Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Thought for the Day


20 of . . . Sydney Then and Now

Take the time to have a good look at the pics below because in most inmages you will find a common building, reference point etc.

Bridge Street, Sydney in 1870 and 2009

View of Sydney from the bridge pylon 1940 and 2016

Burwood Road, Burwood opposite the park in the 1920s and in 2014

Bennelong Point 1952 – 2015

Evening Star Hotel, cnr of Cooper and Elizabeth Sts, Surry Hills c1905, 1989, 2015

Bennelong Point featuring tram, tracks and overhead cables at Fort Macquarie tram shed 1953, Sydney Opera House and forecourt 2016.

The corner of George and Market Streets, Sydney in the 1870's and 2014. The 1870's photo shows the Crown & Anchor Hotel on the north east corner.

Macquarie street, near Sydney Hospital 1900 and 2016

Cabbies, Bridge Street, Sydney 1904 and 2016.

Pitt Street, looking north towards Market Street in the early 1900's and in 2015

Newspapers being loaded on trucks outside the herald building on O'Connell Street, Sydney 1920. Later photograph 2016

The Frisco Hotel, cnr of Dowling & Nesbitt Sts, Woolloomooloo 1912 and 2014

Royal Hotel, Five Ways, Paddington - c1920 & 2014

Parramatta Road, near Johnston Street, Annandale in 1952 and 2009.

The Esplanade Coogee c1900 and 2013

King St, Newtown 1927 and 2016

Looking towards Macquarie Street from Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney c1915 and 2016.

Art Gallery of NSW, early 1900s and 2016

Hickson Road, Dawes Point c1927 and 2016

Military Road, Mosman near Spit Road c1910 and 2016.


Monday, February 26, 2018

Thought for the Day

Another from Leo . . .




DVD of the Day


I have watched this video a number of times and I don't tire of it.

"No one steals my lunch!!"

Watch it by clicking on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM2u1SsAshg



Art Spot: James Brunt

Some beauty to kick start your day, unless you’re overseas and receive it at different hours (what time do the US subscribers receive each day’s post?) . . .


English artist James Brunt – no, not the guy who sings “You’re Beautiful”, that’s James Blunt – makes beautiful ephemeral works of art by arranging natural objects such as sticks, rocks and leaves. The art works don’t last but the photos do.

His working code of practice is set out on his website at:
Hi all, a few things about me and my working practice. I am very conscious of the environment around me and take into consideration many things when deciding to make a piece of work. This code that I work to now has developed over time as my understanding of my surroundings grows. It wasn’t always the case, but it is now.

1. I don’t take stones away from their habitat. 
2. If working in a popular resort, that welcomes and relies on tourism, I have no issues of moving stones around on a beach, they move 2 twice a day with the tide anyway. Where possible I collect stones from gathered piles, so not partially buried stones if I can avoid it. 
3. If I plan to work in a more sensitive site, I check. For example, last week I went to Spurn Point a nature reserve. I contacted them first to firstly see if they objected, and secondly asked about any considerations. I took on board that advice. They were though, very keen that I went there to work. 
4. In woodlands, If you look at my work, you’ll see that the majority (90% ish) is created directly on existing paths. I don’t want to go trampling flora in the pursuit of making work. The majority of the 10% that is off path, is created in public parks. 
5. I don’t (I have in the past) work in flowing water. Its a personal thing, but I can see the impact on displacement in this situation and don’t particularly see the benefit in me doing so. 
6. I don’t over populate environments with loads of installations. I make a piece of work, which often when finished, will last no longer than a couple of hours (often less).
Gallery:
















Thought for the Day

Leo M sent me some items on aging that I will use as Thoughts for the Day this week. 

Thanks Leo.

Here is the first:



Readers Write

I posted a pic on Saturday in connection with Blakehurst and captioned it “Princes Highway at Blakehurst near Tom Uglys Point, date unknown”.

This is the photograph:


I received an email from Kara O in respect of that photograph which has left me somewhat in awe:
Hi Otto 
Been a while since I made any comments though often tempted to even if just to say well done yet again. 
However, today the 'date unknown' on one of the photographs (post of Sat 24th) spurred me to take a closer look. 
Image in question is captioned: Princes Highway at Blakehurst near Tom Uglys Point, date unknown. 
Zooming in on the group of four people walking along the road (middle of pic) I was trying to determine whether the adult male was a sailor and yes he is. Looking beyond the group there is a banner or sign, partly obscured by a telegraph pole, which looked very much like it said Sarah Bennett. You should find this linked article interesting - in fact I have a feeling I have read about 'Cocky' before and the most likely place? Bytes Daily. 
https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/the_cocky_bennett_story 
Anyway, Sarah BOWDEN (nee THOMPSON) married Charles C BENNETT (Sydney, 1890). She was the widow of Joseph Clement BOWDEN (m 26 Jun 1875) who died 29 Jul 1889 and is buried at the Rookwood Necropolis. Getting back to the sign there are other words under Sarah's name - Dover Point. A google search found an image on Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/799740846303384289/visual-search/?x=16&y=8&w=530&h=340 
And a little more looking found a plan relating to renovations in 1909.  
Thanks for providing a welcome break from catching up with work related research (which, much as I love it, is sometimes necessary to sort the wood from the trees!) and I never need an excuse to avoid housework! 
Still love BYTES though sometimes don't get time to really peruse it and enjoy. 
Kind Regards 
Kara
Thanks, Kara.

Some comments about Kara’s email:
  • Here is an enlargement of that part of the photograph referred to by Kara:
  • TThe first link in Kara's email is to an entry in The Dictionary of Sydney about a cockatoo, Cocky Bennett, who lived to 119 years when the usual is 80 years. Kara is correct in that Cocky Bennett has previously featured in Bytes, here is that story and link:
Cocky Bennett the sulphur-crested cockatoo died in Sydney in 1916 aged 120 — possibly making him Australia's longest lived parrot (although his precise age varies from source to source). The legendary raucous bird spent the first 78 years of his life sailing the South Sea Islands with his owner Captain George Ellis (who acquired the bird when he was a boy). After Ellis died in the late 1880s aged 87, Cocky wound up at the Sea Breeze Hotel at Tom Ugly's Point, where he became a star attraction — despite having lost all his feathers by the turn of the century. (His freakish beak was caused by psittacine beak and feather disease.) Cheeky locals were known to ply the "Cock of the Bar" with "strong brew", making him launch into his noisy catchphrases. They included "One at a time, gentlemen, please" and "If I had another bloody feather I'd fly!"


http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/more-oz-fun-facts-and-pics.html
  • The following additional paragraphs are from The Dictionary of Sydney entry:
Captain Ellis died in the Solomon Islands aged 87 having travelled around the world with Cocky many times. Following his death, Ellis's nephew took temporary charge of Cocky although he had been bequeathed to Joseph and Sarah Bowden, who were then probably the licensees of Bowden's Clubhouse near the corner of Hunter and Castlereagh streets, Sydney.

By the time the Bowdens took delivery of their bequest they had moved to Melbourne. With Joseph's death in 1889, his wife Sarah married Charles Bennett and the couple moved to Tom Ugly's Point in Blakehurst where Charles became the licensee of the Sea Breeze Hotel.

Before motor traffic and modern bridges changed the scene, the Sea Breeze Hotel enjoyed great popularity as it was a convenient place to wait for the steam punt across the Georges River at Tom Ugly's Point and it had an excellent reputation for its cuisine, especially the seafood. When Charles died in September 1898, Sarah continued as licensee until she retired in 1915.
As I said, thanks K.