Como

“Como”, said the station sign. And they ran on bridges over two arms of water from the sea, and they saw what looked like a long lake with wooded shores and bungalows: a bit like Lake Como, but oh, so unlike. That curious sombreness of Australia, the sense of oldness, with the forms all worn down low and blunt, squat. The squat–seeming earth. "

- DH Lawrence, Kangaroo, 1923.

Yesterday I saw a wonderful new play, called Toy Symphony, by Australian playwright, Michael Gow. Gow grew up in southern Sydney at Como, which was indeed named after Lake Como in northern Italy. As the play was based in parts on Gow's life, we travelled to Como in several scenes of the play.

So, today, we did something I've been meaning to do for a long time - we hopped on the train and travelled the 25 minutes from our place to Como and had breakfast at the Como Marina Cafe. Then we wandered around, and walked across the old railway bridge. It's now a footbridge and cycleway, joining Oatley and Como, across the Georges River.
The railway bridge was completed in 1885

Below: Photo of railway bridge taken by Robert Hunt, 1885. Macleay Museum, Sydney.

Above: Cafe, marina and pool, taken from the bridge

After all that strenuous exercise, I cooled off with a dip in the free pool.

More pool pics here.

Aerial Sydney again - this time the south

My previous aerial shots of Sydney have tended to be from the north or west. Yesterday we flew in from the south, then (for those of you who know these things) landed from the western end of the east-west runway - not used as often these days. The approach afforded great views of the Sutherland Shire and St George areas, and the bridges across the Georges River, Como railway bridge (closest), Tom Ugly's and Captain Cook, and all the way across to Cronulla.

I've previously posted quite a few pictures around both Tom Ugly's and Captain Cook bridges, and around the shores of the Georges River. I think it's always fun flying into a city you are very familiar with and recognising large parts of it!

There were two things that were immediately obvious to me as we got lower: southern Sydney still has a prevalence of red rooftops (originally terracotta Marseilles style tiles, now not so much terracotta), and that the jacaranda tree is almost 'naturalised' - look closely or click on the photos to make them larger - and there are vast swathes of beautiful purple blooms.

Fishing near Tom Ugly's

Fishing in the Georges River. Photo taken from Tom Ugly's Bridge looking toward Captain Cook Bridge. Have a great weekend, whether you go fishing or not!

Yeramba Lagoon, Picnic Point

A paper about Yeramba Lagoon wetlands.

This is an estuarine system, isolated from the Georges River by construction of a causeway. It has been heavily affected by suburban runoff, sewerage overflow and illegal dumping. Weed infestation is due to high nutrients from pollution. A volunteer group called Friends of Yeramba Lagoon tries to assist with regeneration.

Curves

Tranquility

Looking across the Georges River towards the city. I called this "Tranquility" to draw attention to the difference between this peaceful scene and the 62 nd anniversary of Hiroshima Day.

Sunday morning fishing, Tom Ugly's Point

Everyone lost in their own thoughts (or telephone).

Picnic: Bring Your Own (BYO) nargile/sheesha/hookah/hubble-bubble

Picnic at Garrison Point, Georges Hall.

Late autumn and winter in Sydney usually brings perfect picnic weather, and there's no shortage of gorgeous places to get the family or social club together to enjoy the daytime sun.

One thing I'm really impressed by is the effort local councils have made to create regional parks and picnic grounds. This is part of the Mirambeena Regional Park, maintained by Bankstown City Council.

I've uploaded some more photos from this delightful picnic ground at Sydney Daily Photos Extra.