NZ and AUS day 15: in which I find labels

I had some last-minute shopping to do today.  Among other things, I replaced my Uggs with new ones.  The history of ugg boots is complicated, the upshot being that my first pair were made in Australia, my second, inferior pair, in the US, and I now have another authentically Australian pair.  I may never be particularly stylish, but I will damn well be comfy.

Other than that, I didn’t have a lot of energy.  I strolled down to The Rocks, which is the now-rehabilitated former rough quarter from the olden days.  The worst neighborhood dangers at present seem to be getting run over by cruise ship passengers and getting overwhelmed with souvenir shops.

 

There is a little museum there, the Rocks Discovery Museum, which traces the history of Sydney through various objects in a charming old building.  Some of the artifacts on view there were recovered from a former well in the area where, after the water got polluted, folks dumped their garbage.

 

They have some re-created aboriginal artifacts made with modern materials that look cool:

 

During the colonial period, the colonizers did something between persuading and forcing to get the indigenous people to wear brass labels around their necks.  Here is one from a woman who made a living explaining her culture and stories of her people:

 

I liked this stair waterfall in the neighborhood.

 

And here’s one last view of the harbor bridge:

 

This afternoon is all about packing because tomorrow is airplane day.