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Kate Leigh: the Sly-Grog Queen
Entry for Kate Leigh in State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay Photographic Description Book, 1915, State Records New South Wales (NRS 2496, No 188, 3/6007) The Dictionary of Sydney has some fascinating new articles including one on the famous ‘Sly-Grog Queen’…
Sydney's wild weather
Wild weather just hit Sydney and parts of Australia’s east coast, causing four deaths and an estimated $38 million in damage. It seems each time this occurs, photographs and film footage captured by awestruck residents dominate the news, and this…
Constance Kent: The 'murderess'
Constance Kent, the murderess c1866 Credit: State Library of Victoria (Acc No: H41038) In 1929, an 85-year-old Sydney nurse and public servant named Ruth Emilie Kaye wrote a 3,000-word letter called the Sydney Document. In it, she confessed to murdering her three- year-old…
The Ultimo World War I Roll of Honour
Ultimo Presbyterian Church World War I Roll of Honour, Nicole Cama 2015 Anzac Day commemorates all those who have served and died in war and on operational service. I recently published three articles in the Dictionary of Sydney about a World…
The Appin massacre - 200 years on
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 11 May 1816, p2 This Sunday 17 April 2016 marks 200 years since the Appin massacre, when at least 14 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed by soldiers under the command of…
Garry Wotherspoon, Gay Sydney: a history
Garry Wotherspoon, Gay Sydney: a history (NewSouth Books, 2015) ISBN 9781742234830 RRP: $29.99 Garry Wotherspoon’s excellent new history of Sydney’s gay life is very much more than a mere updating of his ground-breaking 1991 history City of the Plain. Much of City…
Theatre Magic
Harry Rickards c1867-72, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a4361049 / P1/1449) Sydney had a vibrant theatre scene in the late 19th century. And one of the most famous entrepreneurs was Harry Rickards. http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/rickards_harry Harry Rickards was a popular performer in music halls…
Muslims in Sydney
Letter of eligibility for Saiyid Mahomet Shah Banuri for Certificate of Exemption 1904, from the Correspondence of the Collector of Customs relating to Immigration Restriction and Passports) Source: National Archives of Australia SP42/1, C1905/3746 Page 28 of 29 It was Harmony…
Sydney's Royal Easter Show
wp-image-12160https://home.dictionaryofsydney.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/SideShowAlley1957.jpgSideshow alley at the Royal Sydney Easter Show 1957 By Raymond Morris. Contributed by National Museum of Australia [Slide 164, via NMA's Flickr set] (Raymond Morris Collection, courtesy of the photographer)600386/> Sideshow alley at the Royal Sydney Easter Show 1957…
The Trocadero: Sydney’s most glamorous dance hall
Radio station 2CH's children's Christmas party, Trocadero 1936, Credit: State Library of New South Wales (hood_20090 / Home and Away 30090) There’s been a lot of talk about Sydney’s night life lately so I thought I'd look at one of the city's most…