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Leigh Straw, Lillian Armfield
Leigh Straw, Lillian Armfield: How Australia’s First Female Detective Took on Tilly Devine and the Razor Gangs and Changed the Face of the Force Hachette Australia, 306 pp., ISBN: 9780733638107, p/bk, AUS$32.99 Leigh Straw, the author of The Worst Woman in Sydney: The…
International Day for Monuments and Sites
The Parramatta River with Searle's monument c1915 by GN Wilson, courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an24616593) Today, April 18, is International Day for Monuments and Sites, a time when people around the world celebrate historical, spiritual , and cultural heritage. It's…
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…
Women commemorated by Sydney's suburbs
Elizabeth Macquarie c1819, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (MIN 237) As an historian, I'm always interested in how we shape our cities and how we get the names we get. Earlier this week I was looking at the city's…
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…
Tanya Bretherton, The Suitcase Baby
Tanya Bretherton, The Suitcase Baby, Hachette Australia, 2018, ISBN 9780733639227, pp 1-327 In November 1923, a small suitcase was found washed up and abandoned on the beautiful, picturesque, bushland shores of Athol Beach on the edge of Mosman. Inside was the…
‘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…
Flash coves, deep rogues and rascals
Painting by ST Gill, courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.obj-134655773) Sydney thrives on crime stories and today on 2SER Lisa thought she'd share a unique dossier held in the State Archives that gives a special insider’s view of law and order…
Treating Sydney's sick
Detail showing the Sydney Infirmary from 'Bird's eye view of Sydney Harbour' by FC Terry, c 1856 courtesy National Library of Australia ( PIC Drawer 2407 #S1997) This week on 2ser Breakfast, Nic and our Dictionary of Sydney special guest Dr…
Animals on the Dictionary of Sydney
Felix the Cat toy which was mascot of the Gun Plot Room on the HMAS Brisbane, courtesy Australian War Memorial (REL32980.022) Inspired by yesterday’s wayward wallaby crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, today Nicole thought she’d take a look at some other…