls indicated the angles the canons were to be fired at and the holes in the concrete walls were for communication from the command tower above through a series of pipes in the walls - the officers above in the command tower would speak into the pipe and the officers below in the canon room would have their ear over the pipe to listen to these instructions.

See Facebook page for general photos of La Perouse. Photos also below