Urban Ambling

Naval Surgeon, Explorer, Adventurer, and perhaps a would-be Smuggler George Bass was an extraordinary person, enormously talented and incredibly brave. It was her, together with Matthew Flinders who carried out early exploration from the infant colony at Sydney by traveling down the south coast and ultimately proving there was a large body of water between what is now Victoria and Tasmania. previously maps had all been drawn with Tasmania drawn connected to the “northern island”. He was an extraordinary man but was never fully recognised in a public way for his efforts. He was highly regarded by those who knew him well, referring to him with phrases such as “ingenious, enterprising, and remarkable” - praise any of us would be overwhelmed to have applied to ourselves. Despite that, history didn’t treat him well and he is often overshadowed by Flinders. The best indication of which is that no one wrote a biography of him until 1952. There is a subsequent one but it took all that time for someone to tell us about this wonderful man. He is one of the statues on the Lands Department building, on the Northern Facade of the building. It is truly extraordinary how much he packed into 32 years, the entire span of his life. If you asked ten Australians who George Bass is or what he did, not many could do it but hopefully this will help close that gap.

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. On the way, we mention why gas...

This episode takes us up Grosvenor Street to Church Hill. 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 these days. Church Hill was also the site of one of three Government Windmills which ran along the ridge which now gives access to the Harbour Bridge. This tells of that windmill ( built to last 200 years , but blown down in a storm after a year or so ) and also of the three Grand Hotels which once graced The Hill. The area carries a lot of traffic from the Bridge but is not crowded. It is well worth an amble. The walk up Grosvenor goes past a number of historic buildings. An added plus is that Lang Park does have sunshine in the early afternoon in Winter. Enjoy your amble

The imposing statue of T. S. Mort dominates the southern edge of Macquarie Place , which is opposite the Lands Department Building. Mort was an interesting and complex person who arrived in Sydney in 1838 aged 21 years. He came with very little money. In the 40 years til his death he rose to become a very prominent and successful business man. He was very community minded, giving both time and money to many causes. One of those causes was Horticulture. He was an avid gardener. The gardens around his home were some of the finest in the colony. More than 1000 people attended the unveiling of the statue by the then Governor in June 1883. That speaks volumes as to the regard in which he was held. Have a sit in the Place and admire the statue whilst his story is told. There are worse places to sit , than outside the nearby Customs House Hotel. I remember it with affection from my misspent youth !! Happy ambling.

Someone once said that Bridge Street in Sydney was the finest of its streets, in a place that has a lot of competitors for that title. I will not debate that question, but simply say that it is one of my favourites. It has a wonderful set of Victorian Public Buildings and leads, at the eastern end, to the Botanic Gardens and the Conservatorium of Music. It is said to have the largest number of statues of any street in Australia!! It does have a lot, especially on the facade of the very gracious Lands Department Building. Ambling around that building alone would happily occupy a bit of time. This episode gives an introduction to the western end of the street and provides historical details, including one of the Lands Department statues. It is made to accompany you on your walk! Happy, and hopefully informative, walking If you would like to contact me, head to my website: http://urbanambling.com/ (http://urbanambling.com/)