Sitting Pretty: Angel With A View

This Angel in Waverly Cemetery (between Bronte and Clovelly beaches) is sitting pretty enjoying one of the best views in Sydney,and I'd hazard a guess, one of the best views from a cemetery anywhere in the world.


For some more pics (including a fallen angel and angels who have turned their backs on the view) see here.

You can still get buried here, but plots are scarce, and it doesn't come cheap. Probably better to enjoy it while you're alive, and happily the Bondi to Coogee (and beyond) coastal walk takes you right past here (the path is defined by the white fence and orange stuff).

Now have a look at these theme interpretations from around the world. Time zones mean different places come on line at different times.

St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Grenoble, France - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam

Berowra Waters Car ferry

The ferry runs 24 hours a day except between noon and 2.30pm on the second Tuesday of the month.

Crossing the river shown in yesterday's photo.

Berowra Waters

View from the road down to Berowra Waters and the free car ferry across Berowra Creek, an anabranch of the Hawkesbury River.

Guest Workers In Australia

Update 18 Dec 2007: It was reported in today's Sydney Morning Herald that Mr Gong and Mr Huang reached a settlement with their former employer and will now be free to return to their families in China, with financial security. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but were believed to cover all of what they were owed.

Meet Mr Huang Jianzhing, and behind to the right Mr Gong Wei.

They each paid $ 12 000 to a recruitment agent in China to come to work in Australia under the Australian government's 457 workers' visa program. This allows Australian companies to employ overseas workers for a limited period of time. Their families remain in China. Like many guest workers, they were lead to believe they would be paid a fair wage, and would be able to help their families at home.

Mr Huang and Mr Gong told us through the translator that when they arrived in Australia they were paid $50 a week, and forced to work up to 17 hours straight, in sometimes dangerous conditions. They are currently homeless, having been fired when they complained.

The Construction Union is housing them and assisting them with a legal case to try to cover back pay.

Other workers facing a similar situation have been deported before they can attempt to get back pay owed.

A rally was held today outside the Sydney office of Australian prime Minister, John Howard, to protest about the exploitation of these and other workers like them.

Ben Chifley

A steel sculptural image of former Labor party Prime Minister (1945-49) Ben Chifley stands in Chifley Square. On the grid of cabbage palms, this replaces one of the trees. The image is cut from two flat sheets of stainless steel, narrowly separated by a truss. It is like a 2-D pop art image.

Swimming enclosure, Brooklyn

Brooklyn is possibly the northerly most suburb of Sydney, on the southern shore of the Hawkesbury River. A great place for a picnic, a dig in the sand, or a swim, or to hire a houseboat for a time. You can get there by suburban train from central Sydney in 55 minutes.

No Diving or Jumping

Tomorrow, I'll show you where not to dive or jump.