2014 Sydney hostage crisis
After the siege began, a staged exclusion zone was established with thousands of people evacuated from nearby buildings, including from the floors above the café. The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police. The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated. Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage situation, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds.
M24 Japanese Midget Submarine wreck site
The attack awoke a relatively complacent Sydney wartime population to the realities of the present conflict. The raid which included eight Japanese submarines and over 500 Japanese Imperial Navy sailors was the only direct attack on Sydney in history. The event is well remembered by the population nationally. In Sydney, the event is particularly closely felt because so much of the present population were witnesses to the raid. Such was the impact on Sydney that many school children and even whole families, temporarily relocated from Sydney to places such as the Blue Mountains and beyond, fearing another attack, more coastal shelling, or even invasion.