Prince Harry's Hats-off Three Cheers Salute in Sydney Harbour Naval Extravaganza

PRINCE Harry - the playboy royal and fourth in line to the British throne - is expected to receive a hats-off three cheers royal salute from thousands of sailors on Sydney Harbour next month.

It is understood Harry will be accompanied by Governor-general Quentin Bryce when he takes the royal salute by sailing past some 40 warships on board a royal barge or another navy boat.

According to well-placed sources the prince is odds-on to be guest of honour at the Royal Australian Navy's centenary celebrations, however no official announcement will be made until a week before the gala event on Sydney Harbour between October 3 and 10.

"It is highly likely that Harry will be in Sydney although no details have been firmed up,'' a source said.

The International Fleet Review will mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival in Sydney of the brand new seven-ship Royal Australian Navy fleet led by the flagship HMAS Australia in October 1913.

The centenary will be officially celebrated on October 5 with a royal review by the prince of 21 RAN vessels and 19 overseas warships as well as 16 tall ships that will sail into the harbour on October 3.

Each warship will formally salute the HMAS Sydney memorial on Bradleys Head as they enter the harbour on October 4.

Prince Harry stands in front of an Apache Helicopter a few days after the royal, a trainee Apache helicopter pilot, passed the half-decade milestone to become a captain. Source: Getty Images

The review will also feature fly-pasts by 37 types of military and civilian aircraft ranging from helicopters to Hornet jet fighters.

Palace sources remain tight-lipped about any trip to Australia.

A spokesman for Kensington Palace, Prince Harry's official mouthpiece, said it simply was not currently in a position to comment.

"Announcements of overseas visits by members of the Royal Family are made in due course after an official invitation is received,'' the spokesman said.

Prince Harry visits The Royal Marines Tamar on August 2, 2013. Picture: Getty  Source: Getty Images

On the question of whether his current girlfriend Cressida Bonas was also planning to visit Sydney at the same time, the spokesman said that was a matter for her, but there were no plans for her to accompany Prince Harry on any trip whether domestic or overseas.

Royal commentators scoffed at rumours that a royal would ever take a girlfriend on an overseas trip, as completely contrary to all protocols for any official royal or government official.

The centrepiece of the International Fleet review will be a fireworks and light show spectacular focused on the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House on the evening of Saturday October 5.

For the first time Australia's fireworks capital will see pyrotechnics launched from the decks of navy warships.

A fleet of eight tall ships took sail on Port Phillip Bay participating in events leading up to International Fleet Day in Sydney next month. Source: News Limited

This will signal the start of the biggest party seen in Sydney since the Bicentenary with 8000 cashed up sailors and tens of thousands of revellers set to spend up to $100 million during the week-long celebration that will cost taxpayers about $6 million to stage.

A projection show will be seen on both sides of the Opera House sails, the eastern side of the Harbour Bridge pylons and the roof of the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour.

Britain's Prince Harry. Picture: Source: AP

Prince Harry or Captain Wales, 30, is a British Army helicopter pilot and Afghanistan war veteran and has visited Australia once before - in 2003, when he spent most of his time working on a Queensland sheep station.

The NSW Government has been lobbying hard for his possible visit to be turned into a full-blown Royal tour, but that is unlikely given his heavy work commitments.

One Direction Sydney

Metro Apartments Darling Harbour

Due to a scheduling conflict, some shows on One Direction's sold out 2013 Australian & New Zealand tour will be rescheduled. Affected customers will be directly advised by Ticketek.
The following shows will be changed:

Original Date	New Date
Saturday 14 September	Saturday 26 October
Sunday 15 September (Matinee)	Wednesday 23 October (Evening)
Sunday 15 September	Thursday 24 October
Monday 16 September	Friday 25 October
Saturday 5 October 2013	SAME
Sunday 6 October 2013	SAME

With their entire 2012 Australian tour selling out in 3 minutes, One Direction are giving their Sydney fans a chance to see the group live in October 2013.
A Reserve: $99.00
B Reserve: $79.00
Sound Check Party: $399.00
Ticket prices include GST and Booking Fees. Transaction Fees may apply.

 

RUNNING TIMES:

SHOW TIMES*
Evening5 Seconds of Summer: 7.15pm
One Direction: 8.15pm
Concert Finish Approx: 10.15pm
Matinee*
5 Seconds of Summer: 1.30pm
One Direction: 2.30pm
Concert Finish Approx: 4.30pm
*Running times are approximate and may be subject to change without notice.

Malaysia Festival 2013

 
Malaysia Festival (MFest) is the biggest Malaysian cultural event in Sydney. It is held annually at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, Sydney.
 

As a cultural event, Malaysia Fest seeks to promote and raise awareness about Malaysia’s cultural diversity to the Australian Community through our amazing cuisine and colourful cultural performances. There will be a variety of food stalls selling delicious Malaysian delicacies and a myriad of cultural performances for the delight of the Festival’s visitors.
 
Malaysia Fest has consistently and successfully drawn large crowds each and every year. The 24,000 attendees in 2011 and 30,000 in 2012 are testament to the event’s success and hard work demonstrated by the highly capable Malaysian Students in Sydney.
 
22nd of September 2013 will mark the event’s 23rd anniversary since it’s humble beginnings on the walkway of the University of New South Wales.
 
With more food stalls, more performances and tons of surprises in store for our visitors, Malaysia Fest 2013: A Cultural Journey into the Heart of Malaysia promises to be the best Malaysia Fest yet!! Take your calendars and mark Sunday 22nd of September 2013 as the most exciting day of the year! You definitely cannot miss this!

Metro Apartments Darling Harbour  

Jurassic Park Meets Sydney

Jurassic Park Meets Sydney - Run

Melbourne might have King Kong but Sydney has gone one better - they have captured Tyrannosaurus Rex

In what is considered a world first, the Australian Museum has put together a presentation called Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family a multimedia experience showcasing the newly-revised tyrannosaur family tree.

Metro Apartments Darling Harbour 

I'm not a science boffin but I shall try my best to explain why there is now a new tyrannosaur genealogy and a need for such a new interactive experience.

We used to just think of Tyrannosaurus Rex as just a large-headed, pretty scary, carnivorous predator with tiny little arms.

But in the last ten years there have been a large number of fossil discoveries that have changed that Jurassic movie type of horror and softened the picture. They have found older and smaller tyrannosaurs which make the evolutionary tale of this group a lot more complex.

The versions we are most familiar with such as T. rex, Albertosaurus, and Tarbosaurus, were part of the Late Cretaceous period in Asia and North America.

But there were tyrannosaurs who lived up to 100 million years earlier and were much smaller in size (some one-one hundredth of the size of T. rex), and they lived all over the world.

So in layman's terms, instead of being large and scary, most of them were small and stayed that way until end of the Cretaceous or in other words the last 20 million years of dinosaur history.

This exhibition puts this all this together for you but in a novel and exciting ways. Kids will love it.

They will get to see a great array of fossils and casts of tyrannosaur bones, including never before seen specimens from China.

But probably coolest and most memorable of all there will be a multimedia experience of large scale projections of dinosaurs running through Sydney streets.

There is a chance to see the first revised tyrannosaur family tree and to meet Guanlong wucaii – the newly discovered feathery relative of T. rex. You will also learn how recent scientific findings confirm the links between dinosaurs and birds.

There will also be a portrait of dinosaur life which shows how this group became the world's top predators with their massive hulk skulls, nasty jaws and bone-grinding teeth.

In fact there is a gadget that allows you to compare the bite-force of a T-rex (approx. 6 tonnes of pressure) against your own. You can event see the fossilised pre-digested stomach contents - so what ever turns you on or off for that matter.

But best of all there will be 10 life-sized dinosaur specimens on display.

For bookings click here.