Sydney's history is layered from the extraordinarily deep (65,000 years of Aboriginal occupation) through the painful (the 1788 British invasion and the convict era) to the political (the 1901 Federation of Australia). The evidence of all three layers is visible in the city.
A harbour tour from the Cadigal/Eora perspective — the Aboriginal history of Sydney Cove, the arrival of the First Fleet on January 26, 1788 (now contested as Australia Day vs Invasion Day), and the sites of first contact.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe small but excellent museum in the Rocks documents the full history of the area: the Aboriginal Cadigal people, the 1788 landing, the convict buildings and the development of Sydney. Free.
The 1858 Italianate observatory on Observatory Hill was built to provide accurate time for shipping in the harbour — the time ball drops at 13:00 daily (as it has since 1858). The museum documents the colonial mapping of Australian skies.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe small park at the eastern end of Circular Quay marks the site of the 1788 landing of the First Fleet (11 ships, 736 convicts, 252 marines). The Aboriginal memorial (a modest plaque) and the Yarra Aboriginal Heritage site nearby.
A final Sydney pub dinner — the Lord Nelson Hotel in the Rocks (since 1836, the oldest continually licensed pub in Australia) brews its own beer and serves traditional Australian fare.
The Rocks Ghost and History Tours run Friday and Saturday evenings — the colonial history of the Rocks, the bubonic plague of 1900, and the stories of the early colony. One of the best walking tours in Sydney.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideFrancis Greenway's 1819 barracks (built by convicts for convicts) is the finest convict-era building in Australia — the 2020 renovation restored the building and created a new exhibition on the convict history of New South Wales and the 160,000 men and women transported from Britain between 1788 and 1868.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEat in one of the colonial sandstone buildings of the CBD — the Strand Arcade (1892, Gothic Revival, finest Victorian arcade in Australia) has cafés and restaurants in the original shop fittings.
The 1901 proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia was made in Centennial Park's Centennial Hall (now called the Rotunda). Lord Hopetoun was sworn in as Governor-General before 50,000 people on January 1, 1901. The site is marked by the Federation Pavilion (1888).
Aria (near the Opera House) is one of Sydney's finest restaurants — Matt Moran's celebration of Australian produce: New South Wales lamb, Queensland Moreton Bay bugs, and the outstanding Australian wine list.
Dawes Point at the base of the Harbour Bridge on the Rocks side — the 1788 observatory site, now a park with the best view of the bridge and opera house at night.
The oldest pub in Australia — brewing its own beer since the 1840s, in the original 1836 sandstone building.