Darlinghurst: Detritus: NSW State Election 2011

In case you hadn't noticed there is a state election coming up in 10 days. Power poles around Darlinghurst and Sydney are covered in placards featuring the grinning faces of those who wish to represent our neighbourhood's needs on a state level, while on the streets politicians and would-be politicians are handing out flyers in a bid to win our votes.

Last weekend Kings Cross Markets at Fitzroy Gardens was full of pollies. Outgoing NSW Premier Kristina Keneally wandered around the gardens with a bunch of NSW Police's finest and Sydney Lord Mayor and State Member for Sydney, Clover Moore. There was also a couple of people handing out fliers for the Australian Sex Party's candidate Andrew Patterson. 

It doesn't seem as heady as it was in the lead-up to the federal election in September last year, when you could barely walk through the gardens without being harassed by Malcolm Turnbull, but the state pollies are putting up a good enough fight.

Without revealing my personal political preferences, Christian Democrats candidate Peter Madden would be wise to crawl back in to whatever dark and damp place on earth he emerged from.

Darlinghurst is in the Seat of Sydney, which covers an area of about 91sqkm of the CBD and the inner east and includes suburbs such as Pyrmont, Ultimo, Chippendale, Surry Hills, Edgecliff, Woollahra and all islands in Sydney Harbour. 

Ms Moore has held the seat since 1988, when it was known as Bligh. The seat was renamed Sydney in 2007 when it gained the CBD in a redistribution. Ms Moore has also held the office of Lord Mayor since 2004.

The City of Sydney remains a very safe seat for Moore with a 16.6 per cent margin over Labor. 

So who are the alternatives and what are their policies? Here is a quick potted look at the five main candidates for the seat. Click on the candidates's names to visit their websites.

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Clover Moore, Independent

I know that Ms Moore likes dogs and cycleways, but I can't find a list of policies or election promises on her website. I received one of her pamphlets in the mail but it only talks about the things she has done in the past, which date back to 1993 and include the introduction of the Same Sex Adoption Bill, changes to the liquor licensing laws to encourage small bars, and some changes to strata legislation.

Sacha Blumen, NSW Labor

Mr Blumen has lived in Sydney for 10 years, holds a doctorate in pure mathematics, is a national energy policy advisor and a past president of the 2011 Residents's Association. He presently lives in Elizabeth Bay. His vision for Sydney includes reducing alcohol-related violence, campaigning for marriage equality and introducing early intervention programs for people experiencing homelessness. 

''I stand for a Sydney that is an even better place to live, has a full time voice in parliament and is diverse and inclusive,'' he writes on his election material. 

''This is my vision for the Sydney I love.''

Mr Blumen also supports a national price on carbon. He has taken aim at Ms Moore by promising to be a full-time MP and says he wants to reclaim community rights to appeal State Government development decisions.

Adrian Bartels, NSW Liberal

Mr Bartels is just 33 and a mortgage broker with his own Potts Point-based business, Bartels Property Finance. He was raised on Sydney's north shore and moved to the city electorate 14 years ago. Mr Bartels is the chairman of the Potts Point Partnership, which supports local businesses. He is opposed to the demolition and re-development of Fitzroy Gardens. 

Mr Bartels also promises to be a full-time MP, unlike Ms Moore, who juggles positions. As part of the new wave of Liberal thinking, he believes in climate change science and wants an investment in renewable energy technology to create jobs for Sydney. Mr Bartels also wants a whole of government approach to managing late night areas and reducing alcohol-related violence. 

De Brierley Newton, NSW Greens

Ms Brierley Newton was born and raised in Sydney and is the former head of the Billy Blue School of Graphic Art. She presently runs a communications and advertising consultancy, but promises to be a full-time MP and to run for ''the people of Sydney and not corporations''. 

Ms Brierley Newton wants to extend the city's light rail from Central to Circular Quay and the new suburb of Barangaroo, as well as introducing high speed rail between Sydney and other capital cities. She wants greater investment in renewable energy technology and promises to protect the city's food supply by zoning land on the Sydney fringes as agricultural, so that it can't be developed. 

Andrew Patterson, Australian Sex Party

Mr Patterson spent 13 years with the Western Australia Police, working up to Detective Sergeant and specialising in child protection and the adult industry. He was a former chief investigator with the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and presently works as an internal ombudsman with the Waringah Council in the city's northern suburbs. He lives in Ultimo. 

Mr Patterson joined the Australian Sex Party last year because he is a strong believer in civil liberties, and holds a masters in ethics and legal studies. He wants to extend trial ethics classes to all public schools, introduce voluntary euthanasia laws and stop police sniffer dogs in venues and on the streets. Mr Patterson also advocates for the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use and wants drug use to be treated as a health issue and not a criminal one. He also wants to extend the use of drug injecting rooms beyond Kings Cross. The party would also campaign for 24-hour weekend public transport and would argue against internet filtering. 

Peter Madden, Christian Democrat Party

Mr Madden is the director of Heal Our Land Ministries, a frightening religious cult. He claims to be a former sex addict so, naturally, he is now anti-prostitution and wants to halve the number of brothels in Sydney over the next eight years. Mr Madden wants to move Mardis Gras off the streets and in to a stadium, as a bid to curb teenage binge drinking and teenage pregnancy. I really don't want to waste any more time on this bozo, so if you are interested in his polices, visit his website. That's him on the right, with CDP leader Fred Nile. 

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Election day is Saturday March 26. Polling places open from 8am to 6pm. 

Polling places in Darlinghurst include St John's Church Hall, Darlinghurst Public School, St Vincent's Hospital and St Peter's Church Playhouse (Forbes Street). 

For more details about pre-polling and enrolling, visit the Australian Electoral Commission's Vote NSW website:

http://www.votensw.info/

Darlinghurst: Detritus: Christmas Below the Coke Sign

Christmas Lights Above the Coke Sign, Christmas Eve, 2010.

It's a Friday night and Christmas Eve in Darlinghurst and the neighbourhood is empty. Residents have flown from the city, suburbia has decided to give the suburb of sin a miss for the night, and tourists are low key. 

Parking spots? 

Hundreds of them.

Yet over the past couple of weeks, people have been celebrating Christmas in Darlinghurst with trees, wreaths and colourful lights - in laundromats, dress shops and private homes. I wandered through the back streets seeking out such decorations and here is a collection of photographs taken on my jaunts.

I'll be back on Monday, December 27, with a reader's ripper of a story set in 1960s Darlinghurst, so make sure you check in next week.

Have a safe and happy Christmas dear readers! 

Stars and Lights, Burton Street Laundromat, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Caldwell Street, Darlinghurst.

Lights, Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst.

Bells, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Red Christmas Tree, Forbes Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Hardie Street, Darlinghurst.

Kingsgate Shopping Centre, Kings Cross

Merry Christmas, Blossom Gardens Nursery, Burton Street, Darlinghurst.

Plastic Santa, Blue Spinach, Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

Red Door and Wreath, Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst.

White Door and Wreath, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Star and Wreath, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

Blue Lights, Surrey Street, Darlinghurst.

 Wreath, Craigend Street, Darlinghurst.

Nativity Scene, Nimrod Street, Darlinghurst.

Tinsel-Covered Bus, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst.

Christmas Tree, 22 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

 Christmas Trees, 61 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

 Miniature Christmas Tree, 46 Roslyn Gardens, Elizabeth Bay.

Lights on Frangipani Tree, 19 Roslyn Street, Elizabeth Bay

And my little tree branches!

Across the Border: Elizabeth Bay: Apartment Buildings: 1 Onslow Avenue

I am filled with despair at the state of contemporary architecture and design when I see buildings such as this modern-day monolith at 1 Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay. With its harsh angles, excessive glass and ghastly marble columns it stands out like a pimple on the face of this pretty area. 

Sure, all those windows and large balconies are great for the people inside - who would have lovely views of Sydney Harbour - but what about the people on the street and the residents who have to look at this monstrosity from the outside. 

For what seemed like years, this site was a hole in the ground and nearby residents first had to put up with demolition dust and noise and then the banging and hammering of construction. And all for what? The uglification of their street.

The building, trendily called One Onslow Avenue, was built by the Hindmarsh construction group, who on their website describe the development as having ''nine elegant harbour view apartments of grand proportions''.

The spin-masters at Hindmarsh go further:

''Meticulously designed and seamlessly integrated into the urban environment, One Onslow Avenue is set to attract the most discerning of residents.''

Have they even seen the building in situ?

Just up the road is the beautiful 1830s, National Trust-listed Elizabeth Bay House and the sweet little gardens of the Arthur McElhone Reserve, while the rest of Onslow Avenue is made up of 1930s and 40s apartment buildings and some 1960s and 70s mistakes.

I think One Onslow Avenue could only be ''seamlessly integrated'' in to the Gold Coast. 

Even more perplexing is that this new blot is just across the road from the heart-melting, passion-inducing Del Rio apartment building at 22 Billyard Avenue:

If you have a spare $5 million or so, you could bag yourself one of the five apartments in this 1930s Spanish Deco style Del Rio. 

An apartment in One Onslow Avenue just sold for $5.75 million. 

I know which one I would prefer.

Looking across Arthur McElhone Reserve to Del Rio.

Darlinghurst: Public Transport: The 311 Bus

A small part of my week is taken up by scenes such as this:

And this:

And this:

It may not look like the greatest place to be, but while I'm seated there, looking at the backs of people's heads, I couldn't be happier, because I have just managed to catch the 311 Bus. And that's no easy feat.

The 311 Bus - or the 311 Mystery Bus as it is known to dozens of Darlinghurst's residents who spend a great deal of time waiting at the bus stop for the ride that never arrives - is a vehicle that inspires mixed emotions.

When it fails to show up, or arrives early so that I miss it, I curse the damn thing and then fork out $10 for the cab to work.

But when it arrives on time - and the driver actually sees me and pulls over - I just love that bus.

Then there are the other times when I'm in no need of public transport and I see the 311 waiting impatiently at the lights, rearing to go:

Or just storming past in a blaze of blue paint and petrol fumes:

It is during these moments that I feel compelled to turn to the person nearest to me and say, ''Look! There's the 311!''

Such is its phantom-like allure.

The 311 route could not be more efficient. It begins its journey down at the loop in Elizabeth Bay, chugs up Greenknowe Avenue, cruises along Macleay Street, hoons along Victoria Street and tears down Oxford and Elizabeth streets along the edge of the CBD to Central Station.

From my bus stop on Victoria Street, it takes me only 10 minutes to arrive at work on the 311.

There's also a 311 Doppelganger bus that begins its route at the Elizabeth Bay loop and ends at Circular Quay, near Sydney Harbour, but that doesn't service Darlinghurst residents.

Darlinghurst instead has the 389 Bus from Bondi Junction in Sydney's eastern suburbs, which happens to pass along Burton Street and down through Little Italy (in the Darlinghurst Valley or Flats) on its way to the Quay. It is a bus that isn't purely devoted to the suburb and I only use it when I need to go to David Jones department store, because it stops right outside the door on Elizabeth Street.

There's also an army of buses that plough along Oxford Street on their way to and from other places, but I am not interested in those itinerants.

To catch the 311 it is useful to have one of these:

You can buy the TravelTen ticket at most convenience stores in the area and for $16 you can take ten rides on the 311 that would normally cost $20 if you were paying by cash.

The alternative commute to Central Station from Darlinghurst is by train, which departs from nearby Kings Cross, but that costs $3.20 for a one-way trip.

There is also this bus:

But it costs $30, cruises around the city endlessly and is designed for tourists.

The other thing I love about catching the 311 is the curious people, overheard conversations and occasionally interesting graffiti that can be found inside its hallowed interior.

I have seen some strange commuters, usually nervous-looking middle-aged men, who hop on the bus at Taylor Square and then alight at Whitlam Square, a journey of about 500m that would be more efficiently traversed on foot. These people are not elderly, generally look healthy and I often wonder about their motivation. Perhaps, like me, they just simply love being on the 311.

I also spent one trip listening in to a conversation between two women in which I received a detailed account of one's mental health history and whether or not she was presently going through a manic period. Judging by the tone and volume of her voice, I gave her a positive diagnosis.

Then yesterday, while luxuriating in the sun on the 311, I spotted this collectable sticker on the back of a seat:

Here's a close-up:

The caption reads: Disappointment, Number 4 in a Series.

I wonder if the man in the photograph is standing at a bus stop somewhere in Darlinghurst, still waiting for the 311.

Darlinghurst: Heritage Items: Beare's Stairs

Beare's Stairs

- Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate was established in 1975 and is a list of about 13,000 items across the country that are culturally, aesthetically and historically important. Darlinghurst is home to 24 of those items and one of those is Beare's Stairs, which links Caldwell and Surry streets.

The Register was frozen in 2007 and will be dissolved in 2012, with the listed items then falling under relevant state, territory and local government heritage registers.

Thirteen of the 24 items in Darlinghurst have already been listed under the NSW Heritage Act, while the remainder - and some additional 295 items - are listed with the City of Sydney Council (both lists can be found if you search here).

The listing essentially means that if developers or individuals purchase one of the properties, heritage recommendations are attached to any development application for the site. In some instances that means walls, ceilings, cornices, joinery, fireplaces, doors and windows should not be altered or removed, but conserved or restored to their former glory, to preserve the heritage for future generations.

The City of Sydney Council list of 319 items appears comprehensive and includes dozens of terraces, apartment blocks and commercial buildings, but I was still surprised at the number of places that weren't included, such as my former home, 40 Hardie Street, and my present residence on Royston Street.

Items on the council list include the Ballina flats, at 5 Darley Street, the gorgeous Mont Clair apartment building, at 347 Liverpool Street, and the Rushcutters Bay Stormwater Channel No 84, which runs through Rushcutters Bay Park and is listed as partly being in Darlinghurst.

One day I will hunt down that section of the stormwater channel and the other 318 items on the list, but for my first adventure I decided to seek out the shorter list of 24 buildings and structures on the Register of the National Estate.

I originally began this exercise as one post but after a while I realised I was supposed to be writing a blog post, not Shantaram, or some other epic. So I have divided my ramble through the National Estate Register in Darlinghurst into 24 posts, one for each item, and I will post them over coming days and weeks.

After I have tackled those two dozen posts, random heritage items listed under the NSW Heritage Act and the City of Sydney council will appear.

Because it was close to home, I began my walk at Beare's Stairs, which for some reason has not made it on to either the state or local government registers. In fact I could find little reference to Beare's Stairs anywhere online, but I have to assume they were named after the same Beare of Beare Park (in nearby Elizabeth Bay).

Beare's Stairs fall within the Barcom Avenue Heritage Conservation Area, of which I have devoted an entire post to here, with information taken directly from the valuable NSW Heritage Branch website.

My heritage item posts should not be relied upon as a comprehensive history or for architectural detail; I have merely plucked out the pearls that I found interesting. I found a wealth of information from a range of websites, which I acknowledge here:

Sources: NSW Heritage Branch, Dictionary of Sydney, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Library of Australia - Archive of Australian Newspapers, State Library of NSW, Wikipedia, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, NSW Public Schools, Government Schools of NSW from 1848,

NSW Department of Health.