ASTRID SEELE

23 July 2016

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BEAUTIFUL BALMORAL (Part One)

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Having just spent a few hours at beautiful Balmoral Beach , I will let the pictures speak for themselves today.  In the words of a friend of mine:  soaking in such views is good for the soul.  Indeed.

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For the sake of the uninitiated:  Balmoral Beach has long had the reputation of being Sydney's most beautiful harbour beach.  After twenty years of campaigning, in 1922 it finally got its own tram line, which was in popular demand with weekend revellers until the late 1950s when it was discontinued.  It wound its way down on a rather circuitous route from Military Road - the obvious and direct routes down Awaba Street or Mandolong Road would have been far too steep for the trams to cope in those days.  This must have caused some headaches to the planners - hence the unusual delay in adding this route to Sydney's tram network.

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I have had some lovely lunch breaks there, on the beach, the benches or at Bathers' Pavilion, either in solitary reflection or in the convivial company of friends and colleagues.  It will always hold a special place in my heart.

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And whilst it is a safe, enclosed and child-friendly harbour beach, the views across to the Sydney Heads where the harbour ends and opens up into the Pacific Ocean, literally invite you to expand your horizon and think beyond the confines of your world.

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