Tim Heald

The Miscreants’ Metrolpolis

The Birth of Sydney: The Story of Britain's Arrival In The Antipodes

By

William Heinemann 349pp £20 order from our bookshop

THAT SYDNEY IS one of the great cities of the world is surely now undisputed. In the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House it has two of the world’s most instantly recognisable man-made icons; in the harbour itself it has one of the most beautiful natural attractions. The Olympics demonstrated its ability to put on the greatest show on earth. The restaurants are world-beaters, the best daily newspaper is arguably better than anything Fleet Street produces, and Sydney puts on a terrific gay and lesbian Mardi Gras.

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