The day started out promising after a fortnight of rain - blue skies, and a crisp breeze carried the ferry from Sydney's Circular Quay to Cockatoo Island in the harbour. The island has been host to convicts who chopped the island apart and cut enough sandstone to build many of Sydney's finest buildings of the early colony town. It's also been a home for wayward girls, and foremost a mighty big ship building establishment. Now it welcomes campers, day visitors, concert goers and art lovers or art explorers. Hosting some of the exhibitions in this year's Sydney Biennale, the massive turbine room has exploding cars hanging from the ceiling, other empty spaces have been filled with innovative dioramas featuring social, political and esoteric themes. After coffee and a snack from the Canteen, we wandered over to another empty space that began to fill with fans of Warren Fahey and the Larrikins. Fahey and the band sang and played old folk songs that came from the early days of the island.
After a splendid day we headed back to the ferry and the heavens opened up and poured rain for the next few hours.If you get the chance go to the island - the FREE ferry leaves from outside the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) at the Quay on the hour. Oh Sydney, you never fail to impress.
