Life In Australia

The Rocks district was the first area of Australia to be settled by Europeans in 1788. It then became a centre for shipping and warehousing because of its proximity to Sydney Harbour, before falling into disrepair and then being re-developed as a tourist area.

Further up Argyle Street, I could see that there was a historic warehouse, a reminder of the area’s past. I turned off Argyle Street and walked down a very attractive looking street with some very nice shops. Opposite the Gucci designer boutique were several shops selling jewellry made from opals, the national gemstone of Australia. As I looked in the windows, I was amazed at how many different colours an opal can be: from white to blue to green. It seemed that the more irridiscent opals were the more expensive. I thought of Marilynne having some opal jewellry designed and made for her in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy - how wonderful would that be!

I walked past a lively pub, filled to the door with people enjoying a late lunchtime drink. I noticed that it was billed as Sydney’s oldest pub, established in 1828. It is called the Fortune of War, an unusual name for a pub.

I’ve just had a look on the pub’s website and found out that it was so called because it was the first and last pub visited by generations of Australian servicemen, who were either about to embark on a ship on their way to serve their country in a conflict overseas or were having a celebratory drink just after disembarking in Australia after a period spent serving abroad. Yet another interesting slice of Sydney’s history!

I looked at my watch and decided that my mini-holiday had to come to an end as I needed to rush back to Circular Quay station and take the train back home so that I would be in time to pick up my daughter from school.

I couldn’t believe just how wonderful my unexpected mini-holiday had been, filled with some very interesting discoveries. I felt relaxed and refreshed as I travelled home on the train.