Venue Information

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Sydney. Here’s some general information to help you find your way:

Schedule:

Day 1 (Thursday 7th) is wholly at the State Library of NSW. Please go directly there in the morning, not to the university. Days 2 & 3 are at the University of Sydney.

Sydney University Campus

Sydney University sits in a triangle between two major roads, Parramatta Road (A22) above and King Street/City Road (A36) below. This means plentiful bus routes on both sides.

Map showing location of Sydney University.

Most sessions of the conference will take place in the Social Sciences building marked here:Map showing the location of the Social Sciences building on campus at USyd.

The accessible entrance is from Science Road. Taxis can drive in directly from Parramatta Road to get close to this access point.

The sessions that take place in other venues are:

  • Friday 5pm performance of Salt Waves Fresh (see map below)
  • Saturday 10.45am Theatre Workshop Plenary, which will take place in the Rex Cramphorn Studio in the John Woolley Building.

The conference dinner on Friday night will be held at Gillespie Hall, St Andrew’s College on campus. Pay for the dinner at this link.

Map of Sydney University

Try the Lost on Campus app for detailed maps of campus and its surrounds.

The official USyd map is here, and here is the guide to getting to campus.

State Library of NSW

Our first conference day (Thursday 7 December) will be at the State Library of NSW.

The library is located at the top of Macquarie Street, in Sydney CBD.

Map showing State Library of NSW

If you walk directly down Macquarie Street from the Library, past the Botanic Gardens, you will reach Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House.

Directions and venue information here.

You will see this statue outside!

Statue showing Shakespeare above several of his play characters.

Eating

We will provide morning and afternoon tea all days, but lunch only on Saturday, as part of the conference package.

If you’d like to arrange to meet fellow delegates at off-schedule times, you can coordinate by writing your plans into this shared document.

There is an optional conference dinner on Friday evening at a cost of $110. Book here.

Apart from their in-house café, places to eat close to the State Library on Thursday include:

  • Mordeo Pasta & Panini Bar – 2/126 Phillip street Sydney
  • Foodhall at Chifley Tower – opposite the Library, Level 1
  • District Bakery – Ground Floor Chifley Tower opposite the Library
  • Hole In The Wall: Sandwich Factory – 229 Macquarie St, Sydney

The Courtyard, Ralph’s Café and Taste Baguette on campus will still be open on the Friday, but not Saturday.

Not all food outlets on campus will be open, as our event is between semesters. However, Sydney University is right next to Newtown, a suburb which is celebrated for having every possible form of cuisine. Pub food is of an excellent standard in Sydney, and we are also particularly noted for our Thai. There are more small, Asian supermarkets nearby than large chains. There is an IGA at 40 King Street, Newtown.

Planning ahead

If you have tech needs for your presentation beyond a standard lecture room AV setup, if you have scheduling questions, or if you have accessibility needs, please email Anna with the details.

Transport

Trains and buses use the same Opal card tap on/tap off system. You can buy and recharge Opal cards from train stations and most newsagents. Tertiary students at Australian institutions will usually be eligible for the concession version. Concession eligibility details here.

Information about travel from the airport is here. There is a train line from the airport.

The nearest train station to Sydney Uni is Newtown, and the nearest to the State Library is Circular Quay.

Taxis are plentiful on main roads, but unreliable in the suburbs. The Uber network is very active throughout Sydney, so should be easy to use.

Accommodation

The Women’s College on campus accepts casual bookings. Other residential colleges may open bookings closer to the date, a direct email enquiry is probably the best approach.

Rydges Camperdown is popular with visitors to the university, because it is right on the edge of campus.

Veriu Camperdown, which is also very close, offers more like suites and apartments than hotel rooms, but may work well for sharing.

The Urban Newtown is modern and charming, and is a half-hour walk or a 10-minute bus trip (422 or 426) from the USyd venue.

Australia has an odd hangover from colonial days where pubs were legally obliged to offer accommodation, and some of them still let rooms, so if you want cheap, not fancy, try searching for pubs.

The Booked website allows you to search by proximity to Sydney University.

Any bus that runs between Central Station and Sydney University goes up a street called Broadway, past a shopping centre called Central Park. Neither of these have anything to do with Manhattan! However, Central Park does have multiple accommodation options, food outlets and supermarkets.

Sydney University is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods: Glebe to the north, Newtown to the south, Camperdown, Darlington and Chippendale on either side. This means there are likely to be many AirBnB and similar informal letting options; any listings under these suburbs should be reasonably close to campus.