Barangaroo is an eye-catching, commercial development at Sydney's Darling Harbour with spectacular views and numerous attractions for locals and visitors alike.
While the development is relatively new, the site has a history that dates back more than 6,000 years, when it was home to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. Its proximity to what is now Sydney Harbour made it an ideal spot for fishing and hunting, and the first economic use of the region was by local Eora women, who would catch and collect fish in their canoes.
Soon after the colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788, the Barangaroo area flourished as a centre for maritime and industrial trades. Throughout the 1800s the area was completely transformed, with the construction of wharves, warehouses and other port infrastructure.
But with the advent of the shipping container in the late 1950s, the wharves soon became too small and ill-equipped for a modern port and they eventually became redundant. They fell into disrepair and lay idle until 2003, when the NSW government officially closed Sydney Harbour as a working port and transferred the task to Port Botany.
Around the same time, the government designated the site for redevelopment into parklands and commercial space, and Sydney's new premier entertainment district began to take shape. A naming competition was held, and it was decided the site would be named Barangaroo after a Cammeraygal woman who was a leader of her people at the time of British colonisation.
Development begins
In 2005 another competition was held, this one an international urban design competition for architects, and so began the long process of submission, rejection, amendment and finally approval that is typical of major developments.
The development of Barangaroo has opened up this waterfront district to the public for the first time in over 100 years. Covering 22 hectares at the old East Darling Harbour docklands, Barangaroo is made up of three distinct but interconnected precincts with over half the site set aside as dedicated public open space. At the northern end is Barangaroo Reserve, a six-hectare harbour parkland offering spectacular views, extensive walking and cycling trails, idyllic coves, event spaces and peaceful picnic spots.
To the south lies Barangaroo's commercial and residential precinct featuring upmarket restaurants, retail and premium waterfront office space. Barangaroo South includes Sydney's first six-star luxury property, Crown Integrated Hotel and Resort, and the Barangaroo Ferry Wharf.
The final precinct linking north and south is Central Barangaroo, part of which is still being developed. Central Barangaroo will combine residential and commercial uses with civic and recreation spaces creating a vibrant, 24/7 mixed-use precinct.
Central Barangaroo will also see the completion of one of the world's longest and most beautiful continuous waterfront walks. The walk will stretch along the entire Barangaroo waterfront, connecting Garden Island to the Sydney Fish Market.
Diverse attractions
An unusual feature of the development is Mov'in Bed, a so-called city beach outdoor cinema. With 280 tons of white sand, the largest outdoor screen in Australia and 150 plush queen-size beds, which you lie on to watch the movies, it puts a new take on outdoor theatre.
Featuring new release films and classic favourites, you can order food and drink to your bed, or enjoy pre-movie dinner and drinks across the road.
You can see the twisting petals of Crown Towers Sydney from almost anywhere in the city. It's Sydney's fourth-tallest building at over 270 metres, with 75 floors of luxury hotel accommodation, high-end shops and a casino. It claims to have more world-class restaurants and bars than most small Sydney suburbs.
Barangaroo as a whole is home to more than 90 of what are described as Sydney's best restaurants and bars, although some establishments in the city and inner suburbs that have been around a lot longer might dispute the "best" claim. Nevertheless, there are some pretty good eateries there, many dotted along the waterfront. Seafood is abundant.
Good transport connections
Barangaroo is one of the stops on the new Sydney Metro line. With the Metro you can travel from Sydney's Central Station (extreme south of the city) to Barangaroo (extreme north of the city) in six minutes.
Sydney Metro is Australia's largest public transport project, building, operating and maintaining a network of four metro lines with driverless trains, 46 stations and 113km of new metro rail. It has a target capacity of 40,000 customers per hour and will serve the new Western Sydney International Airport – Sydney's second international airport – due to open next year.
Majority construction of Barangaroo was practically completed last year, and the development now accommodates more than 23,000 workers and residents and hosts thousands of visitors daily.
Construction on the final section of the Barangaroo foreshore was expected to start this year after plans for the $2 billion-plus project were finally approved after lengthy delays.
The NSW government has adopted the most recent plans from its development partner to build seven blocks of up to 10 storeys at Central Barangaroo, creating a mixed-use precinct of 150 luxury apartments, a hotel, shops, offices and eateries above the metro station, all due for completion in 2030.
Visitors to Sydney should make sure that Barangaroo is on their itinerary.
More information:
Your Official Guide To Barangaroo | Discover Sydney | Barangaroo
Title picture: Moez Haider/Pexels
Second picture: Gilberto Olimpio/Pexels
Other photos © BJ Barford