The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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The island laboratory
Loir in the laboratory at Rodd Island, Illustrated Sydney News, 21 November 1891, p12 Our picturesque Sydney Harbour has 13 islands, each with its own fascinating history. Cockatoo Island, Garden Island and Fort Denison all come to mind as popular attractions,…
Historic Sydenham pub gutted by fire
wp-image-15369 https://home.dictionaryofsydney.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ANU-NBAC-General-Gordon-Hotel-card-5-side-2-CROP.jpgGeneral Gordon Hotel, Sydenham 1949, courtesy of the Noel Butlin Archives Centre [General Gordon Hotel card 5 side 2 (detail)]451353/> General Gordon Hotel, Sydenham 1949. Courtesy Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University (General Gordon Hotel card 5 side…
Blaze: Working Women, Public Leaders
The NSW State Archives and Records’ exhibition Blaze: Working Women, Public Leaders features fascinating stories of women trailblazers in the public sector. Listen to Nicole and Tess on 2SER here. Among the many inspiring women featured in the exhibition is Margaret Harper, a paediatrician…
Sydney’s wining and dining evolution
Ye Olde Crusty Wine Cellar, 255 George Street, Sydney December 1942 Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (Home and Away 24160) Nowadays, you can walk into any one of the many bars and restaurants of Sydney and be shown an extensive…
Waverley Cemetery’s burlesque star
Maggie Oliver in costume c1885, courtesy State Library of South Australia (PRG 280/1/18/291) Waverley Cemetery is the resting place of more than 100,000 people, including many well known personalities from our past like writers Dorothea Mackellar and Henry Lawson, publisher JF…
Australia’s first public sculpture: Richard Bourke
Governor Bourke's statue, Domain 1871, by Charles Pickering, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (SPF/1056) The State Library of NSW recently announced work is underway to conserve and restore Australia's first public sculpture, the Sir Richard Bourke statue that is located…
The Shaftesbury Reformatory in Vaucluse
Shaftesbury, Vaucluse c1925 by EG Shaw, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales (a7806 Online, 2) This week on 2SER Breakfast, Nicole Cama talked to Tess Connery about the Shaftesbury Reformatory on New South Head Road in Vaucluse that…
Australia’s First Bank Robbery
'Our first and gayest bank robbery', The Sun, 29 March 1948, p7 via Trove Did you know Australia’s first bank robbery occurred in Sydney in 1828 and most of the £14,000 was never recovered? This week we'll look at the crime that…
William Castell: ‘professor of dancing’
Advertisement for Mr Cavendish de Castell's Dancing Academy, 9 March 1833, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 9 March 1833, p3 One of the many fascinating people on the Dictionary of Sydney is William Castell, ‘professor of dancing’, musician…
‘The murderous outrage’: Prince Alfred’s visit to Sydney
Attempted assassination of HRH Duke of Edinburgh at Clontarf, by Samuel Calvert , courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an9542884) It’s been 150 years since Prince Alfred’s tour of Sydney came to an abrupt halt on 12 March 1868 when an attempt…