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Mary Reibey: Australia’s pioneering businesswoman
Mary Reibey c1835 Courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW Today is International Women’s Day and its also Women’s History Month, so with Rani at the helm at 2SER, let's take a look at one of the Dictionary of Sydney’s most famous ladies…
Rowe Street
Rowe Street 1929 Courtesy: City of Sydney Archives (SRC11469) This Sunday, I am on a panel discussing Rowe Street as part of the public program for the Sydney Living Museums' exhibition Demolished Sydney. Nicole mentioned the street when talking about the exhibition a few weeks…
The Trouble with Harry
Mug shot of Eugenie Falleni 1920 Courtesy: Sydney Living Museums, Justice & Police Museum (FP07_0031_005) As part of the 2017 Mardi Gras festival, there’s an interesting play showing at the Seymour Centre called The Trouble with Harry. The play revolves around…
Trump that! Early American connections to Sydney
At the moment it seems that almost every news bulletin is headlined with another Trump edict. The American Australian alliance is a 20th century phenomenon that frequently celebrates 'the ties that bind us'. And if we look bck in Sydney's history…
Anniversary Day, Australia Day, Survival Day, Invasion Day
Aboriginal Day of Mourning, 26 January 1938 Man magazine, March 1938 Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a429002 / Q 059/9) The debate about the name and date of Australia Day has been contested for a very long time, and…
Sydney's Lost Cemeteries
We're very excited here at Dictionary HQ this week as Dr Lisa Murray (our former chair, Dictionary contributor, City of Sydney Historian, renowned taphophile and absolute all-round legend) has just launched her book Sydney Cemeteries: A Field Guide (published by NewSouth…
The Mad Dentist of Wynyard Square
Henry Louis Bertrand c1865 Source: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (c011220001 / P2/468) This week on 2SER Breakfast with Nic Healey, Nicole shared author John Edwards's Dictionary entry on Henry Louis Bertrand, the dentist of Wynyard Square whose murderous &…