Sites
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House is the venue for a cultural performance and the venue for the Opening ceremony of GA2023 on 3 September 2023.
Fusing ancient and modernist influences, and situated on a site sacred to the Gadigal people for thousands of years, the sculptural elegance of the Sydney Opera House has made it one of the symbols of twentieth century architecture – and Australia.
On 28 June 2007 the Sydney Opera House became the youngest cultural site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List and one of only two cultural sites to be listed during the lifetime of its architect, Jørn Utzon (1918-2008). Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design (Statement of Outstanding Universal Value: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/166).
For more information visit: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story.html
Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area
A highlight of the Scientific Symposium will be a full day trip to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area on Thursday 7 September 2023.
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000, The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area comprises more than a million hectares of sandstone plateaux, escarpments and gorges dominated by temperate eucalypt forest, and constitutes one of the largest and most intact areas of protected bushland in Australia. The geology and geomorphology, including 300 metre cliffs, slot canyons and waterfalls, provide the physical conditions and visual backdrop to support outstanding biological values. The property represents the evolutionary adaptation and diversification of eucalypts in post-Gondwana isolation on the Australian continent, and is home to rare and endemic taxa, including relict flora such as the Wollemi pine. The exceptional biodiversity values are complemented by numerous others, including indigenous and post-European-settlement cultural values.
This excursion would present and interpret the outstanding natural and cultural values of the Greater Blue Mountains, including Three Sisters Aboriginal Place, other Aboriginal sites and historic precincts.
We acknowledge the Aboriginal Dharug, Gundungurra, Wanaruah, Wiradjuri, Darkinjung and Tharawal Nations as the traditional owners of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
For more information visit: https://www.bluemts.com.au/info/about/world-heritage-listing/ and https://www.bluemts.com.au/info/about/history/
Other GA2023 Venues & Sites
Hyde Park Barracks
Standing proudly at the southern end of Sydney’s Macquarie Street, the Hyde Park Barracks is an imposing yet restrained building with a chequered past.
Perhaps the most significant survivor from Australia’s colonial period, this place has witnessed the development of Sydney – from convict beginnings and free migration to landmark legal decisions and heritage debates. From its opening in 1819 until the late 20th century, the barracks provided accommodation for convicts, female immigrants and aged and destitute women, and later housed courtrooms and government offices as a legal and administrative hub.
As the centre of the colonial convict administration and a crossroads for tens of thousands of convicts, Hyde Park Barracks is recognised as one of the world’s most important cultural heritage places, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List along with 10 other key convict sites around Australia. This listing acknowledges the key role the barracks played in the British Empire’s forced migration of people around the world, an unprecedented event in human history.
For more information visit: https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/hyde-park-barracks-museum
Sydney Town Hall
The Lord Mayor of Sydney has graciously offered to host a welcome reception for the Advisory Committee at the Sydney Town Hall, the largest and most ornate late 19th century civic building in Australia.
Luna Park Sydney
Luna Park Sydney is a heritage-listed amusement park located on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour. It is one of Sydney’s most recognisable and popular icons and the Luna Park face in particular is an instantly recognisable symbol of Sydney. With spectacular views of the harbour, Sydney’s much-loved Luna Park is a superbly restored 1930s amusement park where everyone goes – just for fun.