An attempt to visit every suburb in Sydney.

Continuing this blog's foray into the North Shore , I bring you a small slice of a suburb where wealthy folks and our Prime Minister (...

Helping Scott Move In: Kirribilli

Continuing this blog's foray into the North Shore, I bring you a small slice of a suburb where wealthy folks and our Prime Minister (also a wealthy folk) live.

Kirribilli

My trip to Kirribilli today was actually to scope out options for Sydney New Years Eve fireworks, but luckily I had time to sneak in a little bit of suburbsing. The goal was to check out Dr Mary Booth Reserve, a harbourside park, but stopping the car just a few streets away gave me a chance to explore the flavour of Kirribilli.

From the moment you set foot in Kirribilli, there is no escaping that this is one of Sydney's oldest suburbs.


Kirribilli is full of older and beautifully maintained houses and apartments on hilly, leafy streets. I thought this local hotel was especially fitting to the colonial theme the suburb seems to enjoy (although Kirribilli does seem like an odd place to stay if you're visiting the city as it's not the most connected place.)

When I am exploring with a goal, I try to go in the general direction of wherever I'm trying to get to. Luckily, this sandstone alleyway leads the right way, onto a street very close to the harbour.

So close, in fact, that a certain famous landmark peeks through the cracks between the buildings.

All good fancy suburbs (and this suburb is definitely fancy) have houses with names. This kid is named Brooklyn.

What appeared to be a clearing between people's homes turned out to be a wharf with a brilliant view.

The reviews of the Beulah St Wharf on Google tell me that apparently this is a great place to fish. Wikipedia reckons that the name Kirribilli comes from an Aboriginal word Kiarabilli, meaning "good fishing spot", so it looks like not much has changed since this harbour started looking very different 200 odd years ago.

I can't vouch for the fishing, but I can say that the folks who live in these flats on the water must get to enjoy one of this city's best views.



Just a little bit further down the road is Dr Mary Booth Lookout Reserve, which I came here to see.

At street level the view is obstructed by shrubbery, but taking a set of stairs towards the water leads to a view which clearly does not disappoint.

Sadly, I had to head back and couldn't enjoy this spot for too long.

On the way back I decided to spy on the government.

This building, HC Coombs, is owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Google tells me that it's some sort of conference venue, and after looking them up it seems pretty fancy.

I saw a big fence and this AFP car outside and assumed I was looking at Kirribilli House - the Prime Minister's Residence when in Sydney.

It turns out I was wrong. This is actually Admiralty House and is where the Governor General lives. 

Just next door, however, is Kirribilli House, the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. 

Despite a very recent spin of the Prime Minister Roulette deposing Malcolm Turnbull in favour of a man named Scott, I couldn't see a moving van inside the fence. I considered ringing the bell to check if Scott needed a hand putting his Ikea furniture together but I decided that I didn't feel like getting sent to Nauru today. 

Today I also learned that whoever is Prime Minster for the month gets to live next to a gorgeous little park and look out point. Not a bad perk.


Kirribilli: So fancy that when I misspelt the suburb name, spellcheck's only suggestion was "billionaire". 

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