A Trip to Australia and New Zealand
Sydney - Downtown
Sydney is Australia's largest city and is home to the Australian Securities Exchange, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Caltex Australia, Commonwealth Bank and many other large Australian and International firms including City Bank and Deutsche Bank. The city accounts for one quarter of Australia's gross national product. The Economist ranks it as the 16th most expensive city in the world.
Architecture in the city ranges in style across several centuries and although many of the newest buildings are very impressive the really unique structures are the older ones. As more and more urban centers turn to glass and steel the visual appeal of the old classics grows stronger and stronger. Sydney has some good ones.
Sydney Town Hall facing George Street was built in the 1880s and still houses the Sydney City Council chambers. It is also used for grand social functions and official entertainment. It used to be that the front steps were an important meeting place, but recently guards have been posted day and night to keep the steps clear of loitering.
The Queen Victoria Building fills one full city block in the commercial center of Sydney between George, Druit, York and Market Streets. The QVB, as it is called, is located across the street from Sydney Town Hall. It was designed by George McRae and completed in 1898. At the time of its construction, McRae was also serving as a government architect. Part of the reason that the building is so ornate is that it was designed with the specific purpose of employing a large number of skilled craftsmen who were out of work at the time due to a down turn in the economy of New South Wales. A statue of Queen Victoria done by Irish sculptor John Hughes sits at the Druit Street entrance.
