Interesting and Random Historical Facts About Sydney悉尼趣史雜談

【導讀】這是一些關于悉尼的零散而有趣的事實，可從中了解這座城市令人著迷的歷史和不為人知的一面。

Sydney is renowned for her coastal beauty， but there’s far more to this scenic city than that which makes it famous. The beautiful harbour， world-famous icons and sunny disposition are only a tiny part of the sum of Sydney’s appeal.

悉尼因其美麗的海岸線而出名，不過這座風景名城所擁有的遠不止美景。迷人的港口、世界馳名的地標和陽光氣質，不過是其全部魅力的一小部分。

Uncover the fascinating， quirky and unexpected side of Sydney’s character， and learn more about her history with this guide to my favourite facts about Sydney I found during my research and my visit.

我在研訪期間發現了關于悉尼的一些很有意思的事實，就請跟我一起來揭開悉尼特色中那迷人、離奇和不為人知的一面，對它的歷史多一點了解吧。

Ancient and indigenous origins of Sydney

悉尼的古老源起和土著歷史

Australia is regarded as a relatively young country on the world stage， having reached nationhood status in 1901. As far as European settlement goes， Sydney’s dates back the longest of any Australian city （closely followed by Hobart）， as the First Fleet1 unceremoniously settled it in 1788.

澳大利亞在世界舞臺上被認為是一個相對年輕的國家，1901年才建國。如果考慮歐洲人的定居史——1788年英國的第一艦隊作為不速之客來到這里——那么悉尼是澳大利亞歷史最悠久的城市（霍巴特緊隨其后）。

However， it is essential to acknowledge the ancient origins and rights of the land. Australia is said to be the world’s oldest landmass， fittingly inhabited by the oldest surviving culture in the world， the Indigenous Aboriginal people. Radiocarbon dating suggests that Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney region for at least 30，000 years.

不過，必須得認可這片土地的古老源頭和土著居民的土地權。據說澳大利亞是世界最古老的陸塊，這里也正好居住著世界現存最古老文化的傳承者——土著居民。放射性碳年代測定法表明，土著澳大利亞人在悉尼這片地域已至少居住了三萬年。

What’s in a name—why is Sydney called Sydney？

悉尼之名的來歷

It’s hard to imagine now， but the city was originally going to be called Albion2 until Sydney， after British Lord Sydney， was a more appropriate option.

如今很難想象，最初這座城市準備起名阿爾比恩，直到出現更恰當的選擇——悉尼，這是隨英國悉尼勛爵的名字而命名的。

However， the moniker ‘Albion’ was not forgotten. Sydney’s Albion Street， spanning from Elizabeth Street to Flinders， showcases an impressive number of historic buildings along its humble one-kilometre length. Wikipedia has a great list to plan architectural exploration in Sydney.

然而，“阿爾比恩”這個別稱并沒被忘卻。悉尼有一條阿爾比恩街，從伊麗莎白街一直延伸到弗林德斯街，在僅僅一公里長的街道上卻有著不少歷史建筑，令人印象深刻。若想在悉尼探訪各種建筑，維基百科提供了一份長長的清單。

Sydney Harbour Bridge’s nickname

悉尼港灣大橋的昵稱

‘The Coat Hanger’ is the affectionate nickname for the landmark famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. Standing 134 metres above the world’s deepest natural harbour， it is the largest—but not longest—steel arch bridge you can climb. Surprisingly， the top of the arch changes its height by about 180 millimetres due to temperature changes！

“衣架”是人們對著名的地標建筑悉尼港灣大橋的愛稱。它聳立于世界最深的天然港，高134米，是世界最大——而非最長——的可攀爬鋼拱橋。讓人驚訝的是，隨溫度變化，橋拱高度之差可達180毫米！

It officially opened in March 1932 amid much fanfare. Sadly， up to 800 families were forced to relocate to make way for the Bridge without any compensation， and sixteen workers died during its construction.

1932年3月大橋正式通車時，大張旗鼓，煞是熱鬧。遺憾的是，為了給修橋騰地，多至800戶人家被迫遷往別地而沒有得到任何補償。建橋期間，有16名工人喪生。

Sydney Opera House’s design

悉尼歌劇院的設計

In 1973， the eponymous Harbour Bridge finally met its match with the opening of the Sydney Opera House， its design famously reminiscent of ship sails on the harbour.

1973年，悉尼歌劇院建成使用，以悉尼命名的港灣大橋終于有了與之媲美的建筑，其設計因讓人想起海港的船帆而聞名。

While the budget blowout is well-known—it exceeded its projected budget by over fourteen times and was completed ten years behind schedule—what perhaps many people don’t realise is its sheer scale. At 185 metres long， 120 metres wide， it has roof sections weighing up to 15 tons and over a million tiles on its dazzling roof.

建設大大超出預算已是盡人皆知——超出預算14倍多，超期10年方得竣工——但很多人或許沒有意識到的是建筑的規模之大。它長185米，寬120米，屋頂重達15噸，閃閃發亮的屋頂上覆蓋的瓦片超過100萬塊。

Size matters

規模決定地位

Sydney is Australia’s largest city， with 4.6 million people. It is also the largest economy in Australia， accounting for over a quarter of Australia’s total economic activity. Indeed， the suburb-cum-satellite city of Parramatta is the country’s sixth-largest Central Business District （CBD）， more prominent than some state capitals.

悉尼是澳大利亞最大的城市，人口460萬。它也是澳大利亞最大的經濟單元，占澳大利亞整個經濟活動的四分之一以上。城郊衛星城帕拉馬塔是該國第六大中央商務區，比有些州府更顯要。

Sydney is a multicultural hub

悉尼是一個多文化的樞紐城市

Sydney is also one of the most multicultural cities in the world， with nearly a third of its population born overseas compared to around one-fifth of Australia overall. Over half of Sydney’s population are first- or second-generation immigrants， from all corners of the globe.

悉尼也是全世界文化最為多元的城市之一，其人口近三分之一出生在海外，相比之下，整個澳大利亞有五分之一的人口在海外出生。悉尼一半以上的人口是來自世界各地的第一代或第二代移民。

The city’s western suburbs are particularly diverse. In Parramatta， for example， half the population speak a language other than English at home.

這座城市的西部郊區尤其多元。比如，在帕拉馬塔，一半人口在家里不說英語，而是說別的語言。

Western Sydney deserves attention

悉尼西部值得關注

Sydney’s west is mostly ignored while the city centre and beautiful beaches to the north， east and south garner the most attention from tourists. The oft-neglected western suburbs are booming.

悉尼的西部往往為人忽略，而市中心及北部、東部和南部的美麗沙灘最受游人關注。常被冷落的西部郊區卻經濟蓬勃發展。

So vast is Sydney’s western component that the city’s geographic centre is， technically， the suburb of Granville—which is 22 kilometres west of the central business district.

悉尼的西部很遼闊，以至嚴格地說，這座城市的地理中心是格蘭維爾郊區——在中央商務區以西22公里處。

The region is also vast demographically speaking： one in every eleven Australians resides in Sydney’s west.

就人口統計數字而言，西部也很龐大：每11個澳大利亞人中就有1個居住于悉尼西部。

Convict history of Sydney

悉尼的囚犯史

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a city initially settled by convicts， Sydney’s inner city has witnessed many a crime and mystery. Its golden period of crime was the 1920s and 1930s when two women ruled the proverbial roost of organised crime： the infamous Tilly Devine， with an extensive network of brothels throughout Kings Cross and Darlinghurst， and her formidable rival， Kate Leigh， known as the queen of Sydney’s underworld.

悉尼原本是囚犯的發配之地，因此，其內城發生過很多犯罪行為和不可思議的事件也許并不令人驚訝。悉尼內城犯罪的猖獗期是在20世紀20年代和30年代，那時有兩個女人統管著眾所周知的有組織犯罪的窩點：一個是臭名昭著的蒂莉·迪瓦恩，在整個國王十字區和達令赫斯特地區擁有廣泛的賣淫網絡；另一個是她的強大對手凱特·利，人稱悉尼黑社會女王。

However， these days Surry Hills has changed. The former site of Kate’s initial base in Surry Hills， then a slum called Frog Hollow， is today a pretty inner-city park. At the same time， the Surry Hills’ surroundings are a thriving business district and a trendy urban precinct of boutiques， galleries， weekend markets， quirky bars like the Absinthe Salon.

然而，薩里山如今已變了模樣。凱特最初在薩里山的基地舊址——當時名為青蛙谷的貧民窟——現在是漂亮的內城公園。同時，薩里山周圍也成了一片繁榮的商業區，也是一處時髦的城區，有時裝店、畫廊、周末市場，也有像苦艾酒沙龍這樣古里古怪的酒吧。

Morbid Sydney and the funeral railway

恐怖的悉尼和葬禮鐵路

Like London， ninlXMU8YQt1e3GXl9KzcUKYLbQLQD75ZKVV/mzcMNLxQw=eteenth-century Sydney had a ghostly railway service in operation whereby funeral trains would transport coffins and their associated mourners from the fittingly named Mortuary Station， near what is today Central Station， to Rookwood Cemetery.

19世紀的悉尼如同倫敦那樣，提供一項陰森可怖的鐵路服務，即葬禮火車會將棺材和送葬者一起從名副其實的太平間車站（今天的中央車站附近）送往盧克伍德公墓。

This operation was in place from 1867 onwards， when the city’s cemeteries became increasingly full， requiring transportation to burial plots further afield.

這項服務始自1867年，當時這個城市的墓地越來越無余地，死者需要運往更遠的地方埋葬。

From Sydney beaches to underground waterways

從悉尼海灘到地下水道

Sydney is known for its incredible coastline and Bondi Beach fame. But there are other water-based facts about Sydney away from its ocean-hugging suburbs.

悉尼因擁有極佳的海岸線和邦迪海灘而聞名于世。但除了近海的郊區，這里還有其他與水息息相關的地方。

The Tank Stream is renowned as a vastly crucial freshwater source that kept the fledging colony going for a few dry years. Today， the stream is just a stormwater drain buried beneath the Sydney streetscape， explored only by the select few who are lucky enough to win the highly contested ballot to survey its course underground.

天溪是有名的淡水源，發揮了極其重要的作用，在殖民地初建時保護它安然度過了幾年的干旱。今天，這條溪流只是暴雨來到時的排水道，隱藏于悉尼街道下面，只有少數贏得競爭激烈的抽簽的幸運兒才能一睹其地下水道的尊容。

It is far from Sydney’s only underground water source， however. Australian magazine Inside History explained that beneath St James railway station lies a submerged lake of the same name. The underground lake is about a kilometre long and ten metres wide， flowing through an abandoned railway tunnel from the 1920s， with surprisingly clear waters.

不過，它絕不是悉尼唯一的地下水源。澳大利亞雜志《歷史內幕》稱，在圣詹姆斯火車站下面有一個同名的地下湖。此湖約1公里長、10米寬，從20世紀20年代起就流經一條廢棄的鐵路隧道，湖水清澈出奇。

1指1788年英國運送囚犯到澳大利亞的第一支艦隊。該艦隊由海軍護衛艦、罪犯運輸艦和補給艦組成，由船長亞瑟·菲利普率領，從普利茅斯港駛達澳大利亞新南威爾士州悉尼港，建立起英國在澳大利亞的第一個殖民地。 2 Albion阿爾比恩，英格蘭的舊稱。源自詞根alb（白色），原指英格蘭西南部海岸的石灰巖懸崖，后代指英格蘭。在詩歌等文學作品中，此詞為英格蘭或不列顛的雅稱。