Climb to the top next weekend!

Macquarie Lighthouse is Australia's longest continuously operating lighthouse. Still a beacon for guiding ships into Sydney Harbour, this remarkable place will be open for tours next weekend. Find out about its fascinating history and climb to the top to see magnificent harbour and city views.

Macquarie Lighthouse was originally built in 1818, and was designed by convict architect, Francis Greenway. The stone used in the lighthouse eroded and it was replaced by the current tower in 1883. The lighthouse is still used for its original purpose - a guiding light for sailors showing the way to the harbour entrance.

As it is a working lighthouse, the historic interior is only open for tours every two months. So grab your walking shoes and prepare to follow in the steps of the original lighthouse keepers. Be warned, the tour includes climbing the 100 stairs to the top of the lighthouse!

Cost: $5 adult, $3 child/concession, $13 family (2 adults and 3 concessions)

Address: Old South Head Road, Vaucluse

When: Sunday 21 February, 10am - 4pm

Bookings: essential.

Phone: (02) 8969 2100 - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Discover The Diver

The Diver is a sculpture by award-winning artist Tim Kyle. Made of fibreglass and wood, the monumental figure has been moved to Cockatoo Island and is the latest art initiative for the island.

With his enormous helmet and cumbersome grey body, the deep sea diver is a surprising element in the gritty industrial landscape of the former shipyard. Almost four metres high, he looks across what were once the busy slipways where ships and destroyers were built.

Now Slipway No. 1 has been converted into a swimming area for visitors to the island – under the impenetrable gaze of The Diver.

Describing his work, Tim says The Diver "ponders the arcadian vista surrounding him safe from prying eyes hidden within his indomitable armour."

Before being relocated to Cockatoo Island, The Diver was exhibited for six months at the Helen Lempriere Award at Werribee Park in Victoria. Tim Kyle also won the Wynne Prize for Sculpture at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2003. He has twice been invited to exhibit in Sculpture by the Sea and has also exhibited at the Defiance Gallery in Newtown where he won the Small Sculpture Prize. Tim is represented by the Ray Hughes Gallery.

The Harbour Trust has embraced the idea of incorporating artwork into its urban parklands. Walk around Headland Park at Mosman and you'll come across surprising sculptures dotted around the landscape. Cockatoo Island has already established a reputation as a visual art destination with recent installations by acclaimed Australian sculptor, Ken Unsworth, and South African artist William Kentridge. In May this year the 17th Biennale of Sydney will open on the island, which is one of the key venues for the art festival.

More on visiting Cockatoo Island

Update on HMAS Platypus

Planning is now underway for the remediation of the former HMAS Platypus site. This is the first step in transforming the former submarine base into a new public waterfront location.

Over the years this complex site in Neutral Bay has been transformed and its sandstone cliffs excavated: firstly for a gasworks, then a workshop for servicing torpedoes, and finally a base for Australia's submarines.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department of Defence and the Harbour Trust has now been signed. Defence has agreed to pay for the costs associated with the decontamination of the Platypus site.

The current plan is to carry out the remediation project in two stages:

Stage 1 encompasses the above ground remediation and site preparatory works. During this stage, the wharf and seawall will be repaired, sediments in the adjacent waterways investigated to provide background reference information, dilapidation surveys undertaken, above ground contaminants including lead and asbestos will be removed from all buildings and surrounds, the heritage significant retort building dismantled and the administration building and adjacent store demolished. Stage 1 is planned for completion in late 2010.

Stage 2 addresses the below ground contaminant removal and groundwater management works. During this stage, the estimated 35,000 tonnes of below ground hazardous contaminants will be removed and treated, the contaminated ground and seepage water will be treated and a plan for future groundwater management put in place. Planning for this stage is now underway. Stage 2 is planned for completion in late 2012.

This is a complicated project requiring on-going community consultation and detailed planning prior to the works proceeding. The Harbour Trust has recently appointed a Community Consultation Manager and additional Project Management personnel to assist in the co-ordination and implementation of the works.

Further information about the former HMAS Platypus site and the Trust's plan for the site

Download meeting notes from the last Community Advisory Committee meeting

The Story of Bungaree

The Story of Bungaree is a richly illustrated history of a significant Aborigine who lived in early Sydney. Bungaree was the first Aborigine to circumnavigate the continent as a member of Matthew Flinders' historic journey of exploration in 1802-03. He was a favorite of Governor Macquarie who in 1815 put him in charge of a farm on Georges Heights, an attempt to introduce proudly nomadic people to the settled life of agriculture.
 
The life of Bungaree helps us understand how Aboriginal people navigated their way through a cultural calamity when Europeans colonised the Sydney region in the late-eighteenth century. Bungaree was an enterprising, resilient personality, an adventurer, a man of sensibility and intelligence. His story and that of his people are part of the foundation story of Australia.
 
Published by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, 34pp, illustrated, colour.

Cost $19.95 + $2.55 postage.

To order a copy call the Trust on 02 8969 2100