Historic Sydney Sketchbook is a rather charming 1970s book which was kindly lent by a friend. Its charm doesn't lie solely in the illustrations of the architectural remnants of Sydney’s convict, settler, mercantile and cultural past tucked in among giant towers. Since the time it was published, Sydney has changed further, and some of the ‘new’ uses for old structures mentioned with such pride in the text, are now the ‘old’ use. More have simply disappeared.
Others have changed in surprising ways. St Mary’s catholic cathedral, for instance is no longer an ‘unfinished masterpiece’ with its spires finished in 2000, exactly as designed by Wardell in 1868.
I see Clover Moore’s long standing proposal was finally voted into law 2 weeks last Thursday. A rather unassuming name, “Freedom of Information (Open Government - Disclosure of Contracts Bill)”, this change means that all government contracts are to be made public in one way or another, depending on their value. There are some exclusions, it isn't perfect, but it's a good move towards better governance. I note that NSW Health has listed contracts already ...
