Days 69 & 70 - Australia Day, and Recovery Afterwards, Sydney, NSW, Australia

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Sunday 26th and Monday 27th January 2014. Australia Day, and Recovery Afterwards, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. In contemporary Australia, celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation, and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian history, official community awards, and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new immigrants into the Australian community.

The meaning and significance of Australia Day have evolved over time. Unofficially, or historically, the date has also been variously named "Anniversary Day", "Invasion Day", "Foundation Day", and "ANA Day". The 26th January 1788 marked the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia (then known as New Holland). Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales held in 1818.

On New Years Day 1901, the British colonies of Australia formed a Federation, marking the birth of modern Australia. A national day of unity and celebration was looked for. It was not until 1935 that all Australian states and territories had adopted use of the term "Australia Day" to mark the date, and not until 1994 that the date was consistently marked by a public holiday on that day by all states and territories. Nowadays, the holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honours list and addresses from the Governor-General and Prime Minister. It is an official public holiday in every state and territory of Australia, unless it falls on a weekend in which case the following Monday (as will be the case tomorrow) is a public holiday instead. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation. Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia. We are looking forward to it!

We had already picked up a guide to the activities of the day which was split into 3 sections. What was happening in the CBD, the harbour and Hyde Park. We had decided to give Hyde Park as miss completely as it was largely aimed at families and children with a bouncy Stonehenge (yes - not a castle - may as well go the whole hog and pick something ancient instead of just old!). We had seen this being erected during our visits to the art gallery. The first of the things we wanted to see were happening in the harbour. We had already sussed out our vantage point at Dawes Point yesterday.

The day started with the raising of the Aboriginal and Australian Flags on top of the Harbour Bridge at the crack of dawn. This was closely followed by P & O's Pacific Jewell and Pacific Pearl anchoring in the harbour with approximately 4000 'visitors' (paying passengers) on the ships which "would stand 'magnificent' in the midst of the harbour activities" (would love to see a boat that could stand!). This honor was bestowed upon P & O because the cruise line is an official sponsor of the Sydney Harbour program for the second year running. Historically though, the line did bring a huge number of new settlers to these shores. This was followed by the Body Science Great Australian Swim Series from Man O War Steps in Farm Cove to the Royal Botanic Gardens which started at 8.30 a.m. and continued until the last person finished (around 10.30 a.m.). We had already decided to give this 'sparrow's fart' timed stuff a miss as it was going to be a long day anyway.

We arrived at the Upper Battery at Dawes Point with plenty of time to spare for the finish of the Ferrython. Dressed and decorated to the nines, Sydney's beloved First Fleet ferries lined up for one of Australia's most popular and iconic events. They raced from Circular Quay to Shark Island dashed to the finish line under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have no idea which ferry won but it was great fun to watch.

The whole area was full of families with picnics, champers etc. The kids were enjoying playing on the cannon. One family had these fantastic glass holders which you stuck in the ground and then put your glass in the loop -we must get some of those for Spain! We watched the start of the Harbour Parade with ships large and small all decorated with bunting, Australian flags, gold and green flags and "Happy Birthday Australia!".

At about 11.55 am we sauntered down to the railings on the harbour front, right under the Harbour Bridge, opposite Bradfield Park. At noon exactly the Australian Army started firing a 21 gun salute. This was all done in the presence of various dignitaries aboard HMAS Choules which we had watched sail into the harbour earlier. To complete the tri-service salute there was an aerial display by 3 Australian Airforce Hawkes. It was described in the blurb as a climax but all they did was a fly over turning on their sides a bit. "Not a patch on the Red Arrows" remarked D and M agreed.

We watched a bit more of the harbour parade and could hear the music for the Tug and Yacht Ballet which was billed as "a dazzling choreographed display, using the Eastern Harbour as the stage". There were supposed to be two "agile and powerful" tugs 'dancing' with a flotilla of yachts giving harbour spectators a precision sailing display, maneuvering in unison. We couldn't see anything so decided to go up on the Harbour Bridge for a look. We walked up Ives Steps and found the way up to the bridge. M walked gingerly (doesn't do heights) as far away from the edge as possible, only occasionally tiptoeing over to take a look at the goings on below. We did have a better view of the Tug and Yacht ballet from up there and also the Harbour Parade too. While we were up on the bridge walkway however, we did get to witness the Quantas A380 fly-over. It was fantastic as we were high up on the bridge and this enormous (largest passenger airliner in the world) was flying low over it to celebrate Australia Day. D got some good snaps.

We came off the bridge and decided to go and see what was happening in The Rocks. The atmosphere was buzzing. First we went and got a "Sizzler" (sausage in a long bun) in Argyle Street. We were lucky as he was on his last few sausages - there were only 3 left after we had our two. We strolled around a bit and watched a band called Jones Jr who were performing on the Rocks Square Stage - they were excellent. Then we headed back up the hill towards The Australia Pub via Bunkers Hill, named after Capt Eber Bunker, the father of Australian whaling, who had his house and store here in the early 1800's. It was a good high point from which to view the goings on below. There was a karaoke event going on and most of the participants were of oriental origin. The standard of singing was anything between mediocre to terrible but it was fun to watch - and they were having such a good time. We continued on to the Australia Pub which was full to bursting point with punters. We found two bar stools and just sat and soaked up the atmosphere.

After the beer we walked down George Street until we reached Cockle Bay. We crossed the Pyrmont Bridge and made our way to the Maritime Museum. As it was Australia Day they were doing a one-off $5 for all ticket. We purchased a couple of tickets and made our way out to the boats moored in the harbour; as they close an hour earlier than the rest of the museum exhibits. First we went on board HMAS (Her Majesties Australian Ship) Vampire. HMAS Vampire was the third of three Australian-built Daring class destroyers serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of the first all-welded ships built in Australia, she was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1952 and 1959, and was commissioned into the RAN a day after completion.

Vampire was regularly deployed to South East Asia during her career and she was attached to the Far East Strategic Reserve on five occasions, including during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. She escorted the troop transport HMAS Sydney on six of the latter's twenty-five transport voyages to Vietnam. In 1977, the destroyer was assigned to escort the Royal Yacht Britannia during Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip's visit to Australia. In 1980, Vampire was re-classified as a training ship. The warship remained in service until 1986, when she was decommissioned and presented to the Australian National Maritime Museum for preservation as a museum ship; the largest museum-owned object on display in Australia. It was very crowded (because of the bargain price) but really interesting nevertheless.

Moored alongside the Vampire is HMAS Onslow. This was one of six Oberon-class submarines operated by the RAN. Ordered in 1963, Onslow was laid down at the end of 1967 by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Scotland, launched almost a year later, and commissioned into the RAN at the end of 1968. Although never involved in war, three major incidents occurred during Onslow's career. The first occurred in 1972, when a disgruntled sailor who disobeyed orders caused the submarine to dive to almost twice her safe operating depth. As a result, the RAN changed the Submarine Service from being able to "conscript" any sailor for submarine service to volunteer only. The second happened in 1981, when carbon monoxide fumes from one of the diesel generators filled the submarine, resulting in the death of one sailor. The third was a controversial line-crossing ceremony in 1995. During her career, Onslow became the first conventionally powered submarine to be fitted with anti-ship missiles, and was successful in war-games: 'sinking' a seven-ship flotilla during Exercise Kangaroo 3 in 1980, and the United States super-carrier USS Carl Vinson at RIMPAC 1998. Onslow was decommissioned in 1999, and was presented to the Australian National Maritime Museum, where she is now preserved as a museum ship. We couldn't go on board her today as only 12 people are allowed on at a time, and it was totally impractical to allow this on Australia Day.

After the battleship and the submarine we took a look at the Vietnamese Fishing Boat, named the 'Tu Do' which means 'freedom'. This is a Vietnamese refugee boat built in 1975. Its passengers were part of the wave of people who fled South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. It was built to the design of a dragnet fishing boat from Phu Quock Island to avoid arousing the suspicion of the military authorities in Vietnam. When the boat arrived in Darwin in November 1977 it had 31 people on board, allowing each person just 3 sq metres of space. Tu Do had travelled 6,500 km with only a map torn from a Vietnamese schoolbook and a compass, guided by Captain Tan Thanh Lu's skill as a sailor. He said later, "Making the decision to escape is like going to war. You do it because you think it's necessary, but you never want to do it twice." Then we went over to the last boat which is a fully restored Viking ship which is here to compliment the Viking exhibition which is going on in the Maritime Museum main building. We both dressed up with Viking horns and M tried a shield and helmet for good measure - it was good fun.

Then we made our way inside the museum to see the rest of the exhibits. One of the best ones was the one on the 'Ten Pound Poms' (Ten Pound Poms is a colloquial term used in Australia to describe British subjects who migrated to Australia after the Second World War under an assisted passage scheme established and operated by the Government of Australia). Created in 1945 during the government of Ben Chifley as part of the "Populate or Perish" policy by the first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, the scheme was designed to substantially increase the population of Australia and to supply workers for the country's booming industries. In return for subsidising the cost of travelling to Australia—adult migrants were charged only ten pound sterling for the fare (hence the name), and children were allowed to travel for free—the Government promised employment prospects, housing and a generally more optimistic lifestyle. The Viking Exhibition was great and very well done but we had seen the real deal in Scandinavia.

The Chance Bros lens from the original Tasman Lighthouse was on display. Tasman Island is one of the two most isolated light-stations in Australia, and for that reason, was extremely unpopular with all keepers. The light is sited on the highest point of Tasman Island, near Storm Bay, which is close to the Tasman Peninsula. The Tasman Lighthouse is known for its height, 250 metres, and steepness of its cliffs. Once thickly forested, it is now almost bare as the result of the cutting of trees for firewood and two severe fires. Between Tasman Island and Cape Pillar, the last point of the mainland in a south-easterly direction, is a narrow passage about 1,234 metres wide. The lighthouse was built in 1906. It is constructed of cast-iron plates, circular in section, bolted together and positioned on a concrete base 26 metres in diameter. The keepers' cottages also built in 1906 are solid brick. Sheds for wood and coal etc were all joined under the same roof as the cottage for protection from the fierce weather that frequents the island in winter. At 276 metres above high water it is among the highest of Australian lighthouses.

At Tasman Island in South-eastern Tasmania light-keepers' stores and other goods had to be transferred from the lighthouse steamer to a launch which conveyed them to a flying fox (a conveyor suspended from an overhead wire). The flying fox extended for some hundreds of feet from a rock about twenty-five feet above sea level to a ledge on the island about a hundred feet above the sea. From there the goods were hauled by an engine-driven winch along a steep tram line up a cliff to an elevation of about 700 feet. Thence they were transferred to a horse-drawn tramway which took them on the final stage to the lighthouse, situated about 700 feet above sea level. Often supply vessels would have to make repeated attempts to land supplies due to inclement weather. The other point of access to the island was the 'Zigzag', named for the access path down the cliffs. It was used for by small boats for landing the mail, urgent supplies and medical assistance. Pigeons were used for the first 20 years for emergency messages. Fencing surrounded the lighthouse and keepers' complex to protect stock and small children from it's dangerous sheer cliffs. Stock used to disappear down the various holes and caves that dotted the island, never to be seen again. In 1976 the light was automated. This saw the replacement of the original dome to accommodate the new apparatus. This new apparatus was experimentally powered with wind generators. This power source proved reliable - although it was backed up by two diesel generators - and the station was de-manned in May 1977. The wind generation was replaced by solar power in 1991. We took some pictures of the original lens which is housed in the museum.

After the museum we went to Chinatown to have dinner at our new 'favourite' haunt the 'Cafe de Relax', which is not a French eatery as the name would suggest, but an oriental place in a food hall in Sussex Place. M had Peppered Beef Noodles and D Special Fried Rice - washed down with a carafe of wine from the drinks bar.

After dinner we made our way to Cockle Bay to secure a good viewing point for the Fireworks. It was absolutely packed but D found us a pretty good location at the front of a raised terrace so, even if the people in front of us stood up, they were lower down than us. The fireworks were the best we had ever seen by quite a long way (and that is saying something as we had seen the NYE Fireworks at Madeira in 2007/8 and the world pyrotechnics championships a few years before that in Cannes, France). The camera couldn't really do it justice so we just enjoyed the show which was all done to music (including the Australian anthem) which was very moving. The sense of patriotism was amazing and it was fantastic to witness and be a part of it. We made a wise move and went to catch the bus home two stops further back than normal. When it got to our normal stop hardly anyone could get on as it was full.

The next day we had a day off. We slept in and took the opportunity to do the laundry and clean the house.

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