Sydney - Marrickville and Petersham

We are fortunate to be staying in a nice house in Marrickville which is only a mile or so from where Robin lives in Petersham. She wanted to show us around Petersham so we walked to her house. 

The Marrickville house is in this tree lined street. It's pretty quiet and only a couple of hundred yards away from a supermarket and shops.

It's very pleasant with good breezes. Unfortunately planes take off from Sydney Airport and some of them fly close to the house. It can be noisy but as Robin says, you get used to the noise.

It's a very nice neighbourhood and most of the houses would cost over a million dollars. Increasingly there are concerns about a property bubble in Sydney and Melbourne. The Reserve Bank and banks are saying there is not a problem. They would have to say that to prevent panic, but half a million dollars would only buy a complete dump in Sydney. Compared to most of the rest of the world, there is a bubble.

Parts of Marrickville are situated on a hill. Some houses have good views of the city.

Marrickville Station. Since I am over 65, I can get a ticket that allows me to travel on all buses, trains and ferries for a day. It costs $2.50.

Parts of Marrickville shopping centre.

Marrickville has numerous ethnic groups. There are quite a few Vietnamese restaurants. Nearby Petersham has Portuguese shops and restaurants.

There are coffee shops everywhere. Sydney is renowned for its good coffee and when you walk around you always see that they have customers.

Typical row houses.

Marrickville Town Hall. It is supposed to have a good concert hall. Unfortunately the noise from planes is pretty bad so it is not used for that purpose. It was closed so we could not see it.

We arrived at Robin's place and she took us on a tour of Petersham.

It is sometimes difficult to notice that neighbouring houses are duplicates but these stood our because of of their shape, despite the colour differences.

Robin took us for a walk down one of her favourite streets. I think she would like to live on this street.

Walking around the neighbourhood of our exchange houses has been one of the best parts of our exchanges over the past three years. They are all so different and all so interesting.

In the midst of this suburb is a huge chimney. Some research suggests this chimney was built by the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage (MBWS and S). I suspect this chimney is used to allow smells from the sewerage system to escape.

Robin said this used to be a hospital. As far as I can make out it is now part of the Korean Canaan Presbyterian Church, but I haven't been able to find out anything else.

Entrance to the subway leading to the Petersham Station.

Graffiti in the subway.

The old Petersham station building that was opened in 1857. Back in that era, Petersham and Marrickville were outlying suburbs of Sydney. Since the station lies on Terminus Street, it seems likely that the train line stopped here.

Steps leading up to the station.

I f you travel by train from Sydney south to Melbourne or north to Brisbane, you travel down these tracks.

The current station on the left and a suburban train.

The Petersham water tower, constructed in 1965. Since it is on top of a hill, it is one of the highest structures in Sydney and can be seen for miles around. The overhanging shape overcomes the problem of the limited amount of land available.

Old fire station.

An unusual supermarket that specializes in really fresh vegies.

The Petersham Town Hall where Robin volunteers in the Archiving Department.

The main auditorium which was used for some of the dance scenes in the film Strictly Ballroom. When we arrived, dancing was in progress and curiously, most of the dancers were Asian. By the way, if you haven't seen the film, take a look at this and this. I suspect this film was the inspiration for the 'Dancing with the Stars' TV programs.

Of course, the other great dancing film from about the same time is the Japanese 'Shall we dance'. 

The old records,

The town council used to meet here but now they meet elsewhere. 

An old document that Robin was checking.

Magnificent old house that had a great view to the south.

Except for the noise from the planes, these are two wonderful suburbs. They are relatively close to the city, have good public transport and since they are are elevated, good breezes. I suppose you could get used to the noise.