Hi George,
Like you, I'm fairly new to astronomy.
Don't worry to much about Sydney Light Pollution, 2 yrs ago Gold Coast Council change the street lights in my street from Fluro on every 3rd pole to Highway Strength Bright Lights on every pole.
On the good side, I don't need a torch when I go to the shed at the very back of my property. With 5 lights to dodge, I manage to find small area my yard, were my night vision is not to severely effected.
Can I suggest joining a club / society (at least check it out).
The info you'll pick up is extremely helpful, there is more to astronomy that looking in telescopes, stuff like :- Spectrograph, Collimation, ect. The wealth of knowledge and experience of the members is great.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/clublistings.html 
Some club have loan telescopes (that's how I learnt dods mount was easy, and my friend's equatorial mount frustrating).
Hopefully I was able to help you.
Regards
Joe ( Iceaxe )