Walk through The Rocks in Sydney

When last did you visit Sydney’s Rocks area?

I’ve walked through a couple of times in the last few years, but it’s ages since I really explored the area. Staying at the Sydney Harbour YHA provides me with the perfect base to rediscover The Rocks (known by the Gadigal people as Tallawoladah).

A Self-Guided Walk Through The Rocks

I’ve combined two self-guided walks for my Rocks discovery. Before leaving Platform Two of Circular Quay Station, I look out across the wharfs to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Sydney Harbour must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Walking through the Quay to George Street, I find myself in opposite The Fortune of War, Sydney’s oldest pub. It is surrounded by scaffolding, but signs indicate that it’s open for business. If it wasn’t too early in the day, I’d pop in for a pint.

A couple of doors down is the original police station, now a restaurant. A couple watch me from their veranda table as I read the information panels in the sidewalk. George Barrington was a pickpocket who became a Chief Constable at Parramatta. Other convicts became night watchmen and “many constables had been prisoners of the crown”.

Lanes and Walkways in The Rocks

An archway between the pub and the police station leads to Surgeon’s Court and the Nurses Walk. Little lanes and walkways lead off in all directions. It is well worth just following your nose and see where you end up.

I overhear another visitor asking her partner “Is this the way?” The Rocks covers such a small area and with the iconic harbour bridge visible most of the time it’s almost impossible to get lost.

The shady characters depicted in silhouette on the narrow Suez Canal wall refer to The Rocks Push, a street gang that operated in the area. Fancy there being a Suez Canal here in Sydney. Apparently, it’s a play on the word ‘sewers’.

Soon I end up in Playfair Street.  Unfortunately, the Tea Cosy is closed today or I would stop for a cuppa with scones, jam and cream.

Foundation Park

Foundation Park is a new discovery. You might stumble across it in your wanderings or if you’re following my notes will find that 26 Argyle Terrace in Playfair Street leads to the fascinating park. 

The preserved foundations of eight small houses built into the sandstone cliff in the 1870s give an insight into the crowded living conditions of the time. Nestled between other buildings and minimally ‘decorated’ with metal chairs, tables and even a grandfather clock, this heritage site is worth a visit.  

From Argyle Cut to Observatory Hill

From here, it’s an easy walk to the Argyle Stairs and down to the Argyle Cut. Initially convicts were set to work here to chip away the sandstone and create a tunnel linking Millers Point and The Rocks. Their progress was so slow that eventually paid labour and explosives were brought in to complete the job.

Through the tunnel and up the hill, Observatory Hill provides extensive views down the Parramatta River, across to Lavender Bay and the Harbour Bridge.

I’m too early to watch the yellow Observatory time ball drop two metres (this happens at 1pm). This visual time signal has informed mariners and city dwellers of the time for many years.

Views of Sydney Harbour

I could easily stroll across the Harbour Bridge from here and/or go up to the Pylon Lookout (a less expensive option than the BridgeClimb) for more harbour views, but leave that for another day. Should you choose to take that option, be warned: the Pylon Lookout is up a flight of 200 stairs.

Instead I make my way down to the harbour foreshore. First, I check out the Glenmore Hotel. This hotel has a rooftop area with Opera House views and a reputation for pretty good burgers. The nearby Australian Heritage Hotel is known for its ‘Coat of Arms’ pizza featuring kangaroo and emu meat.

A little further down Gloucester Street Suzannah Place Museum is still closed due to COVID. Comprised of four ‘two up two down’ terraces, this museum provides a glimpse into the lives of the those who lived here between 1844 and 1990.

The Big Dig

Opposite Suzannah Place is The Big Dig. Yesterday, as a guest of the YHA, I joined the free Big Dig tour and with no other takers, ended up having a personal tour.

Non-guests or guests who can’t make the Monday morning tours can do a self-guided tour during daylight hours using the interpretation panels on the ground floor. It’s another place worth more than a cursory look.

I meander through the back lanes to Dawes Point past the Harbour View Hotel (another with a rooftop terrace) and then begin to chuckle. 

In front of me is the decorative cast iron outdoor urinal or ‘pissoir’ which was relocated from Observatory Hill in the 1970s. A man wearing a Wallabies jersey tells me that “It is still operational. It’s a bit smelly though”.

The Museum of Contemporary Art

From there, I walk down to Campbells Cove with its row of Bond Stores, and on to Cadman’s cottage, the oldest building in the Rocks area.

Nearby at the entrance to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), I read more about an artwork I’ve passed many times but not looked at properly. The LED arrow points downwards, a drawcard to Instagrammers.

The work, Warrang, by Brook Andrew points to the colonial naval docks located beneath the work. Andrew says the poetry engraved on the forecourt “hints at lost or covered histories”.

Entry to the MCA is free and the café also has great views across the harbour.

More Harbour Views

For yet another but different harbour view, walk to the lift at the eastern end of Circular Quay which takes you up to the Cahill Expressway walkway.

Exploring The Rocks is one way to uncover much of Sydney’s recent history. And it can be done without spending a fortune.

Note: I stayed as a guest of the Sydney Harbour YHA

You can download the NOTES that I used for my Rocks Discovery HERE