But this morning, the celebrations continued roaring. The triumphant South Sydney Rabbitohs appeared before a packed out crowd at Redfern Oval, the spiritual and sometimes physical home of the iconic underdogs. Star player Greg Inglis took the moment to express his gratitude to the adoring masses: “The premiership is back in Redfern, back where it belongs. The longer the wait, the sweeter it tastes.”

And with that, an estimated ten thousand voices rang out a cheer so deafening that it could likely be heard in Bulldogs territory, a little further south. It had been forty three long years since the community had last relished in a moment like this, and they weren’t going to let this one pass by without fanfare. The Souths’ hard-core, dyed in the wool supporters were out in droves, proud of their once embattled team’s success. There were selfies a-plenty and congratulatory songs, hand-painted banners and face-painted kids. It truly was a glorious day for the underdog.

Overnight, Redfern’s windows had been transformed into a vibrant sky of red and green. Down in the street, from the early hours of the morning, revellers could be heard making their way down to Redfern Oval. A little later, the police were out to help control the unstoppable flow of foot traffic to the arena. Meanwhile, traffic on the suburb’s nearby roads had died down to a practical stop; it was the rare slowing of our inner-city’s pulse, a sign that something big was going on. Indeed, the gathering would be one to remember.

As devoted fans showered the stage with love, players and club representative appeared one after the other. Often decked out in sunglasses and looking a little worse for wear, the momentum rose until team Captain John Sutton took the stage. Looking out over the thousands of faces, the veteran skipper closed out the event with a roaring statement: “We will be celebrating this for at least another week!”

Something tells me he may be right…

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Getting to Cockatoo Island, of course, is one of the real joys of the bi-annual festival. Moving across the Harbour and out to the island, there is distance to reflect on the changing landscape and the gigantic evolution underway in Sydney. What was once an industrial ship-yard is today a space for invention and ingenuity. Years ago, as a child, I remember going to Cockatoo Island and it seeming as though it were a ghostly space haunted by abandonment and inactivity. Now, it’s a whole new place.

This year, the showcase on Cockatoo Island did not disappoint. Funny, charming, complex and sometimes engagingly light, the works on show highlighted viewer engagement and asked the viewer to actively participate in a range of ways. Some works were intriguing and impenetrable, while others actually required you to get involved and work out on a Home Alone-style exercise machine set-up.

Real highlights included a kind of “Tunnel of Love” ride through Google’s moral terrain, and an impressive array of outdoor sculptures. Going as a group, you can really gauge the different reactions to works and what resonates with certain people. I went with two friends, Ollie and Ash, and it was interesting to see how one person’s favourite was another person’s disappointment. I liked participatory installations, while Ollie and Ash were into the sculpture and video art much more than I was.

After a leisurely lunch overlooking the harbour, we had agreed to go back to Circular Quay and head into the Museum of Contemporary Art. There were other artworks on display there, and it was a perfect way to while away the hours between day and the night. But as we approached the docks, the usual thing happened: I couldn’t find the tickets. I was supposed to be the one holding onto them for safe keeping, but it turns out that was a bad idea. In fact, I’m not sure why I had the job in the first place, as I’m always losing things.

Retracing your steps in a place as maze like as Cockatoo Island can be quite a task. Thinking it through, we decided to do the tour in reverse and make a thorough but quick sweep of the island. After about twenty minutes spent searching about a tenth of the island, we got lucky and found the tickets under a piece of exercise equipment rigged up to a doll’s head in a barrel. It was not exactly a predictable place to find tickets, but definitely memorable.

We made our way back to the City that afternoon and eventually made the MCA before it closed. Afterwards, we watched the night fall on the Quay from a nearby pub. The city of Sydney is a glorious and enchanting space, and the Biennale truly made the most of our unique surroundings. It was an incredible day and I wholly recommend that everybody attends the next one!

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