What’s on in Sydney, Melbourne and the other capitals
After a torrid year, our metropolitan centres are abuzz and ready to welcome holiday crowds.
It’s been a tough year for Australia’s capital cities, with the pandemic rendering some of our CBDs virtual ghost towns for interminable stretches. But summer is here and there’s a buzz in the air. While we were hunkered down watching Netflix, the final touches were being applied to hip new cocktails bars and snazzy restaurants, curators were hanging precious artworks and event organisers were corralling talent and leaping logistical hurdles. Now they’ve flung open their doors and are ready for business. Here’s a hit list of things to do in Sydney and the other state and territory capitals.
SYDNEY
From famine to feast
What better way to revitalise the CBD than through arts extravaganza Sydney Festival, brimming with 133 events scheduled over 25 days. After our collective Covid-induced cultural starvation, it’s time to gorge ourselves on live events. Highlights? There are so many. Girl from the North Country centred around Bob Dylan’s music and starring Lisa McCune. Wudjang: Not the Past, a collaboration between Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Theatre Company. Thaw, in which a Legs on the Wall performer is suspended 20m above the harbour on a 2.5 tonne of ice as it slowly melts. New to the scene is Speaker’s Corner, in front of St Mary’s Cathedral, where music and comedy acts will perform to audiences of 1000; January 6-30.
On the waterfront
Almost as enjoyable as the food and location at eastern suburbs diner The Boathouse are the design and decor essentials masterminded by Pip Goldsmith, creative director of the hospitality group. The cool white and marine palette, brightened with massive flower arrangements, is as triumphantly Sydney as the harbour beyond. On the Rose Bay marina site of the former Regatta, this new iteration has a kiosk, reorganised spaces that include upstairs and deck seating options, and a menu from group executive chef James Brownrigg that celebrates seafood and seasonal produce. Scampi linguine with pipis, chilli oil and caviar is a clear summer favourite and who could resist the ornamented plate on which it’s served, also for sale at Pip’s homewares store at Palm Beach headquarters or online.
Best in show
More than 100 works from Centre Pompidou in Paris are on display at the Art Gallery of NSW exhibition Matisse: Life & Spirit until March 13. It’s a terrific assembly of Henri Matisse masterpieces, further enlivened by flickering archival footage of the artist in his atelier making gouache cut-outs and working on boldly coloured, decorative paintings of domestic interiors and odalisques. A representation of his Chapel of the Rosary at Vence has been designed by Australian architect Richard Johnson alongside life-sized maquettes for its stained-glass windows. There’s a lovely intimacy to the flow of exhibits and a clear sense of the progression of Matisse’s travels in Oceania and northern Africa, all places of intense and transforming light. Until April 3, the supplementary, non-ticketed homage, Matisse Alive, extends the experience.
Access all areas
Cultural Attractions of Australia operates a range of insider-access tours of the Sydney Opera House but Tour and Dine, in particular, is a fascinating potted experience that takes visitors back of house for 60 minutes to discover and learn more about the Concert Hall, Drama Theatre and other performance spaces. My tour group’s guide, Nick, is full of facts and stories, peppering his spiel with smoke-and-mirrors talk of sprung floors, trap doors and hydraulic safety walls. It feels privileged and even a tad secretive to explore the bowels, as it were, of the famous harbourside building. Then up for air and a stroll along the western promenade to Matt Moran’s Opera Kitchen for a casual lunch. A poke bowl of salmon sashimi, edamame, avocado, shiso and sesame hits the spot. Tour and Dine three times daily, Thursday-Monday; adults, $80; children; $45. Lunch included.
culturalattractionsofaustralia.com
Jetty set
New to the Pier One concourse beside Ovolo Woolloomooloo, Il Pontile is already proving a neighbourhood favourite, especially for lazy lunches. But summer evenings are a joy here, too, for prettily plated dishes such as battered zucchini flowers filled with burrata and semi-dried tomatoes or a richly sauced rigatoni alla Genovese. Restaurateur and chef Mario Percuoco (son of restaurateur Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo fame) hails from Naples, the menu is unashamedly Italian, and the overall feel of the semi-open, two-level space is calming. Expect parchment-pale colours, stone floors and a lack of themed artifice; the glassed-in “cellar” at ground level contains wine chosen to match regional dishes and the name Il Pontile translates to “the pier”. Perfetto.
Shell chic
Lobster rolls are the star turns during Martini Hour (4pm-6pm) but Menzies Bar & Bistro at Shell House is a convivial CBD hideaway in which to linger much longer for cocktails with names as wink-wink as In-Cider Trading, share plates and superior wagyu burgers. Ice is cut in shards from huge countertop blocks and there’s an elegant, almost NYC-inspired grandeur to the look in this restored heritage building near Wynyard Station, thanks to architectural firm Woods Bagot and interior stylist Anna Hewett. There’s a blackened steel bar, an eccentric overhead “hamper” that holds 1300 bottles of spirits, marble floors, and comfy leather booths. Just opened for party-season frolics are the multifaceted and freshly transformed Shell House’s rooftop Sky Bar, Clocktower Bar, Dining Room and Terrace.
Tastes of Tel Aviv
There’s a sense of anticipation on arrival at Israeli restaurant Shaffa, where upbeat music draws guests down a narrow entrance tucked beside a former church in Surry Hills. Step inside the glass-roofed cavern to find an open kitchen bustling with activity, piles of glossy fresh produce and happy diners sipping cocktails such as charred negronis and a riff on a Tom Collins made with pomegranate arak. You can choose to sit among the action or take a table within the historic walls of what was once Apple Tree Inn, circa 1850. The set menu Feast ($65; add $37 for bottomless rose and Goldstar beer), available for two-hour brunch on weekends, is a parade of zingy Middle Eastern flavours. Burnt eggplant labneh, housemade hamutzim or pickles, roasted spiced cauliflower, lamb koftas: it’s all familiar fare yet delightfully different. Also open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
Cheeky gin
Ciara Doran and Eoin Daniels, the pair behind whisky bar The Doss House in The Rocks, have done it again. This time it’s gin and cocktails on the menu in another character-filled sandstone building in the historic district. Named for Doran’s great uncle Frank, who was a charismatic fixture of his village pub in Ireland, the 1840s watering hole still looks like the kind of place sailors straight off a tall ship would frequent. However, those seafarers of yore might think they’d died and gone to heaven on discovering more than 100 varieties of gin on the shelves, including exotic iterations from Moldova, Belgium, Sweden and Japan. Martinis are considered an art form here, and explanations of dry versus dirty are available from the knowledgeable bar staff. Settle into one of the leather lounges and choose your poison. Share plates and snacks available.
Time and place
Water squirts from a series of elevated pipes into a white pool standing in a mound of dirt and rubble on the floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art. The rhythmical drips start slowly, eventually climaxing in a veritable downpour before the cycle begins again. Doug Aitken’s ambitious installation Sonic Fountain II is part of New Era, a Sydney-exclusive exhibition on the Californian artist at the MCA until February 6. The works are equally mesmerising and unsettling, exploring concepts of time, nature, technology and place using mirrors, photographs and video footage, which is captured on a grand scale and displayed on vast screens. Don’t miss Migration (empire), in which various animals – a buffalo, a horse, a beaver among them – are filmed in shabby motel rooms.
![Pond[er] at the NGV. Picture: David Caird](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/7b7e646998ecbe9988f9349efdfa4a83?width=650)
MELBOURNE
Art and soul
After a two-year transformation the 19th-century Collingwood Technical School is set to shimmer this summer as Collingwood Yards, the city’s newest arts and culture hotspot. Home to artist studios and independent organisations from record labels to galleries, over the summer months there will be video projections (Thursday-Sunday) by resident artists, open studios and exhibitions, and night markets on the last Saturday of each month. There’s fine food, natural wines and live-streamed radio at Hope St Radio and a new rooftop bar, Runner Up, in an old caretaker’s cottage above Johnston Street serving up drinks and DJ sets with sunset views over the inner city.
In the pink
The National Gallery of Victoria’s annual architectural installation has transformed its internal garden into a pink wading pool where gallery goers are welcome to cool off over summer. Designed by architects Taylor Knights and artist James Carey, Pond[er] is a reflection pool of sorts, prompting visitors to consider our fragile ecology. Inspired by Victoria’s colourful salt lakes and fringed by Indigenous gardens, it’s a magical spot for a break between viewings of the NGV’s collection and its summer blockbuster, Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, showcasing pieces from the designer’s influential career (with bonus free audio guide by Tilda Swinton).
Love all
Melbourne’s never more alive than when the tennis comes to town. The combination of (usually) great weather, crowded streets and the chance to spot some of the world’s top athletes lends the city a carnival atmosphere for the fortnight of the Australian Open, January 17-30. After being banned last year due to Covid fears, spectators will return to Melbourne Park to find special attractions such as a “beach” – complete with sunlounges, bathing boxes and big screen – at Garden Square, and renowned chefs such as Ben Shewry and Scott Pickett serving up meals courtside.
Song and dance
Last year’s inaugural Live at the Bowl program of Covid-safe performances returns this summer to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with an all-ages line-up of shows. Anchored by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s free concert series (a staple of the city since 1929), the 2022 program includes big-name concerts (London Grammar, Flight Facilities, Crowded House), daytime and night-time dance parties and even Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show, a family-friendly original – it’s Shaun’s first outing in an open-air theatre – to kick off festivities in January.
KENDALL HILL
BRISBANE
Top of the hops
The city’s first rooftop brewhouse was launched in November atop Fortitude Valley’s Cloudland. Upmarket beer garden Valley Hops Brewing features a mix of seating, with views out to the Story Bridge and CBD. Head brewer Josh Warren has sought to bottle the suburb’s most colourful archetypes in his beers, says Chris Cossio, of independent hospitality group Katarzyna. The range includes Exhibitionist Tropical Ale (for show-offs) and Interloper Hazy IPA (for dreamers and misfits). Wood-fired piz-zas and chargrilled snacks are available. I recommend the spicy octopus skewers.
River runs
Tides of Brisbane catching a breeze on the river is the best way to beat the heat. The Museum of Brisbane’s flagship summer tour, Tides of Brisbane, uses a boat ride on the famed “brown snake” to unpack the city’s history. The tour explores how the river shaped the city, providing fresh perspective on familiar landmarks such as the Story Bridge and Brisbane Powerhouse. It offers a few surprises, too, including an inner-city beach with near-white sand, where guests disembark for refreshments. The boat leaves from the City Botanic Gardens on Wednesdays and Sundays. Bookings essential; $120 a person.
Collected works
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art opened the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art this month, with works from more than 150 artists. Highlights include handcrafted ceramic deities by Thai-Australian Vipoo Srivilasa, a 10m-long loom of human hair by Philippines artist Rocky Cajigan and major new works by Gordon Hookey (Waanyi people, Gulf Country) and Grace Lillian Lee and Uncle Ken Thaiday Snr (Meriam Mir people, Torres Strait). The exhibition is free, but those who want to dive deeper can join a First Artists: Exceptional Indigenous Art and Dining Experience, which includes a private tour, dinner and gift; $4199 a person.
Take note
A heritage-listed former bank building on Queen Street Mall is the home of Banc Brasserie & Wine Bar, which opened in November. It’s a traditional but light-filled space that honours the original architecture, with a colour palette drawn from Australian bank notes. Led by Lucas McMillan, formerly of Montrachet, the menu celebrates fresh, seasonal flavours using locally sourced ingredients but with a French influence. Share dishes include whole steamed and fried duck, and dry-aged sirloin on the bone. Early risers can swing by from 7.30am on weekdays for local Providore & Co coffee and pastries.
DENISE CULLEN
ADELAIDE
Flaming heaven
There’s no smoke without fire at one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in the country with Jake Kellie, former head chef at Singapore’s Michelin-starred Burnt Ends, introducing high-end barbecue to Adelaide. Electricity is a no-no in the kitchen; those seated at the wraparound counter instead get to enjoy a hot-under-the-collar kitchen team wrangling wood ovens, smoke boxes and an open-hearth giving Wagyu beef, southern rock lobster, even vegetables, the flame treatment. The interiors of the heritage building on The Parade in Norwood appear likewise scorched, featuring charcoal-coloured walls, hefty stone counters and upcycled railway sleepers. Bookings essential.
Let’s get cultural
The fag end of summer may be a cause for sadness elsewhere in Australia; in Adelaide it spells festival season. The Fringe (Australia’s largest arts festival), Adelaide Festival and WOMADelaide all jostle for space with the latter returning to Botanic Park in 2022, celebrating 30 years with a stellar line-up including Paul Kelly and a farewell performance from The Cat Empire. At the same time, the country’s premier survey of contemporary Australian art opens March 4 at the Art Gallery of South Australia under Sydney-based curator Sebastian Goldspink. Free/State explores “ideas of transcending states” (very timely indeed) and brings together artists from around the country, including Tracey Moffatt, Shaun Gladwell, Reko Rennie and Dennis Golding.
Funky town
Adelaide’s small bar scene is just about the liveliest in the country; this summer adds a funky 1970s-style cocktail bar in a storied locale in the city’s East End. Pre-Covid, 285 Rundle St was home to MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo’s acclaimed Orana (and before that the trailblazing Universal Wine Bar). Two Pot Screamer is quite a change of pace; downstairs Georgina Fehring (ex Magill Estate) is putting a cheffy spin on the decade’s favourites such as Chiko Rolls and prawn cocktails. Upstairs it’s “screaming sodas” in the small but cool bar.
Join the clubs
Australia’s first European-style beach club, unveiled in 2018, is back for another summer on the sand at Glenelg. With jaunty striped umbrellas, The Moseley Beach Club channels the Amalfi Coast until March 27. Day beds, luxe lounges and beach booths with full table service can be prebooked, the cost redeemable against food and drink. Further south the Cabana Club at Port Noarlunga is on the sand until January 29.
CHRISTINE McCABE
CANBERRA
Picture this
The capital’s Sunset Cinema has returned to the Australian National Botanic Gardens, with screenings most nights until February 2. It’s a diverse line-up of movies, ranging from Christmas classics such as Home Alone and Love Actually to new releases such as the latest Bond thriller, No Time to Die, Disney’s new offering Encanto and, in late January, Steven Spielberg’s re-imagining of West Side Story. Bring a picnic or grab some nosh from Boss Burger; drinks vendors include BentSpoke Brewing, Greenall’s Gin and Fowles Wine. Ticket and seating options vary; wheelchair accessible.
Look Smart
Jeffrey Smart’s distinctive take on urban and industrial landscapes is explored at the National Gallery of Australia in an exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2021. Among the more than 100 works featured are Labyrinth, the artist’s final major painting, completed in 2011 when he was 90, and The Construction Fence (1978), both of which demonstrate his mastery of geometry and composition. The show delves into Smart’s practice thematically, including his extensive travels and long love affair with Italy, where he died in 2013. Until May 15.
Pop stars
You never quite know when cause for celebration might arise so it’s a good thing the House of Bubbles, which potters around the Canberra region in a cute 1971 Citroen H Van, is mobile. The Bubbles crew might set up tables and chairs at Norgrove Park, Kingston, or join a Pinot & Picasso painting class at Lennox Gardens. Champagne, prosecco, cider and beer are all on the menu. Check out its Facebook page to see where it’s going next. Also on the move is The Pop Inn, a mobile bar fashioned from a shipping container. Local drops dominate the wine list, including Clonakilla, Eden Road and Mount Majura. See website for locations.
HOBART
Summer livin’
The MONA team is back with Mona-Foma, the summer festival over two weekends and two locations (Hobart and Launceston). Midnight Oil will be playing and other acts include modern dance, and a sulphur-infused performance highlighting bushfires and climate change. Also happening is artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele’s High Tea for Two in MONA’s Ladies Lounge. This art and fine dining experienceis for “any kind of lady” and will include curated food and drinks from executive chef Vince Trim. Attendees are encouraged to wear black, white, green or gold as they will become part of the art installation, on view to other museum patrons.
Liquid gold
Tasmania’s whisky cachet has risen another couple of notches with the opening of The Still, launched by the acclaimed Lark Distillery. Housed in the old Mercury newspaper print room on Argyle St, the venue is a tasting and retail space by day, and a sophisticated whisky and cocktail lounge by night. It’s turning the spotlight on Tassie’s burgeoning whisky scene, serving about 150 local varieties. Looking for something special? On the shelf is Lark’s rare-cask Mizunara single malt, which fetches $1000 for a 700ml bottle. If whisky isn’t your thing, head upstairs to Lark’s Forty Spotted Gin Bar, which opened about a year ago.
Take a bow
Sails are being hoisted and wet weather gear readied for the 76th Sydney to Hobart race. Cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, it begins on Boxing Day and the first finishers usually enter the Derwent on December 28. The best place to congratulate the sailors as they do a lap of honour is from the deck of the Taste of Summer festival, held at the Princes St Wharf and showcasing 80 food vendors and producers from all over Tasmania as well as 200 performing artists.
Paddle power
Head for the end of the earth with a guided kayaking trip in the South West National Park. Accessible only by small plane, boat or on foot, this week-long voyage offers stunning scenery and an incredible sense of wonder at what nature offers us. All gear is provided for low-impact camping and meals are cooked by experienced guides.
ALIX CLARK
PERTH
Hit the roof
Art Gallery of Western Australia has reopened after a $10m revamp, and sports a gorgeous top-storey bar called Elevate. The expansive deck is Perth’s largest commercial rooftop space, accommodating up to 500 people. Visitors stroll the open-air sculpture walk and peruse the indoor galleries, but the star of the show is the 34m-long light-based artwork titled Targets by local Indigenous artist Christopher Pease. It’s the largest work commissioned by the gallery and wraps around the rooftop exterior. When the gallery is closed, the bar is accessed via an external glass elevator, beaming guests up from the Perth Cultural Centre.
Zip it
Perth’s newest adrenaline experience Matagarup Zip and Climb is finally complete. Linking East Perth to Optus Stadium, the Matagarup Bridge invokes intertwined black and white swans, and also the Wagyl, the Noongar rainbow serpent. For just over a year, guided climbing tours have seen visitors navigate 314 steps to the glass-bottomed viewing platform, 72m above the Swan River. Now the speedier half of the experience is open. Zipliners can expect to reach speeds of up to 75km/h along the 400m cable, before touching down on the eastern bank of the river.
Fringe dwellers
Fringe World festival, the third-largest of its kind in the world, cranks up Perth’s live entertainment scene from January 14 to February 13. With more than 430 comedy, musical and circus acts across the city, shows will take place in venues such as the Pleasure Garden – an outdoor hub in Northbridge with its own Spiegeltent – and live music centres such as The Rechabite and His Majesty’s Theatre. Highlights of Fringe 2022 include the acrobatic favourite A Simple Space, the glittering cabaret of Haus of Hans: Disco Spektakular, and BIPOCity – Unity among Diversity showcasing artists from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Seasonal offering
Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has taken a defibrillator to the previously mothballed Indiana Teahouse building, temporarily reviving the much-loved icon on Cottesloe Beach. Pop-up restaurant Indigo Oscar has opened, bringing fresh, South American vibes and flavours such as share plates of Shark Bay crab arepas and Rottnest Island swordfish ceviche. The building is poised for major redevelopment, although the famous 1980s ocean-facing facade will remain. While the plans navigate approvals, Indigo Oscar is the place for ocean sunsets
CAROLYN BEASLEY
DARWIN
Take the rains
It’s wet season in the Top End, perhaps the ideal time to head indoors and remember one of the most defining moments in Darwin’s history. Category 4 Cyclone Tracy struck in the early hours of Christmas Day in 1974, killing more than 70 people. The Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory has a long-running exhibition devoted to the tragedy. While you’re there, view the winning works of 2021’s prestigious Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Art Awards.
Wet and wild
Outback wrangler Matt Wright has a new adventure for the wet season. His 90-minute Crocs in the Wild tour takes guests on a thrilling airboat ride to get up close with saltwater crocodiles in Sweets Lagoon and on the Finniss River floodplains. Departs daily at 8am from Top End Safari Camp, about 1 ½ hours’ drive from Darwin; $220 an adult.
PENNY HUNTER