The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Search the blogs
Street Photography
Today on 2SER Breakfast, Lisa and Tess talked about a fabulous new exhibition at the Museum of Sydney called Street Photography, that looks at the popularity of commercial street photographers in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Listen to Lisa and Tess…
Decorating the city
Christmas tree in Hyde Park 7 December 1962, City of Sydney Archives (NSCA CRS 48/3060) It's getting very festive around the city as Christmas approaches so today we thought we'd look at one of the city's biggest Christmas traditions! Listen to…
Ocean baths
Wylie's Baths, Coogee c1915, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (PXE 1028, f56) Ocean baths are abundant in Sydney and along the New South Wales coast, reflecting our love of the ocean and, perhaps, an ambivalence towards the surf. These man-made…
Whaling in Sydney
'Shooting the harpoon at a whale' from book 'Field sports &c. &c. of the native inhabitants of New South Wales' by John Heaviside Clark, London 1813, National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an8936144) Over the weekend we heard that more than 140 whales…
Grab your partners for the Balmain Polka
Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (M MUSIC FILE/SPA) November is AusMusic Month and so today I thought we should look back at some early Australian popular music and one of the early music composers in Sydney. Graeme Skinner at…
Remembrance Day: 100 years on
The Sydney Mail, 20 November 1918 Last Sunday, 11 November, marked 100 years since the official end of World War I. Initially called Armistice Day, it became known as Remembrance Day after the end of World War II. An article in…
Posters, ghost signs and billboards
"We are not going to try to have this announcement placed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, feeling that even a 'CAPSTAN' advertsiement would be somewhat out of harmony with the dignity and impressiveness of this mangnificent structure", Brisbane Courier 23…
The Mitchell Library's new galleries
It's a VERY exciting week to be an historian in Sydney this week with the opening of the new galleries and a learning centre in the historic Mitchell Library wing of the State Library of New South Wales, so today…
Murder most foul: the Sussex Street Mystery
New South Wales Government Gazette, September 21, 1866. p 2194 via Trove This week on 2SER Breakfast, the Dictionary's special guest Dr Catie Gilchrist talked to Tess about one of the stories she's come across during her work as a Fellow…
Redfern Park and Oval, one of Sydney's most important public spaces
Aerial view of Redfern Park and Redfern Oval 1949, courtesy City of Sydney Archives (CRS1132/79) This week the Minister for Environment and Heritage announced that Redfern Park and Oval would be included on the State Heritage Register, a list of heritage…