Spent last week in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. A whirlwind of a tour with very little free time but I did snap off a few shots.
Canon 5D Mark III with a 50mm Sigma f/1.4 – my only non-Canon lens, most handheld HDR.
On the redeye.
Off the redeye.
A war monument in Brisbane.
I do like the way that Australia has preserved their buildings. So much character.
The clock outside the Westin in Sydney.
A few shots around the Westin.
No time …. just 18,453 km.
As is the UK tradition, the flags of a local regiment adorn the church. I always found this a fascinating oddity, to remember the wars in a church. While I understand blessing the troops, these flags are really a form of trophy. I do not know why, but it seems misplaced to me in a house of worship and peace.
These flags are no different than those in the UK, well worn and full of history. I do not know Australian military history well, other than knowing that it is a proud one like Canada. I happened to be reading all about Anzac and their memorials in the paper that weekend, which centers on remembering World War I:
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, originally commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who served and died in military operations for their countries.[1][2] Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn, and Tonga. It is no longer observed as a national holiday in Papua New Guinea or Samoa.
It would seem that this church has a proud history of supporting women leading local churches (good on them – perhaps if others were not so militant on the subject they would be in better shape).
From their website – the weekly reflection:
Most gracious and loving God,
who calls us all to embrace our calling
as bearers of your divine image and likeness;
we give thanks and praise for the vocation of women
to ordained ministry in your church,
and for twenty years of glorious work of women
ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Church of Australia.May we continue to strive as women and men together
to bear witness to your boundless love for all creation,
which breathes us into being
and gathers us into one body;
through Jesus the Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit,
one God, mother and father of us all. Amen.
(Collect from the Eucharist celebrating 20 years of Women Priests in Australia, St John’s Cathedral on 13th July 2012)
And as you would expect, beautiful glass work.
Two last photos. The woodworking took a father and son team over 7 years to complete. It is beyond intricate and beautifully done.
A donated sculpture of Jesus on the cross that I found holding my attention.
You can read more here. What a wonderful place.
While on the road over the last couple weeks I had almost no time to enjoy the surroundings, which is the ultimate truth of business travel: it sounds exotic but in reality is just a long commute filled with hotels and office meetings.
That being said, I did spend the weekend traveling from Sydney to Brisbane and had flex. It wasn’t quite as “wintery” in Brisbane so I went for a walk, coming across St. John’s Cathedral, the last gothic style church built in the world:
St John’s Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland,Australia. The cathedral is situated on the outskirts of the city centre and is the successor to an earlier pro-cathedral on William Street in the heart of the central business district which was predated by All Saints Wickham Terrace (1862), the oldest Anglican church in Brisbane.
I was surprised to see a building of this nature in “the new world”. I love walking through old churches, filled with history and majesty, bringing about an instant sense of reverence. This cathedral was breathtaking and it turns out, just finished:
William Webber – the third Bishop of Brisbane and previously a vicar in London – was instrumental in initiating the Brisbane cathedral project.[1] In 1885-86, he commissioned John Loughborough Pearson to make sketch plans for Brisbane cathedral.[6] The Brisbane cathedral movement began in earnest in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee – St John’s was to be paid for by public subscription[6] but the construction of the cathedral in one campaign was found to be financially impossible. As a result, the building has been executed in three stages over two centuries between 1906 and 2009.[1]
The church is perched on the top of a small cliff. Construction of a downtown must have lead to the engineers blowing this side of the hill out.
There is so much sandstone, the church had to buy their own quarry. As an aside, one of the few blue sky days I saw in a few weeks (And short lived).
The central cathedral is European in scale. As spectacular as most that we saw during out time in the UK.
End Part I.
While in Asia the time difference played havoc, meaning that I was usually up at 4am. I enjoyed watching the sun rise over Story Bridge. I snapped a few pics, but wish I had my 5D with me.
Yes. Those are rain clouds. It is winter in Australia.
There are a very active set of ferries into the city core. A unique way to commute.
I came across what might be the world’s smallest barbershop while in Brisbane earlier in the week. Although his prices are not the smallest at $24 a cut.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 