Sydney Trip - Chinatown Bondi Double Bay

Sydney - China Town, Bondi, Double Bay

Date: 2007-06-03 to 2007-06-10 trip

Sydney China Town is close to Central Station and Town Hall. A historical site, good to visit. The price is higher than Toronto.

Sydney - Bondi Junction

Take CityRail blue line to Bondi Junction, then take the bus from station to Bondi beach or Congee Beach. The beach is famous for its famous life guards.

Bondi is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks. It has been spelt a number of different ways over time: for example, Boondi, Bundi and Bundye.

The first house in the area was Waverley House, which was built by Barnett Levey in 1827, on the current site of Waverley Street. The house changed hands many times over the years before finally being demolished. When Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in 1859, the name was taken from Waverley House.

Henry Hough was first given a grant of land on the site of Bondi Junction in 1832. On his estate, he built a wind-powered flour mill. This was accessed by a track leading off the South Head Road (now Oxford Street), the suburb's main thoroughfare. Hough named his farm Hope, but it was colloquially dubbed Mill Hill.

In 1854 the first hotel in the area opened. It was named The Waverley Tea Gardens and the surrounding area quickly took that name, quickly shortened to simply "Tea Gardens", which stuck for the next 30 years. By 1878 steam had supplanted wind in milling and the estate was closed. In May 1881 it was subdivided. Streets in this subdivision that exist today are Mill Hill Road and Hough Street. The subdivision of the estate coincided with the opening of the first tramway to the area - steam trams began operation from Taylor Square in Darlinghurst on 12 March 1881.

With the extension of the tram lines to Bondi Beach, Charing Cross and Bronte later in the decade, the term Bondi Junction was coined. It referred to the junction of the Bondi and Bronte tram lines at the corner of the now Oxford Street and Bronte Road.

With the subdivision of surrounding suburbs complete by 1930, Bondi Junction quickly grew into a major entertainment and commercial centre. Tram lines ran to Bondi Beach via Birriga Road, Bondi Beach via Bondi Road, Bronte Beach and The Spot, Randwick and of course, the City at Circular Quay and Central railway station. A tram depot was established on the corner of South Head Road (renamed Oxford Street with the completion of widening works in Darlinghurst) and the present day York Road. Oxford Street quickly became crowded and congested. By the 1960s traffic was at the point that Bondi Junction was one of the worst bottlenecks in Sydney.

Sydney - Double Bay

Our hotel locates in the Double Bay area, it is across from Edgecliff Station. It is so convenient, we could go everywhere by CityRail train.

Sydney's public transit is really great. We bought 7 day travel pass for only $33 and we could ride on train, bus and ferry. City also has monorail and street cars. The weather is mild in winter and warm in summer. To visit there is not hard, from Canada, Aircanada has direct flight from Vancouver; also, there are many International flights from US.

My friend told me when I am back - live in Double Bay you need to get double pay

Here is about Double Bay:

Double Bay developed soon after initial European Settlement in 1788. In the early years of the colony, Double Bay was used as shelter for fishermen who would regularly fish around the harbour. Farming mostly cattle and lettuce a farm had developed and by 1814 it had increased to envelop the valleys leading into the area currently known as Woollahra, Bondi Junction, Bellevue Hill, and Point Piper.

The commercial area runs along New South Head Road and extends along surrounding streets of Knox Street, Cross Street and Bay Street. It features boutique hotels and shopping, restaurants and cafes. Double Bay is known as the most fashionable and expensive shopping district in Sydney.