Explore Sydney and around
Bondi Beach is synonymous with Australian beach culture, and indeed the 1.5km-long curve of golden sand must be one of the best-known beaches in the world. It’s also the closest ocean beach to the city centre; you can take a train to Bondi Junction and then a ten-minute bus ride, or drive there in twenty minutes. Big, brash and action-packed, it’s probably not the best place for a quiet sunbathe and swim, but the sprawling sandy crescent really is spectacular. Red-tiled houses and apartment buildings crowd in to catch the view, many of them erected in the 1920s when Bondi was a working-class suburb. Although still residential, it’s long since become a popular gathering place for backpackers from around the world.
The beachfront Campbell Parade is both cosmopolitan and highly commercialized, lined with cafés and shops. For a gentler experience, explore some of the side streets, such as Hall Street, where an assortment of kosher bakeries and delis serve the area’s Jewish community, and some of Bondi’s best cafés are hidden. Between Campbell Parade and the beach, Bondi Park slopes down to the promenade, and is always full of sprawling bodies. The focus of the promenade is the arcaded, Spanish-style Bondi Pavilion, built in 1928 as a deluxe changing-room complex and converted into a community centre hosting an array of workshops, classes and events.
Surfing is part of the Bondi legend, the big waves ensuring that there’s always a pack of damp young things hanging around, bristling with surfboards. However, the beach is carefully delineated, with surfers using the southern end. There are two sets of flags for swimmers and boogie-boarders, with families congregating at the northern end near the sheltered saltwater pool, and everybody else using the middle flags. The beach is netted and there hasn’t been a shark attack since 1929.
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Bondi’s surf lifesavers
Bondi’s surf lifesavers
Surf lifesavers are what made Bondi famous, so naturally a bronze sculpture of one is given pride of place outside the Bondi Pavilion. The surf lifesaving movement began in 1906 with the founding of the Bondi Surf Life Bathers’ Lifesaving Club in response to the drownings that accompanied the increasing popularity of swimming. From the beginning of the colony, swimming was harshly discouraged as an unsuitable bare-fleshed activity. However, by the 1890s swimming in the ocean had become the latest fad, and a Pacific Islander introduced the concept of catching waves – or bodysurfing – that was to become an enduring national craze. Although “wowsers” (teetotal puritanical types) attempted to put a stop to it, by 1903 all-day swimming was every Sydneysider’s right.
The bronzed and muscled surf lifesavers in their distinctive red-and-yellow caps are a highly photographed, world-famous Australian image. Surf lifesavers (members of what are now called Surf Life Saving Clubs, abbreviated to SLSC) are volunteers who work the beach at weekends, so come then to watch their exploits – or look out for a surf carnival. Lifeguards, on the other hand, are employed by the council and work all week during swimming season (year-round at Bondi).
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Christmas Day on Bondi
Christmas Day on Bondi
For years, backpackers and Bondi Beach on Christmas Day were synonymous. The beach was transformed into a drunken party scene, as those from colder climes lived out their fantasy of spending Christmas on the beach under a scorching sun. The behaviour and litter began getting out of control, and after riots in 1995, and a rubbish-strewn beach, the local council began strictly controlling the whole performance, with the idea of trying to keep a spirit of goodwill towards the travellers while also tempting local families back to the beach on what is regarded as a family day. Nowadays, alcohol is banned from the beach and surrounding area on Christmas Day, and police enforce the rule with on-the-spot confiscations. However, a party is organized in the Pavilion, where up to 3000 revellers cram in, while thousands of others – including a greater proportion of the desired family groups – enjoy the alcohol-free beach outside.
