When Australia and India take the field today, the Sydney Cricket Ground will be playing host to a Test Match for the 100th time. Naturally, there have been some memorable games.
posted by vidur on Jan 2, 2012 - 18 comments

"That shy mysterious poet Arthur Stace
Whose work was just one single mighty word
Walked in the utmost depths of time and space
And there his word was spoken and he heard
ETERNITY, ETERNITY, it banged him like a bell
Dulcet from heaven sounding, sombre from hell."
- Douglas Stewart
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn on Sep 11, 2011 - 4 comments

Australia's federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport has released an initial report into the prospects of building a high-speed rail link joining the eastern states. The report (which may be found here) lists a number of potential corridors joining Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane, and gives the total cost of building the system at AUD100bn. The resulting system would allow journeys between Melbourne and Sydney (currently the world's fourth busiest air route) in just under three hours, and Sydney and Brisbane in a further three. Tickets between Melbourne and Sydney would be priced at AUD99 to AUD197, with Sydney-Brisbane tickets being slightly cheaper. [more inside]
posted by acb on Aug 4, 2011 - 50 comments

Starting July 1, to make Sydney more liveable, the state government of New South Wales (NSW) will pay AU$7000 to Sydneysider families that relocate from metropolitan areas of Sydney to rural NSW. [more inside]
posted by vidur on Jun 29, 2011 - 181 comments

An ABC Investigative Unit team hit the streets of western Sydney, where young people are struggling to break a vicious cycle of unemployment and family breakdown, to find out what's being done to stop them from falling through the cracks. In a great article by ABC reporters Eleanor Bell and Ed Giles, they found that the lack of resources, infrastructure and support for families in these communities is getting worse, not better but that despite this, many locals are still proud of their community.
posted by Effigy2000 on Sep 8, 2010 - 18 comments

"Whybin TBWA Australia and The Sydney International Food Festival cooked up a clever way to promote last year’s fest — they used iconic foods from the participating countries to recreate their flags. From the green-white-red of basil-spaghetti-tomatoes to the orange-white-green of tikka masala-rice-saag, the results are both appetizing and a little reminiscent of middle-school geography class. Which brings us to our challenge: Can you correctly identify these 12 culinary flags?" [more inside]
posted by timory on Apr 13, 2010 - 12 comments

"I always had this picture in my head a homeless person is they're got torn dirty clothes, they're not shaven, they're, they're sort of sitting in the corner you know waiting for a handout and that was my and to think that - I'm not in that category - but I don't have a home for my family."
A report from Australia's Four Corners documentary TV show looking into homeless families in Western Sydney. Link has video and a transcript, plus background info.
posted by bystander on Sep 22, 2009 - 31 comments

Sydney radio station 2dayFM earned the ire and backlash of the Australian public - rape counsellors, Australian media, and Community Services ministers - after an on-air stunt by morning crew Kyle and Jackie O went horribly wrong. During their regular "lie detector" segment, a 14-year-old girl was interrogated by the hosts and her mother over her sexual history, against her will, and revealed that she had been raped at 12 on air (warning: possibly triggering audio clip embedded in news article). [more inside]
posted by divabat on Jul 29, 2009 - 131 comments

Sailing from Sumatra back to Fremantle in November 1941, the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney encountered a Dutch freighter off the West Australian coast. The freighter turned out to be the disguised German mercantile raider Kormoran. After an ensuing fight, the Sydney went down with all hands, the reasons for which have been debated ever since. First the Kormoran, then over night the Sydney have been found by research organisation, Finding Sydney Foundation.
posted by mattoxic on Mar 16, 2008 - 21 comments

Alan Waddell intends to walk every street in every suburb in Sydney. He has completed 192 suburbs so far. He is 91.
posted by tellurian on Apr 6, 2006 - 13 comments

Petrol prices hurting your wallet? Try stealing it instead! A Sydney man has been accused of siphoning 1,000 litres (265 gallons) of fuel from a service station into a large home-made tank in his van. Police allege the 36-year-old man used a Toyota Town Ace van to take petrol from a service station's underground tanks. Another 44,000 litres of fuel (or there about) is yet to be accounted for though.

Police allegedly found fittings and equipment inside the van that could be used to steal petrol from service stations, including a home made tank.

Hard times huh? Sorry there's no photo to go with this. The guy's van is an awesome sight though. Best I've got is streaming video via ABC News (Windows HQ or LQ).
posted by sjvilla79 on Sep 19, 2005 - 25 comments

Inside the House : A virtual tour of the Sydney Opera House. [Note: Flash]
posted by crunchland on Oct 1, 2003 - 6 comments

In anti-war protests in Australia yesterday, children as young as 12 were shown on TV coverage participating not only in protests, but in the violence that followed when the protesters attacked police. There has, in the past, been condemnation of those who bring their children along to protests, but this is the first time I have seen large numbers of children protesting on their own behalf - most of whom would have been truant from school and, judging by the way many hid from cameras, without the permission of their parents. Should we take them seriously, or are they too young to really understand what it is they are protesting against? [more inside]
posted by dg on Mar 26, 2003 - 28 comments

"Acts of bastardry" are still going around Sydney.
Bad conditions help along the Christmas bushfires started by lightning and mad, wicked behaviour. (I certainly know what it's like.) But why did the fires spread so quickly? Didn't something like this happen in 1997? Is it very dry in southern Australia, or is it El Nino?!
posted by rschram on Dec 30, 2001 - 11 comments

Gay Games VI Under the Gun “What has sparked the concern is a three-page E-mail from the executive committee of the Federation of Gay Games two weeks ago that raised the possibility of the 2002 Games being moved or forfeited. The executive committee of the Federation will visit Sydney from July 21–28 for a status report that will be critical. [...] Also, he said a comparison of Sydney's budget to Amsterdam and New York is flawed, because using the exchange rate doesn't matter. ‘We're not buying any of our goods and service in the US.... $11 million Australian is still $11 million Australian.’ ”
posted by joeclark on Jul 17, 2001 - 0 comments

PNGDF soliders take arms, hold Port Moresby barracks
PM Morauta in hiding
The Defence Force is protesting pay and planned downsizing of the military. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the takeover was sparked by rumors of an Australian seizure of the Moresby barracks. As of yesterday, more troops have joined the takeover
There are unconfirmed reports that the soldiers would stage a protest march on the Parliament building. The Parliament is not currently in session.
posted by rschram on Mar 19, 2001 - 5 comments

15 year old girl who had a heart attack last Friday at Sydneys Big Day Out during Limp Bizkit's set died yesterday afternoon. This was the original story I read about it, that said she was 18. It seems even worse knowing she was only 15 years old.
posted by endorwitch on Jan 31, 2001 - 10 comments

It's all over... And I can honestly say that watching this Olympics has shaken all the pre-Games cynicism out of my system. It's been wonderful to watch, looked wonderfully organised, and suffused with a sense of good spirit by its hosts... good on you, mates.
posted by holgate on Oct 1, 2000 - 32 comments

All Hands On Deck. If you're an engineer for IBM OZ or Telstra, don't expect to get a day off for the next three weeks. Here comes the Olympics!
posted by baylink on Sep 9, 2000 - 0 comments