Sydney is not short of spectacular waterfront venues for a romantic night out, but there s nothing like seeing the sparkling harbour in all its glory from the water. Preferably on a large, elegant yacht set up for an overnight stay for just the two of you – and a skipper who does all the sailing business while you kick back with a glass of something delicious.
We board the gleaming, 12-metre James Chin at Sydney by Sail s private marina, handily situated in front of the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. Is there anywhere special you d like to see? skipper Mike asks as we motor past the museum s collection of venerable vessels on one side and the ever-growing, ultra-modern Barangaroo site on the other.
Art in the plague year: when a painting is like a new sofa
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In March last year a friend in Bangladesh forwarded a news item that said Australia’s borders would be closed until September. “Is it true!!!!” he exclaimed. I was sceptical and replied that neither the economy nor people’s limits of endurance would allow the closures to last that long. I thought we’d be flying again within a few months.
It’s in such moments you discover you’re really an optimist. One month into 2021 and the international borders are just as firmly closed as they were at the end of March, maybe more so. The most dire predictions don’t see us travelling internationally until next year. More than 30,000 Australians can’t even get a flight home.
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Newspapers have long been an excellent source of information when articulating historical events or portraying the stories of individuals. What follows is the narrative of a Greek named George Manuel or Emanuel, who by all claims, arrived at the colony of New South Wales in 1811.
The story commences with the death of the centenarian George Manuel on 22 June 1878 and follows the path of his life journey in the colony of New South Wales and beyond.
The following newspaper extract, which draws attention to George’s death, first appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday, 28 June, 1878 and reads:
“On Sunday, the 23rd June, there was buried at the cemetery, Castle Hill, by the Rev. Mr. Dawson, Wesleyan minister, George Manuel or George Emanuel, on whose coffin was inscribed the age of 101 years.”