BEAUTIFUL SYDNEY –

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE - DAY ONE

We pulled into Sydney Harbour a little after 4AM. We could have slept through the arrival, (and we did go back to bed later) but we were so glad we didn’t! Beautiful night view of the Sydney skyline and the Sydney Opera House plus a trip under the Harbour Bridge, we would have missed it all! There are two places for cruise ships to dock in Sydney, each which can accommodate one vessel. Since Cunard’s Queen Mary was already in the prime location opposite the Opera House at the Overseas Passenger Terminal - Circular Quay, we were initially moored at the White Bay Cruise Terminal. Later that evening, after the Queen was gone, we moved to Circular Quay. More about that later.

White Bay Cruise Terminal has been in operation since 2013. Previously it had been the commercial port for Sydney until the commercial operation was moved to Botany Bay. Port Botany is now the primary port for containers, bulk and liquid gas and is the major focus of supply chains in Greater Sydney. Botany Bay is also where Captain James Cook first landed while charting the east coast of Australia in 1770 and claimed it for Britian naming it New South Wales!

White Bay Cruise Terminal is a modern cruise facility in a convenient location. This is where we met our tour buses on the first day and where the Zuiderdam ran shuttle buses to King’s Street Wharf shopping location. But, before anyone went anywhere, we had to clear Customs. Everyone on the cruise had to apply for an Australian Visa ahead of time. It was probably the most “challenging” part of our cruise prep. You had to apply online, take a “selfie” with your face perfectly lined up in an oval. It took several tries, but we got it done and received Visa by email the next day. When we were ready to disembark in Sydney, we had to bring our Passports, photo ID, Ship’s room key card, an Australian Entry form we were given the night before to complete and an In-transit Guest Pass to get back on the ship. Because we were scheduled for a tour, The Sydney City Highlights and the Sydney Opera House, we were expedited through a shorter immigration line. After clearing Immigration, we were off!!

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE - The Opera House is probably Syndey’s most iconic landmark and a remarkable story (a little sad too but with a happy ending). Australia changed dramatically after WWII with influx of European migrants and rapidly growing population. There was an increased demand for entertainment and cultural experiences including orchestra and opera. In 1954 the Sydney Opera House Executive Committee was formed to investigate the possibilities for a performance center on Bennelong Point. An International Competition was announced for the design of a performing arts center on February 15, 1956 (59 years from the date I’m writing this Blog). By the closing date of the competition, December 3, 1956, just 233 entries had been received. The entries were assigned numbers based on the order when they were received and evaluated by those numbers in order to maintain impartiality. The design that was finally selected had been eliminated in early rounds of judging! There was a panel of 4 international judges, two from Australia, one from London and world renown Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen. Saarinen arrived four days into judging and by then the entries had been whittled down to ten. Saarinen was not impressed with the remaining candidates and went back to review all the entries. When he reviewed entry 219, he reportedly said “Gentlemen, here is your Opera House”! The entry was from a little known 38-year-old Danish architect Jorn Utzon. His was a unique design with side by performance centers and a stark nature. Saarinen, supported by the British judge, Leslie Martin (designer of the London’s Royal Festival Hall) prevailed, and Utzon was awarded the $5,000 Australian prize. From the beginning the design choice was controversial and stronger in concept than the details. Ultimately the projected 4-year construction schedule ended up being 14 years. The story of the Opera House is like a soap opera with many design changes and questions about seating capacity and acoustics. Cost over runs were rampant. In 1965, a new Liberal government was voted in with a mandate to bring Opera House project under control. Payments to Utzon were withheld. February 1966 Utzon submitted a letter saying he was being forced to resign. Rather than negotiating, the Minister of Works, accepted his letter as a resignation and Utzon was out! The project was finally completed with the collaboration of others. The Opera House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth, October 20, 1973, 17 years and 8 months after the announcement of the initial international competition! Originally estimated to cost $7 million Australian, the final cost was $102 million. It was totally funded by public lottery, truly the “People’s House”.

In 1998, 25 years after the completion of the Opera House, The Premier of South Wales, Bob Carr, asked Jorn Utzon to reengage with the Syndey Opera House to develop a plan for preservation and continuity of the building for future generations. Utzon accepted. In his 80’s and in failing health, he was not able to personally return to the Opera House. His son, also a renown architect, and daughter-in-law supervised the ongoing work under his direction. In 2007, the Sidney Opera House was awarded a UNESCO World Heritage Listing, the youngest building ever to be given that honor. In 2009, Utzon passed away at 90, never seeing his completed masterpiece in person.

The Sydney Opera House is an amazing structure. More amazingly, there were no elevators or escalators in the original construction, just lots of stairs. They were added during the renovations 25 years after it opened! There are many performance venues beyond the main theater and the Joan Sutherland Theater. When we were there, there was a dress rehearsal for Leonard Bernstein’s Candide which was to open the next night. We weren’t allowed to take photographs in the theaters.

The Sydney Opera House is the #1 Tourist Attraction in Australia.

There are 1,056,000 glazed, white granite roof tiles imported from Sweden.

There are 1200 parking spaces in 12 stories of underground parking (121 ft, deep)

The Opera House is cooled with water from the Harbour. There are over 35 kilometers of pipes to provide heating and air conditioning.

The Concert Hall can seat 2,679; the Joan Sutherland Theaters seats 1,507.

Seven A380 aircraft could fit wing to wing on the site