CITY OF CONTRASTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 97, 24 March 1939, Page 6

CITY OF CONTRASTS

CHARM OF SYDNEY.

BEAUTY AND INDUSTRY. “The New Zealander who visits Sydney invariably leaves with a profound impression of the immensity and charm of that groat metropolis and a desire to renew acquaintance with it. A city of contrasts, with the beauty of subtropical plant life relieving the tempo of a highly-industrialised centre, Sydney lias an attraction all its own, and represents a stepping stone between the busy commercial life of the Old World and the less trammeled existence as we know it in the Dominions.” This was the impression given to _ the “Standard” by a Palmerston North resident who has recently returned from a visit to the capital of New South Wales, when the opportunity was taken to secure as broad a conception of the life of the city as was possible within the scope of a short stay ' • . “Apart from the immensity of the city—its population of about one and a half millions is little less than that of the whole of New Zealand—one is struck by tlie excellence with which the vast traffic of Sydney is handled,” stated tlie visitor. “George Street, Pitt Street, and Elizabeth Street during the peak hours present vivid pictures pi animation, and to negotiate them in safety is an elating experience. Speed is the essence of travel in the metropolis, but the efficiency of the traffic control by automatic lighting and pointsmen is little short of a revelation. All traffic is under the direction of the State Government, including the tramway and railway systems, and control is not under a municipal regime as in New Zealand. Police officers act as pointsmen, and leave a lasting impression of cheerfulness and resourcefulness, directing traffic with a rhythmical ease that contrasts markedly with the staccato methods of similar officci-s in the Dominion. Accidents are rare in spite of the high speeds, and taxicab drivers, of whom there are several hundreds, negotiate the busy thoroughfares with astonishing speed and ability. BEAUTIFUL VISTAS. “In spite of its continued advancement—many fine new buildings have been erected during the past three yeai-s in tlie heart of tlie city—Sydney has lost none of its beauty. Hyde Park, in the centre of the business area, offering a magnificent ‘lung’ for the thousands occupying nearby offices and emporiums, is a verdant gem, the tremendous stretch of green sward providing a magnificent setting for the very beautiful War Memorial and Archibald Fountain. One may ride for miles in tramcar or bus through streets lined with trees of brilliant green, giving a charming setting to the thousands of beautiful homes. In a halfhour’s run through Waverley and Woolahra to Bondi Beach some of the world’s finest street scenery is obtainable, while the journey by tramcar from the Wynyard underground rail and tramway station—believed to be the biggest in the Empire if not the world (with two independent ‘floors’ of double tracks and a tremendous underground shopping space it is a revelation in arrangement)—to Taronga Park Zoo, passing over the bridge and through North Sydney and Mosman, is an ineffaceable memory of colour. Against a background of cloudless skies and the blue waters of Port Jackson, some of the finest gardens and most beautiful homes in the world provide a lasting picture of beauty and well-being. “Not all of Sydney, however, is modern and colourful. Hero and there remain relics of former days, and it is not uncommon to pass rows of tenement houses well past the half-century-mark revealing in their architecture their link witn the early days of the city. In striking contrast are the many flats that are daily increasing in numbers. The housing shortage appears to bo almost as acute as in New Zealand, and rents are high. Bondi Beach is a miniature city of flats, and this is the rule in the majority of the seaside suburbs. A ten-mile run in the train to Bankstown or Carlton, or a like journey to other similarly-situated suburbs, takes the visitor through an unending succession of up-to-date shopping centres linking a continuing line of residences. Railway stations are placed a mile apart, and there is no sign of a thinning out of homes until the ten-mile mark is passed. “The electric trains are a revelation in travel method,” continued the visitor. “For speed, efficiency and cleanliness they are ideal for the conditions. Operated on the overhead wire principle similar to that planned for the Wellington-Johnsonville section, they maintain a very high speod, and a train of half a dozen cars has attained a rate of 40 miles an hour before it has scarcely left the station. The traffic these trains handle is immense, and on any evening at about 5 o’clock one passes other trains at a rate of about one every two minutes, all packed. Tickets are not collected on the trains as in New Zealand on the suburban runs, but at the termini as passengers pass through the gates, and to further assist rapid working (a stay of only about a minute is made at a station) ear doorways are open at the side. FINE HIGHWAYS. “To the motorist Sydney, in particular, and New South Wales, in general, offer splendid facilities. In the city broad, sweeping roads a. hundred or more feet in width in some parts afford the means of safe and enjoyable motoring, although in many parts of the business area streets are inevitably somewhat cramped. A drive to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, is a thrilling experience. From Sydney to the traveller’s destination the sealed road is never left. At Paramatta —historic for its connection with the earliest settlement of the colony—a magnificent concrete highway marked in lanes with bitumen strips is encountered, and it continues for the 15 miles to Sydney. The traveller to Katoomba, however, takes the Pacific Highway, which would take him to Melbourne, and even in the steepest parts a marvellously 6inooth surface makes for comfortable travel. “This is a journey all New Zealanders should take. The 60-odd miles are easily traversed in the course of a morning, and a one-day visit affords the opportunity of viewing some of the most astounding scenery in the world. The blue haze of the ranges is almost tangible —one can almost grasp it, it seems, and the effect in the great valleys and mountains is thrilling. Much of the beauty of Katoomba lies in its ‘‘look-outs’- —railed-in vantage points overlooking immense drops into the valleys below. Echo Point, for instance, is 3115 ft sheer above the floor of the great valley, and at numerous .other points in the locality an impression is left of a giant machine having shorn the rock away -to give an unimpeded view down on to typical bush and across hundreds of miles of countryside, all bathed in the deepest blue. The journey out takes the traveller through some of the oldest settlements in the State, and there are still occu-

pied many bush dwellings of varying degrees of pretension. "An interesting sight for the New Zealander is the numerous boys and adults on the roadside offering passing motorists rock melons, lettuces and other forms of produce, including mushrooms, for sale. Some, indeed, have established booths akin to shops, and in returning to the city at night it is not uncommon to pass signs advertising by novel means the produce available. It is all essentially Australian, and immensely attractive. Tho visitor cannot fail to find a curious harmony in the contrasts offered, nor the irresistible attraction of a goodnatured people under varying conditions,” the narrator concluded.