Governor of New South Wales # 1 - Captain Arthur Phillip, RN

Phillip became the Governor of my state on 26th January 1788, the same day that Australia was claimed for the British Empire. At that stage, the Colony Of New South Wales WAS Australia. For this series, I thought to cover the first 10 Governors, and try to include a statue of each of them. However, I am finding that easier said than done with some of them. The first 10 Governors takes us from 1788 until January 1855, 67 years during which the voice of the people via the state parliament became increasingly important. The first Premier of the state was sworn in in June 1856. After 1855, the role of Governor seemed to be increasingly filled by vacuous barons and viscounts.

Phillip's term as Governor came to an end on 10th December 1792. His heart was not really in it, I suspect. Whoever victualed the First Fleet, and chose those who sailed in her, did a lousy job from Phillip's point of view. He was light on farmers, and he was light on tradies. The rainfall in this country is a smidge different from that in the Old Dart, and flood and famine was a constant weight upon his shoulders. Cooks and Banks painted a glowing picture of the indigenous tribes around the harbour, but they were not taking their land from them - Phillip was, and the tribes reacted in a predictable way.

One of the major thoroughfares of the inner city is Phillip Street, home to numerous legal chambers. And so we come to the statue. It is the only one I know depicting Phillip. There may be more, and I would love them pointed out to me. This one is in the Royal Botanic Gardens alongside Macquarie Street, and opposite The State Library. It was erected in 1897, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascenscion to the throne. It was erected on the site of the grand "Garden Palace" which was burnt to the ground in 1882. I think I am actually glad this glass palace did not last long. It was massive, and gaudy, and dominated the harbour view. Not that this statue of Phillip is not gaudy in its own turn, but tastes vary over the decades.

However, the gaudy, jingly present is overwhelming even this example of bad taste, as towers of glass and steel rise up behind Phillip all the way down Macquarie Street to the very forecourt of the Opera House. When Phillip first climbed upon his marble pedestal, though, Macquarie Street was the epitome of genteel, well-heeled living.

Thank you to The State Library of NSW - custodian of the final four images. Each is out of copyright.

Gamelan - Bridging a cultural divide

The Autumn Vibes Festival in the Botanic Gardens was essentially 'cool' music in between the trees. There was a mix of Asian music and Western music. A conscious effort to bridge the gap between our appreciation and understanding of music that is tuned differently. There were two pianists, a couple of string quartets, a saxophone quartet, a shakuhacki orchestra, and a gamelan. I thought I would close my week long sojourn in the Botanic Gardens with a look at a Gamelan.

A Gamelan is a group of musicians of percussion type instruments, mainly variations upon xylophones, together with a variety of gongs. The gamelan originated on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java.


The xylophones are tuned differently, and played differently from a western xylophone. Fingers are used as 'pegs' to alter, and stop the flow of sound. Played like this, out under a tree, on a brilliant summer's day, the sound is unbeatable. There are many variations of composition and style, especially along traditional and modern divides.

I went to U-tube to find something for you to hear. I was torn: the gamelan from Indonesia were struck with a metal fork, ours were wooden. The music I heard was from a 'modern' composer. I compromised in my head and choose another sample to further bridge the gap. The video clip shows a gamelan playing with an orchestra. Some traditionalists will be challenged by this. But persevere ...

This is my contribution to the Sunday Bridges community.

A folly wrought from iron

More photographs of Mrs Macquarie's Folly - in colour this time - can be seen in a set on my Flickr album.

This is my contribution to the Weekend in Black and White community.

Wrought Iron today

These are the gates to the Royal Botanic Gardens when entering from the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House.

If you recall, last week I went to an exhibition at the foundry of Wrought-Artworks, down at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh, the old Railway Loco-workshops. I showed you a video of their work, and in it Guido spoke about their commission to 'renovate' the wrought iron in these gates.


On Sunday, I deliberately entered the Botanic Gardens via this gate, not through the forecourt, but up and over the Tarpeian Way at the rear of Government House. It is a glorious walk. And lo and behold, the workmanship in these gates is a joy! The little red 'engine' is a free service to move visitors around the Botanic Gardens. The water in the final shot is Sydney Harbour, specifically Farm Cove. There can be few better walks in Sydney than from these gates around to Mrs Macquries's Chair at the tip of The Domain.

This is my contribution to the Skywatch Friday Community.

Wurrungwuri - On the side of the water

Wurrungwuri was officially installed this time last year. It is a gift from a private citizen, to the citizens of Sydney, and is located along the fence-line of Government House in the Royal Botanic Gardens.


It is composed of two, apparently separate, but conceptually cohesive, components. The sandstone blocks are a cascading wave heading towards Farm Cove. The monolith consists of about 16,000 quartz pebbles.

The sign, built into the monolith, is duplicated from a rare shield of the Cadigal peoples, the original inhabitants of the area, pre European settlement.


I have included, after my photographs, an animation from the Wurrungwurri web-site. It is amazing to see the concepualisation of the sculptor, Chris Booth. It is available on U-Tube, so I figure no copyright is being breached. Do watch this animation. The engineering is astounding.

This is my contribution to the Signs Signs community.

The Vibes of Autumn

It was the first Sunday of Autumn. A gentle nor-easter eased in over the waters of Farm Cove. The temperature hovered somewhere between 27 and 30C. The sun shone. The sky was a brilliant blue.

And the crowd built up.


The Royal Botanic Gardens hold pride of place on the foreshore of Sydney. In another five years, they will have been established for 200 years. A project of that remarkable couple, Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie.

Come with me over the next couple of days as I take in the mellow sounds of Autumn, amid the rather long, moist lawns of the gardens.

Theme Day - Fountains

Located immediately outside the Wooloomooloo Gates to the Royal Botanic Gardens on Mrs Macquarie's Drive, is this simplest of fountains. The simplicity attracted, before the geometry magnetised.

The bird is a White Ibis, endemic to this city for the last decade of drought, and, I fear, never to be banish-ed. During the drought, the Trustees determined to re-orient some of their plantings to encourage domestic gardeners away from northern hemisphere yearnings, and to open their eyes to the beauty (and wisdom) of gardening with less moisture. During this period, this 1873 entry-way was relandscaped.


Coming Soon: Autumn of the Arts in our Gardens



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Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (4 of 4)

Thus far, Daramah has unleashed wonders upon the waters, upon the soils and through the air. All big picture stuff. Now he goes in with a finer brush.


The Denning Death Adder travels up from the south. He meets the Bulada Rainbow Serpent. They travel together, weaving underground, creating the tablelands and return to the surface, creating water-holes.


Trees begin to rise up from the surface, and their branches grow. The trees are sung into life and tribes are formed: the Yuin, the Gurik, Boorooberongal, Warmuli, Garnua, Birapi and, Dhungutti. The people break away from the trees and form the tribes of the Sydney basin and the South Coast.


Look at the intensity, at the regal carriage of the back and of the head. Look at the pride of race, of tribe, of those ready to take their place as elders.


The tribes perform their Totem dances, encouraging the young to join in to learn the ways of the tribe, and to take their own place in that vast line that stretches from the past into the future. We see bat, possum, emu, whale, stingray and shark. We witness man and nature coming together to live upon the soil.


I watch closely and catch, the stutters of the young dancer, the shy grin when a step goes astray, the slavish following, and proud ownership. The mesmerising clack-clack of the sticks, curls with the gutteral utterances of the songmen and rise into the early morning fog upon the drone of the didge.

Uncle Max brings closure, thanks Aunty Marie for her presence, and the dancers dissolve into giggles of achievement and relief. In my turn, stunned, I dissolve into the gardens, meandering back along the ridgeline to my terrace upon the hill, as the heat and humidity wrap around the city. I know I have seen THE best, the most meaningful, that Australia Day can offer.


For those who have asked: yes, there was a written programme. And yes, Uncle Max talked his way through The Dreaming. This is what he has been doing for over 30 years: sharing his cultural knowledge and taking other Australians onto country explaining Aboriginal ways and their intricate understandings of the land. Watch back episodes of 'Message Stick' for more. Thank you for sharing this with me over the last few days.

Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (3 of 4)

Some tribes from Central Australia have the Seven Sisters fleeing from a man, but the Yuin mob have a gentler tale.


Daramah, the Great Spirit watches.

It is night, and the seven sisters, a group of stars, rise up and travel from east to west. Three of the sisters, representing the physical, mental and spiritual, circle anti-clockwise around the connectedness rock. They go back in time, creating a vortex as they circle. The seven sisters begin to blow in the wind of the great wind spirit, Kooro-Kori.


It is tempting, in a modern context, to consider the relationship between the Yuin people's 'seven sisters' and the constellation of the Southern Cross. Especially, since three sisters go back into the vortex, which leave the four to form the constellation. I cannot find anything to support this, however. Being mischievous, and to stir the pot, there is a representation of the Southern Cross on our national flag, and all except one of those stars has seven points. It is satisfying to be mischievous at times!


But, I digress. As the performance continued, the song men came more to the fore (they were all strapped with transmitters, and the wire-less connectivity worked a charm).

Here they are in all their splendour. Going clockwise, from top left we have Richard Green, Matthew Doyle and the imposing brother Cecil Mcleod. The young lad on the didge I could not identify. The combination of voice, clap-sticks, and didge was very powerful.


Tomorrow: Our Dreaming draws to a close as the Death Adder and the Rainbow Serpent join together to create the Tree Tribes and the Totems.