After completing the southern segment of the tour, our bus took us across the Harbor Bridge to North Sydney, where we were able to get some nice views and photos of the Central Business District with its skyscrapers and Sidney Tower, as well as the Opera House and Darling Harbour.
The north shore of Sydney Harbor is more suburban and residential than the south, but no less picturesque. Our tour bus took us to several vantage points from which we were able to obtain fabulous views of the harbor area, while the driver continued to regale us with tales from the history of the city and point out examples of local color.
At one of the stops, Arabanoo Lookout, we learned about Arabanoo, the first Australian aborigine to live among Europeans. In 1788, the first year of the colony’s settlement, relations between the settlers and the aborigines were going very poorly, and Admiral Arthur Philip, the first governor of New South Wales, decided that radical measures needed to be taken to improve communications between them. The means by which he chose to accomplish this was to forcibly kidnap a native and teach him English. Arabanoo, who became the unwilling object of his attentions, was about 30 years old. Phillip’s heavy-handed experiment was not a success; Arabanoo did not learn much English, relations with the aborigines continued to deteriorate, and after six months he died of smallpox, which also spread to the rest of the aborigine population, killing about 2000 of them.
View of Sydney Bay from north Sydney
View of south harbor from north Sydney
Houses and condos on the cliffs of north Sydney
North Head from Arabanoo Lookout
Sydney North Harbour from Balgowlah Heights
North Sydney Harbor area
The ultimate destination of our northern excursion was Manly Beach, on the coast to the north of Sydney Harbor, the place where Arabanoo was taken captive. When first exploring the area, Governor Phillip encountered some indigenous men and commented on their robust and “manly” physique; ever after it was known as Manly Beach.
Manly Beach is one of Australia's most famous beaches, the site of the world's first surfing contest, held in 1964.
Manly Beach had a relaxed ambience that I found quite appealing.
The New Brighton Hotel was easily the most striking structure in Manly Beach.
The name of this pub had a particular appeal to me. I bet Dennis Griesser would have liked it too. Dennis, who passed away in 2022, was an old friend and colleague who had an affinity for frogs.
I found myself right at home in Manly Beach because when I was in college I worked in the Blue Door Cafe in Long Beach, California.
This sleek Italian MV Agusta cafe racing bike on display in a Manly Beach showroom was the first one I had ever seen in person.
We discovered that Australia, like the US and Canada, has its share of outlaw bikers. We would see more of them in South Australia.
At the end of the afternoon, en route back to the barn, our tour bus swung by the Sydney Olympic Park, where I shot a photo of the main stadium.