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The Dictionary of Sydney
Franks, Rachel

Franks, Rachel

Author

Dr Rachel Franks is the Coordinator, Education & Scholarship at the State Library of New South Wales and a Conjoint Fellow at the University of Newcastle.

Miles Franklin as Author

Robert ‘Nosey Bob’ Howard as Author

Sydney’s Oldest Unsolved Murders as Author

The Bridge Street Affray as Author

The murder of Constable Joseph Luker as Author

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Miles Franklin

The life of Miles Franklin is a vital chapter in the story of Australian literature. While always a girl from the bush, for much of her life she called Sydney home.

Robert ‘Nosey Bob’ Howard

Robert Rice Howard was the official executioner or hangman in New South Wales for nearly 30 years. Initially a successful cab driver in mid-nineteenth century Sydney, he took on the role of 'finisher of the law' after losing his nose in an accident with a horse and losing much of his business.

Sydney’s Oldest Unsolved Murders

With colonisation came numerous acts of violence inflicted upon the First Nations people, including murder. It was several years, however, before murders were committed in Sydney by the colonists upon each other. Identifying Australia’s oldest case of unsolved murder in this context is not necessarily a straightforward task.

The Bridge Street Affray

On 2 February 1894 three men attempted to rob the offices of the Union Steamship Company on Bridge Street in the city. Several police constables were brutally attacked and injured when they confronted the thieves. Officers of the New South Wales Police have carried firearms ever since.

The murder of Constable Joseph Luker

Convict Joseph Luker placed his past firmly behind him when he decided to pursue a career as a police constable in colonial Sydney. This transition from law breaker to law enforcer would also see him become the first officer of the law killed in the line of duty in Australia.