Remember This? Sydney Panorama from Olympic Park (2006)

In 2006, the Novotel at Sydney Olympic Park was the only high-rise building in the precinct, and for a small fee, one could visit the observation deck on level 18. It offered spectacular 360-degree views of the Sydney metropolitan area. 

I visited the observation deck that year and stitched a panorama of around 180 degrees, including Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney, the Sydney CBD, Burwood, and Strathfield.

Below is a close-up of the Sydney CBD with Sydney Tower perfectly positioned in the middle. 

Given the development at Sydney Olympic Park since, I am grateful that I was able to create the panorama as the views towards the city have been blocked by the high-rises. 

Remember This? Sydney Skyline (1969)

In 1969, Photographer Neil Stewart (The Daily Mirror) trekked to the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to capture a photograph of Sydney's skyline. The photo appears below. Alongside the photo is a photo taken from the same location in 1961. It gave readers of The Daily Mirror a good insight into how Sydney's skyline had changed over the 1960s. 

If compared with a photo taken at the same location in 2024, one would notice, apart from new buildings, some notable omissions:

• The State Office Block has since been demolished (1997)
• Goldfields House was demolished in 2016.
• The Waterboard Building is now the Greenland Sydney Centre, roughly double the height of the original building and is a residential building.

Source: Stewart, N. 1969. "The eight-year face-lift". The Daily Mirror,  June 9: 22-23.