The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Search the blogs
No honour among thieves…
Detail of Convicts embarking for Botany Bay, ca. 1790 by Thomas Rowlandson, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (SV/312) In Governor Arthur Phillip’s great outdoor gaol in Sydney Cove, most eyes were on the convicts. It was logical to assume that…
The first woman hanged in Sydney
David Collins records the death of Ann Davis in An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, 1798, p86 On 23 November 1789, Ann Davis became the first woman hanged in New South Wales. Listen to Rachel and Alex…
Jessica North, Esther; The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became First Lady of the colony
Jessica North, Esther; The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became First Lady of the colony Allen & Unwin, 2019, pp 1-277, ISBN 9781760527372, p/bk, AUS$29.99 They could have hanged Esther Abrahams. In 1786, the pretty young Jewish woman had attempted…
‘Alternative histories’: The myth of Sydney’s foundational orgy
First page of the List of Female Convicts on board the Lady Penrhyn, from the journal of Arthur Bowes Smyth May 1787 Courtesy National Library of Australia (MS 4568) The 6 February marked the anniversary of a night of salacious activity…
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…
Writing in Sydney
Portrait of Patrick White, Kings Cross, New South Wales 1980. By Yang, William. Contributed by National Library of Australia, nla.pic-vn4247784 The Sydney Writers’ Festival is underway, with a range of interesting events centred around storytelling and the nice tagline ‘it’s thinking…
Dictionary of Sydney launches new First Fleet histories
The Supply at anchor, and the Sirius with her convoy coming into Botany Bay 20 January 1788 (detail) by Charles Gore, 1789 courtesy Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales (a2060001 / DG V1A/8) Today I was pleased to help…