Circular Quay is a
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
, former working
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and now international passenger shipping port, public
piazza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
on the northern edge of the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
on
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
, between
Bennelong Point
Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
History
Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...
and
The Rocks. It is part of the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
.
The Circular Quay area is a popular neighbourhood for
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
and consists of walkways, pedestrian malls, parks and restaurants. It hosts a number of ferry
quay
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...
s, bus stops, and a railway station. Often referred to as the "gateway to Sydney", the precinct has views of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...
and the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
and is a common location for viewing
Sydney New Year's Eve
Sydney New Year's Eve is an annual New Year's Eve fireworks event in Sydney, Australia. The event currently consists of two fireworks shows, with an evening display known as the "Family Fireworks" held at 9:00 p.m. AEST, and the main "Midnight ...
fireworks.
History
Indigenous history
The Aboriginal name for Circular Quay is ''Warrung'', meaning "Little Child".
The first people to occupy the area now known as Sydney were
Aboriginal Australians
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
.
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
suggests that they lived in and around Sydney for at least 30,000 years.
In an archaeological dig in
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
,
Western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, it was found that the Aboriginals used
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
, stone tools and possible ancient campfires. Near
Penrith, a
far western suburb of Sydney, numerous Aboriginal stone tools were found in Cranebrook Terraces gravel sediments having dates of 45,000 to 50,000 years BP. This would mean that there was human settlement in Sydney earlier than thought.
Prior to the arrival of the British there were 4,000 to 8,000 native people in the Sydney area from as many as 29 different clans.
Sydney Cove from
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
to
Petersham was inhabited by the
Cadigal
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Indigenous people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Gadigal originally inhabited the area that ...
clan.
The principal language groups were
Darug
The Dharug or Darug people, formerly known as the Broken Bay tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people, who share strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, lived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans, scattered throughout much ...
,
Guringai
Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamila ...
, and
Dharawal
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
. The earliest Europeans to visit the area noted that the indigenous people were conducting activities such as camping and fishing, using trees for bark and food, collecting shells, and cooking fish.
The
Eora
The Eora (''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as the Sy ...
are the coastal Aborigines of the Sydney district. The name ''Eora'' simply means "here" or "from this place", and was used by local Aboriginals to describe to the British where they came from. The
Cadigal
The Cadigal, also spelled as Gadigal and Caddiegal, are a group of Indigenous people whose traditional lands are located in Gadi, on Eora country, the location of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Gadigal originally inhabited the area that ...
band are the traditional inhabitants of the Sydney CBD area, and their territory south of Port Jackson stretched from South Head to Petersham.
Colonial settlement
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
, on which Circular Quay is located, was the site of the initial landing of the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
in
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...
on 26 January 1788.
The governor's temporary canvas house was erected on the east side of the cove,
while the western shore became the centre of the early settlement. It was the focal point from which the city of Sydney grew. The first wharf on the shore of Sydney Cove probably dated from around 1792. In 1802 it was replaced with a timber-framed wharf called "Hospital Wharf", the first public wharf of the colony (later renamed King's Wharf and Queen's Wharf).
Late 18th-century Scottish constitutional reformer
Thomas Muir was sentenced to transportation to Sydney for sedition, and had a cottage on what is now Circular Quay. Thomas Muir escaped from the colony in 1796 aboard an American brig, the
''Otter''.
The eastern side of the cove remained largely uninhabited in the early years of the colony; one notable inhabitant was
Bennelong
Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813), also spelt Baneelon, was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Bennelong serv ...
, after whom the adjacent
Bennelong Point
Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
History
Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...
and
Bennelong Apartments
The Bennelong Apartments is a residential apartment building and multi-use complex on the east side of Sydney's Circular Quay. The buildings were designed by Andrew Andersons and PTW Architects, and completed in 1998.
The Bennelong Apartments c ...
are named. In the early 19th century, the entire eastern shore of Circular Quay was part of
the Governor's Domain, though some commercial activity developed along the shoreline. The western shore, being adjacent to the original settlement now known as
The Rocks, was busier.
Cadman's Cottage
Cadmans Cottage or Cadman's Cottage is a heritage-listed former water police, water police station and sailor's home and now visitor attraction located at 110 George Street, Sydney, George Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks, Ne ...
is a building which survives from that era, built in 1816 for the use of the governmental coxswains and their crews, it marks approximately the location of Circular Quay's natural western shore, prior to reconstruction. The Commissariat Stores (built in 1809) and Australia's first naval dock were also located on the western shore. The naval dockyard was expanded in 1818-1822 under
Governor Macquarie
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...
, with four repairing docks.
Working port
![Circular Quay, 1892](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Circular_Quay%2C_1892.jpg)
Circular Quay was constructed in 1837-1844 by reconstructing the southern section of Sydney Cove with an artificial shoreline. The mouth of the
Tank Stream
The Tank Stream is a heritage-listed former fresh water tributary of Sydney Cove and now tunnel and watercourse located in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The Ta ...
, which flowed into Sydney Cove at the western end of Circular Quay, was in-filled. The harbour was originally known as "Semi-Circular Quay", this being the actual shape of the quay. The name was shortened for convenience. Wharves were built on the southern shore. Reflecting Circular Quay's status as the central harbour for Sydney, the
Customs House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...
was built on the southern shore in 1844–5. During the construction of Circular Quay, the eastern side of the cove was used as a quarry and housed construction works. After the governor's residence was moved up the hill to the present
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
in the 1840s and 1850s,
Macquarie Street was extended north through the Governor's Domain to
Fort Macquarie
Fort Macquarie was a square castle, castellated battlement fort built in 1798 at Bennelong Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the site where the Sydney Opera House now stands. It was demolished in 1901 to make way for the Fort Macqua ...
. This led to the development of the area between the street and the shore into a commercial working wharf dominated by the wool trade, while the eastern side of the street remained part of the Domain. This part of Macquarie Street became known as the "wool store" end.
Wool and bond stores and warehouses appeared on the site. The historic "Moore Steps" was built in 1868 as a passage between two wool stores, leading from the shore to Macquarie Street. By the 1860s, all three sides of Circular Quay were dominated by wharves and warehouses.
However, by the 1870s, much of the commercial shipping activities was moving away from Circular Quay. The harbour was becoming too small to accommodate the increasing number of large ships accessing Sydney. Instead, shipping activities moved further westwards to
Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district.
Origin ...
, which also had the advantage of a railway line.
With the absence of commercial shipping, the harbour became increasingly used for passenger transport. The first ferry wharf was built on the southern shore in 1879. From the 1890s, ferry terminals came to dominate the harbour, and Circular Quay became the hub of the Sydney ferry network. The
Sydney Harbour Trust
The Sydney Harbour Trust began operations on 1 November 1900 with responsibility for the Navigation Department and Marine Board of Sydney Harbour. The Trust, as governed by an act of the New South Wales Parliament consisted of three commissione ...
was formed in 1900.
Transport developments
![Cahill Expressway Construction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Cahill_Expressway_Construction.jpg)
Circular Quay was also a tram hub. It was the focal terminal point of most
electric tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
services to the
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to:
Places
*Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India
*Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia
**Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia
Sports clubs
;Association football
*Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand
* Eastern ...
. The first tram to operate through Circular Quay was horse-drawn, running from the old Sydney Railway station to Circular Quay along
Pitt Street
Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sec ...
in 1861
allowing easy transfer to ferries. Trams operated from
Central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
down
Castlereagh Street
Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only.
Description
Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...
to Circular Quay and back up Pitt Street in a large anti-clockwise loop. For many years, 27 regular services operated from Circular Quay.
From 1936, the appearance of Circular Quay was dramatically changed with the construction of a railway viaduct, and later the elevated
Cahill Expressway
The Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, opening to traffic in 1958. It starts from the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel in Woolloomooloo, and runs through a series of s ...
above the viaduct, across the southern shore of the cove.
Circular Quay railway station
Circular Quay railway station is a heritage-listed elevated commuter rail station that is located on the City Circle route, serving the Circular Quay precinct of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is served ...
was opened on 20 January 1956 and the elevated Cahill Expressway was officially opened on 24 March 1958.
Building developments
![East Circular Quay waterfront 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/East_Circular_Quay_waterfront_2017.jpg)
The construction of the viaduct led to the demolition of the old Maritime Services Board building on the south-western shore. A replacement was constructed further north in 1940, and is today the
Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to:
Africa
* Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi
Asia East Asia
* Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...
. Further north, the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal was built in 1958–1960 to accommodate the increasing number of passengers arriving by ship. The building was renovated in 1988, 2000 and 2014. Large liners and cruise ships often dock here, their size dominating the cove. East Circular Quay was redeveloped from the 1950s with the replacement of wool stores with modernist commercial buildings. The Sydney height limit was increased from in 1959, and a number of Sydney's first skyscrapers were built around Circular Quay. The
AMP Building on the southern shore was Sydney's tallest building when completed in 1962. In 1973 the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
was completed at the northeastern end of Sydney Cove.
Between 1971 and 1989, Colonial Mutual Life acquired land along Circular Quay for a large scale development. The initial design caused significant controversy around the country, including intervention by the Prime Minister,
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
, and internationally. A revised 1992 design had the developer reducing building height and providing a colonnade for public access, in exchange for the development extending further towards the foreshore. The resulting development of
Bennelong Apartments
The Bennelong Apartments is a residential apartment building and multi-use complex on the east side of Sydney's Circular Quay. The buildings were designed by Andrew Andersons and PTW Architects, and completed in 1998.
The Bennelong Apartments c ...
(nicknamed by critics as ''The Toaster''), and is criticised for it positioning and for obscuring views of the Sydney Opera House, from the main pedestrian approach.
In 2019, several property developments underway by the private sector in the area, including: Quay Quarter Sydney by AMP Capital, Opera Residences, One Circular Quay by Yuhu Group, Circular Quay Tower by Lendlease, and the Sandstone Hotels precinct by Pontiac Group. In addition, the Sydney Opera House is undergoing its largest renewal project since its opening.
Transport
![The Quay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/The_Quay..Sydney%2C_Australia.jpg)
Circular Quay is a major Sydney transport hub, with a large
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
,
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
*Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ( ...
and
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
interchange. The
Cahill Expressway
The Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, opening to traffic in 1958. It starts from the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel in Woolloomooloo, and runs through a series of s ...
is a prominent feature of the quay, running from the east, over the
elevated railway station to join the
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...
in the west. International ships have docked and moored at Circular Quay since the earliest years of the colony. The
Overseas Passenger Terminal
The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping operati ...
is a major piece of Sydney transport infrastructure serving cruise ships and ocean liners and their passengers.
Circular Quay railway station
Circular Quay railway station is a heritage-listed elevated commuter rail station that is located on the City Circle route, serving the Circular Quay precinct of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is served ...
is the only station on the
City Circle
The City Circle is a mostly-underground railway line located in the Sydney central business district and Haymarket, New South Wales, Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines a ...
that is above ground. The platform looks out over the ferry terminus, providing views of Sydney Harbour, including the bridge and Opera House.
The
wharf complex hosts five commuter ferry wharves and is the terminus for all public ferry routes in Sydney Harbour and the
Parramatta River
The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...
other than the
Mortlake Ferry
The Mortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, is a cable ferry that runs across the Parramatta River in Sydney, connecting Hilly Street in Mortlake and Pellisier Road in Putney.
History and heritage
The vehicular ferry between Mortlake an ...
between
Mortlake
Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...
and
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
.
Circular Quay was formerly a large
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
terminus and interchange. As many Sydney bus routes follow the previous tram lines, the tram terminus in Alfred Street became a major bus terminus for many bus routes. In March 1995, the road on the eastern side of Circular Quay which served as a bus layover was closed and converted into a pedestrian zone. A redesign of CBD bus services in October 2015 reduced the number of bus routes serving Circular Quay. In 2019, the
CBD and South East Light Rail
The CBD and South East Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Construction commenced in October 2015, with services between Circular Quay and Randwick commencing on 14 December 2019 as the L2 Randwick Line, and ...
to
Kingsford and
Randwick opened with a terminus in Alfred Street.
Culture
Circular Quay is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney location between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is one of the main congregation points for
Sydney New Year's Eve
Sydney New Year's Eve is an annual New Year's Eve fireworks event in Sydney, Australia. The event currently consists of two fireworks shows, with an evening display known as the "Family Fireworks" held at 9:00 p.m. AEST, and the main "Midnight ...
.
Circular Quay is also the home of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art and the
City of Sydney Library
The City of Sydney Library network consists of nine branch libraries and two 'library links', located in Australia within the City of Sydney Council administrational area.
History
A free public lending library service has existed in Sydney si ...
in the heritage-listed
Customs House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...
.
Sydney Writers Walk
The Sydney Writers Walk is a series of 60 circular metal plaques embedded in the footpath between Overseas Passenger Terminal on West Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House forecourt on East Circular Quay.
The plaques were installed to honour ...
a series of plaques commemorating writers with some connection to Sydney was installed in the footpath along Circular Quay in 1991. In autumn 2006, the largest open-air art exhibition ever in Australia took place on Circular Quay: Over 7 weeks the
Berlin Buddy Bears visited Sydney. Each bear represented a member-country of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, symbolizing the universal principles of peace, freedom and friendship.
The Quay is mentioned in the classic song "
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the s ...
" (1971) by
Eric Bogle
Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...
. "Circular Quay" is the title of a song from Dr. Robert of
The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave/sophisti-pop band that formed in 1981. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow," was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums across the 1 ...
which appeared on his 1994 debut solo album, ''Realms of Gold''. The song was also issued as a single in the same year.
Water Polo by the Sea
The Water Polo by the Sea is an annual four-day international water polo event, staged at the Bondi Icebergs Club, The Rocks and Circular Quay
Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, pu ...
is held there every year by
Australian Water Polo
Water Polo Australia (WPA), formerly Australian Water Polo (AWP), is the national governing body for Water polo in Australia. They are responsible for administration of the national men's, women's, and junior teams, the Australian National Wate ...
with the
Australia men's national water polo team
The Australian national water polo team represents Australia in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. The national men's team has the nickname of "The Sharks". It is organised into the Asia/Oceani ...
take on the International All Stars.
Water Polo by the Sea website
/ref>
See also
* Gold Fields House
Gold Fields House was a high rise office block in the Sydney central business district on the corner of Alfred and Pitt Streets. Completed in 1966, it was one of the earliest high rise buildings in Sydney. The tower of 27 storeys was designed by ...
*Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), located on George Street in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood, is solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting contemporary art, from across Australia and around the world. It is ...
* Overseas Passenger Terminal
The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping operati ...
* Sydney Cove railings
The Sydney Cove Railings are heritage-listed handrail, railings located at the Circular Quay Concourse, Circular Quay East and West, in the inner city Sydney suburbs of , The Rocks, New South Wales, The Rocks and the Sydney central business dis ...
References
External links
ABC's Sydney Sidetracks
explores the history of Circular Quay
* Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license
A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
]
* Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license
A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
]
* Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license
A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
].
{{Sydney landmarks, state=collapsed
Sydney localities
Busking venues
Sydney Harbour
Tourist attractions in Sydney
Sydney central business district