Marc Sachnoff is to visit Sydney.  While it is not exactly my home
turf (Wellington, New Zealand is around 1500 miles and you can't walk
it without getting kind of damp -- the Tasman Sea is in the way),
I do have some friends there and can recommend some fun stuff.

The Powerhouse is a good museum with a Photoplayer demonstrated
regularly in a neat reconstruction of an early movie theatre.  Also
on display when it is not being restored is a period version of the
Strasburg Clock with lots of automata, and a little Limonaire that
makes a heck of a noise.  They also have a Violano but it is hidden
away.

The Mastertouch roll factory is still in the city, I think, and Craig
Robson's collection is now on public display at Luna Park, an old-time
amusement park that nestles under one end of the famous Sydney Harbour
Bridge (take the ferry).  His beautifully-restored carousel, with organ,
is a dream.  The Taj Mahal is safely housed and looks and sounds superb
in the foyer of the auditorium.  And many other instruments are
displayed in another building.

To my knowledge swap meets and antique markets are not strong by
international standards, although there are many antique stores.

I'll be there myself later this month, the big attraction for me
being grandchildren, and before that I will be in Melbourne (around
a thousand miles from Sydney) visiting some of the local collectors.

Final point though, Marc:  By all means visit Brisbane, Australia,
and Auckland, New Zealand, but for a _real_ good time you need to
visit NZ's premier centre for mechanical music.  And most other stuff.
See below.  We'll make you welcome.

Cheers,
Michael Woolf
Wellington, New Zealand