Harbour Sculptures, Woolwich

A flyer turned up in our mailbox about a month ago for something called 'Harbour Sculptures: An Exhibition of Sculpture along the Sydney Harbour Foreshore.'

A quick google revealed a new event put on by Hunters Hill Council, the Australian Government Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and the good people of Woolwich.

It only has a short run - 9 to 20th August. With so much weekend sport in our life, it was going to be difficult to get over. Fortunately my day off from work this week (on Tuesday), dawned beautifully sunny and warm and I decided to make the most of it by jumping on the ferry...to take me across to the other side of the harbour...to Woolwich.

Woolwich Dock was originally built as a dry dock by the Mort Dock & Engineering Company (who were already running a successful dock in Balmain). It was opened in 1901 and at the time was the largest dock in Australia.

During the war years, the dock was very busy converting passenger boats into armed troopships, but new work declined after this and they eventually closed down in 1958.

The Army then took over use of the dock until 1997 as a repairs and maintenance yard.

The goverment planned to sell this site as well as 4 other former Department of Defence sites around Sydney. Local action groups quickly formed to protest this move and they were eventually successful. In 2001 the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust was formed to administer these sites and oversee their use for the public good.

The docks have been leased out and the old worksheds have been converted into restaurants, cafes, function rooms and gallery spaces. The surrounding green space (Goat and Horse Paddocks) and Clarkes Point Reserve are open to the public...and this is where the Harbour Sculpture event was held.

You can see lots of gratuitous shots of the Sydney Harbour Bridge through many of the sculptures.
The old water tower behind a couple of the photos is on Cockatoo Island (another of the former Department of Defence sites now managed by the Trust).
All of the sculptures had a light set-up around them. The publicity team encourages everyone to visit at night to see the full effect....next year! For now, I hope you enjoyed my daytime shots of the sculptures.

Saturday Snapshot is a now being hosted by Melinda from West Metro Mommy

The rules are simple:

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.