The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Search the blogs

The Hermits of Killarney Heights

Portrait photo of Stefan Pietroszys attached to Australian Immigration file 1947, National Archives of Australia (PP15/1 1953/64/1305)   The picturesque suburb of Killarney Heights at Middlehead was a popular picnic destination named after Killarney in Ireland. However, 41 years ago it became…

Sydney's secret wartime research

Testing the Anti-G suit in a centrifuge designed for the purpose. Courtesy Australian War Memorial (AWM 042662) This week on 2SER Breakfast, Dictionary special guest Dr Peter Hobbins talked to Tess about some top secret research undertaken at the University of…

The Pierre Loti

A regular visitor from New Caledonia, Pierre Loti voyaged to Sydney from 1937 until its seizure in 1940. Photograph courtesy of Jean-Paul Fontanon. This week on 2SER Breakfast, Dr Peter Hobbins talked to new breakfast host Tess Connery about French Nazis…

Elizabeth Kata: An Australian in Japan during World War 2

MRS. S. KATAYAMA, wife of a Japanese pianist, and her son, David, 19 months, have arrived in Sydney from Tokio. Mrs. Katayama, formerly Miss Betty McDonald, of Sydney, intends to spend several years in Sydney. She wants her son to…