St. Andrew’s Cathedral

On our last day in Sydney, Dana, our tour director, led a walk near our hotel for those of us who wanted to join her. It was drizzling while we were walking. We would leave Sydney later in the morning. The photo is of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, built in the Gothic revival style in 1868. It is the oldest cathedral in Australia. We couldn’t go inside it as a mass was being held.

St. Andrew’s Cathedral

Sydney Town Hall

Nearby was the Sydney Town Hall, built in 1889.

Sydney Town Hall

Sydney Town Hall

Inside the Sydney Town Hall, which has a Victorian interior.

Sydney Town Hall

Sydney Town Hall

Stained–glass on its ceiling.

Sydney Town Hall

Sydney Town Hall

Its chandelier.

Sydney Town Hall

Queen Victoria Building

Our last stop was at the nearby Queen Victoria Building, built between 1893 and 1898 in the Romanesque revival style. The statue in front of the building is of Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria

Close–up of the Queen Victoria statue, 1908. Originally it was placed in Dublin, Ireland, in front of the Irish Parliament building. However, in 1922, the Irish didn’t want it displayed any longer as their feelings toward the British was such that they didn’t want a British queen celebrated where the statue was located. After several tries to have another city or country to take the statue, it ended up in a yard behind a closed–down reformatory. However, with the the renovation of the Queen Victoria Building in 1986, there was now a place for Queen Victoria. The statue was shipped to Sydney and was unveiled in 1987.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria Building

The Queen Victoria Building was originally built as a marketplace and that is what it serves for now. From the stores that we passed, it caters to designer brands. It is quite elegant inside.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

One of two very large mechanical clocks in the building.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

Looking down from the second floor. There are four shopping floors.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

The other mechanical clock.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

Close–up of the clock.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

Stained glass in the building.

Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

Close–up of the stained glass.

Midmorning, we left left Sydney to take our third flight (about 3 hours long) within the tour––to Cairns (pronounced Cans) in the state of Queensland. We would spent three nights in Cairns. When we arrived in Cairns, it was drizzling. Dana took us for a short walk to show us where the restaurants were.

Queen Victoria Building