It was seahorses in Sydney, barges of fireworks in Queensland and bands in Canberra as Australians welcomed the first show of their New Year's Eve celebrations.
A chorus of "oohs and aahs" turned into cheers in Sydney Harbour as the first blasts hit the night sky and came sprinkling down, in the lead-up to the big goodbye to the year that was.
A symphony of reds, greens, pinks, blues and whites burst over boats and the Opera House. A waterfall of red and yellow, hurtled to the bottom of the Harbour Bridge.
Amid the party were two bright blue seahorses forming a love heart.
Matt Cullen from the UK said it was a great start.
"We're more excited about the ones at midnight though, we want to see the whole bridge light up."
As Sydney heralded its fireworks, the nation's capital started its eve celebrations at the city centre, where Perth band Eskimo Joe joined local acts for a free concert from 7pm and people gathered for Bass in the Place dance party in nearby Garema Place at 9pm.
In Melbourne, more than 100,000 people herded into Yarra Park with picnics and sparklers to celebrate with friends and family.
Live music played in the background as the crowd cheered at the 9.30pm fireworks display.
"Where else would you go with a young family," Werribee father Chris Newnham summed up.
Brisbane's skyline, meanwhile, exploded in an extravaganza of light and colour after the threat of storm activity retreated for the city's first fireworks display.
The man in charge of the pyrotechnics, Skylighter Fireworks director Max Brunner said it was just a taste of things to come.
"(The first show) is probably about 40 per cent of the total fireworks, and it's about 60 per cent at midnight," he told AAP.
At the Gold Coast more than 10 tonnes of fireworks were let off from a barge just off the coast as about 20,000 tourists, families and partygoers took in the fireworks for the family friendly event.
But for most the big event is yet to come.
In Sydney an expected 1.6 million revellers will now wait for an extra round of fireworks at 10.40pm before the big midnight finale where the 12-storey, mystery symbol on the Harbour Bridge will finally be revealed.
"When you Google the best places for New Year, Sydney always comes out top," one reveller, Chris Potter said.
"I started queuing at about 7am but there were a lot of people here since 5am. It's been fun."
Share
