Mighty Obelisk

I have been wandering around parts of the Sydney CBD that I don't normally go to. It is surprising what one finds that one doesn't know about despite having lived in or near the city for most of one's life.

This "Hyde Park Obelisk" looks impressive in its own way and is especially so since finding something in this town which has actually survived intact since 1857 is downright impressive in itself.

Unfortunately this structure doesn't celebrate some noble achievement or some important historical event. It was a ... wait for it ..... sewer vent. Perhaps it should be notable that Sydney actually HAD a sewer back then. Anyway despite its humble original function, the obelisk has now been heritage listed and won't be going anywhere real soon.

Completed in the Victorian Egyptian style, it was modelled on Cleopatra's Needle from the banks of London's Thames River.  The overall structure is 22 metres (72 ft) high. It generally goes by one of two irreverent nicknames viz "Thornton's Erection" or "Thornton's Scent Bottle". George Thornton was Sydney's mayor back at the time. Adding insult to poor Thornton's injured legacy, on 7 November 2014, the Hyde Park Obelisk was covered with a giant pink condom to raise awareness about HIV,