Port Arthur, Tasmania

Posted on December 15, 2013 Posted in australia, history, tasmaniaTagged australia, colony, convict, history, port arthur, prison, sandstone, settlement, tasmaniaLeave a comment

Port Arthur prison colony is one of Australia’s most impressive physical reminders of its convict past. Set on the scenic Tasman peninsula, it must have been the site of great convict hardship and suffering during the 19th century.

The eeriness and emotional power of the site is further heightened by the tragic events of April 1996, when a lone gunman committed the worst single-shooter mass killing in Australian history there.

Where the cafe once stood and where a dozen people lost their lives in 1996, is now a simple memorial garden. It felt like the eeriest place on the entire site.

Tasmania’s Museum of Old & New Art

Posted on December 15, 2013December 15, 2013 Posted in architecture, australia, modern, tasmaniaTagged architecture, art, australia, gallery, hobart, modern, mona, museum, tasmaniaLeave a comment

Built on the site of a former winery on a scenic headland a short ferry ride down the Derwent River from Hobart, since opening in 2011, Tasmania’s MONA – Museum of Old & New Art – has surely become the most exciting privately funded art space and museum in Australia. A must-visit destination for any first time visitor to Tasmania.

Below: The infamous Cloaca machine, that eats, digests and excretes daily.

Federation Square, Melbourne

Posted on January 7, 2011January 7, 2011 Posted in architecture, australia, melbourne, modernTagged architecture, australia, federation square, melbourne, modernLeave a comment

A striking civic and cultural space in the heart of Melbourne. Officially opened in 2002, it was designed by Lab Architecture Studio and Bates Smart Architects.

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Rozelle Tram Depot, Sydney

Posted on January 7, 2011December 15, 2013 Posted in australia, history, sydneyTagged australia, decay, featured, graffiti, industrial, rozelle, sydney, tram, transport1 Comment

Sydney used to have one of the largest metropolitan tram fleets in the world. This all changed in the 1950s when trams were progressively replaced with buses.

Rozelle Tram Depot still houses six of the original trams that used to run on the network, though they are woefully neglected and have been subject to extensive vandalism and graffiti over the years.

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Angels of Waverley Cemetery, Sydney

Posted on October 9, 2010February 16, 2011 Posted in australia, christianity, religion, sydneyTagged angels, australia, cemetery, sculpture, stone, sydney, waverleyLeave a comment

Perched atop cliffs in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Waverley Cemetery must be one of the most spectacularly located cemeteries anywhere in the world. It is noted for its ornate tombs, headstones and funerary sculpture – angels are particularly popular.

Notable Australians buried here include Australia’s first Prime Minister Edmund Barton, poet Henry Lawson and cricketer Victor Trumper.

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Sydney Opera House

Posted on October 9, 2010January 13, 2011 Posted in architecture, australia, modern, sydneyTagged architecture, australia, modern, sydney, sydney opera house, utzon2 Comments

Jørn Utzon’s modern classic. Completed in 1973, it is located on the site of a former tram depot.

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Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto

Posted on March 14, 2010December 15, 2013 Posted in architecture, asia, buddhism, japan, landscape, religionTagged asia, buddhism, japan, kinkaku-ji, kyoto, religion, temple, zen1 Comment

Also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion – for obvious reasons. The present pavilion is a modern one, dating from the 1950s, after the previous structure was burned down by a crazed monk. However, there has been a temple on the site since the 14th century AD.