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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Wotherspoon, Garry

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Wotherspoon, Garry

Author

Garry Wotherspoon is a historian

Assassination attempt on Prince Alfred 1868 as Author

Bellevue Hill as Author

Buses as Author

Coffee as Author

Drag and cross dressing as Author

Economy as Author

Epidemics as Author

Ferries as Author

Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as Author

Gay men as Author

Goldsbrough Mort & Co as Author

Green Park as Author

HMS Sirius as Author

Japanese submarine attack 1942 as Author

Leadbeater, Charles as Author

Muslims in Sydney as Author

Paddington as Author

Roads as Author

Rowe Street as Author

Royal Botanic Gardens as Author

Shopping as Author

Spanish (holey) dollar as Author

Spit Bridge as Author

Surry Hills as Author

Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts as Author

Sydney rock oysters as Author

Sydney's monorail as Author

The Bulletin as Author

The Domain as Author

The road east as Author

The road north as Author

The road south as Author

The road south-west as Author

The road west as Author

Tram deaths as Author

Trams as Author

Transport as Author

Trocadero as Author

Tropfest as Author

du Faur, Eccleston as Author

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Assassination attempt on Prince Alfred 1868

In 1868, Henry O'Farrell tried to shoot the visiting Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria. Although the prince was only slightly wounded, the event set off a rash of anti-Irish feeling in Sydney, and O'Farrell was hanged in record time. Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is a reminder of the event.

Bellevue Hill

Standing on Cadigal country, Bellevue Hill became one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs, with its large lots and scenic views.

Buses

Horse-drawn buses were Sydney's most extensive transport system from the 1860s until the 1890s, when electric trams became more popular. Motor buses expanded their networks between the wars, and electric trolley buses ran on some routes. In the 1950s, trams were phased out, and buses remain Sydney's main road-based public transport.

Coffee

Coffee grew in the garden at the first Government House but Sydney remained predominantly a tea-drinking colony. Despite the efforts of temperance campaigners to replace alcohol with coffee, coffee drinking remained a minority pleasure until after World War II, when coffee-loving migrants arrived in great numbers.

Drag and cross dressing

Cross dressing has aroused wildly varying attitudes in Sydney over the course of its history. Once subject to extreme legal punishment, drag no longer causes consternation in the streets, and is still part of life in the city.

Economy

With the arrival of Europeans, the traditional economy of Aboriginal clans was disrupted, and gave way to the convict economy of the Commissariat and government stores. But this closed economy was soon opened by free settlement, whaling and sealing, shipping and farming success, making Sydney the port for a vast hinterland. Depressions and booms alternated, bringing poverty and prosperity to the city. Sydney's growth and diversity mean that regional economies now exist within the Sydney region.

Epidemics

From the new European diseases that devastated Sydney's Aboriginal people in the eighteenth century, through subsequent epidemics of measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, influenza and HIV, Sydney has faced major threats from epidemic disease. Religion, media, and public health responses influenced the degree of panic and scapegoating that took place, though effective treatments were not in place until well into the twentieth century.

Ferries

As a harbour and river-based city, Sydney has relied on ferries from the earliest days of the colony's history. In the twentieth century, faster road transport reduced the usage of ferries, but they remain a feature of Sydney life.

Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

The spectacular Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1983 had its origins in the brutal police response to a much smaller parade in 1978. The subsequent public furore and political activism caused draconian laws to be changed and eventual acceptance of the special place the Mardi Gras holds in Sydney's cultural life.

Gay men

Long demonised and persecuted, gay men have been part of Sydney life since first settlement. Two centuries have seen attitudes and perceptions change dramatically.

Goldsbrough Mort & Co

By 1838 wool was Australia's main export, and auctioneer Thomas Mort's wool stores grew rapidly as a major presence in Ultimo and Pyrmont.

Green Park

Set aside for public recreation since 1875, Green Park has long been significant for Sydney's gay men.

HMS Sirius

Flagship of the first fleet, Sirius was vital to the survival of the young colony.

Japanese submarine attack 1942

Often warned of the possibility of invasion, Sydneysiders were to experience the real thing in 1942 when three Japanese midget submarines slipped into the harbour, destroying the naval ship HMAS Kuttabul.

Leadbeater, Charles

Theosophist, Freemason and Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, Charles Leadbeater also claimed to be telepathic and to be able to read past lives.

Muslims in Sydney

Muslims have been a presence in Sydney since the eighteenth century, despite the immigration restrictions of the White Australia Policy. Half of all Australia's Muslims now live in Sydney, forming a culturally and ethnically diverse community that flourishes, even amidst outbursts of prejudice from other residents of multicultural Sydney.

Paddington

Built on Gadigal land in Sydney's east, Paddington has been one of Sydney's most desirable suburbs and one of its least, at different times.

Roads

Starting as a tiny settlement on the edge of a great continent, Sydney developed roads as Europeans moved out into the hinterland. They became gateways to the port and city that Sydney Town grew into.

Rowe Street

A narrow laneway, running between Pitt and Castlereagh streets, Rowe Street was small-scale, personable, cosmopolitan, and fun.

Royal Botanic Gardens

Planted on land set aside for the governor's demesne, the Botanic Gardens began as kitchen gardens but by the 1840s were already filled with many native and exotic trees and plants for propagation, study and experiment. from the 1850s, the Gardens were laid out according to Victorian principles of garden design, with elements that still give the place a Victorian air.

Shopping

The early colony's closed economy, with limited currency and reliance on government rations, did not foster a retail culture, but it soon developed as the city moved beyond its prison status. At first dealing in necessities of life, Sydney's shops became more elaborate and diverse over time, and as elsewhere, department stores and shopping malls developed new kinds of shopping and consumption.

Spanish (holey) dollar

Devised in 1810 to prevent the colony's currency from disappearing offshore, the holey dollar was Sydney's first really local coinage, remaining legal tender until 1829.

Spit Bridge

First thought of in the 1870s, the first Spit Bridge was not built until nearly 50 years later, replacing a punt across Middle Harbour. A second bridge was built in the 1950s but the crossing remains a transport bottleneck.

Surry Hills

Surry Hills, on Cadigal land, provided grazing, garden produce, timber, stone and clay to the new colony, and wealthy colonists built country houses there. Subdivision from the 1830s made it one of Sydney's most populous districts by the 1890s. Poor drainage and building rapidly created slum conditions, rife with crime and poverty. Demolitions and remodelling by city and state governments made some improvements, but after World War II, when industry moved out and residents shifted to newer suburbs, Surry Hills became attractive to new migrants and was revitalised.

Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts

Founded in 1833 on the model of Scottish Mechanics' Institutes, the SMSA sought to provide further education for working men through lectures, classes and a library. Many of Sydney's foremost intellectuals, inventors and innovators were associated with it, and it influenced the development of both the University of Sydney and technical education in New South Wales. It still provides a library and lectures to Sydneysiders in 2009.

Sydney rock oysters

Gathered by Aboriginal people for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived, Sydney oysters became a farmed product in the 1870s and remain a popular seafood.

Sydney's monorail

Sydney's monorail was opposed from the moment its construction was announced. Derided as an eyesore and an ineffective solution for Sydney's growing transport needs, the passing of the monorail attracted over 1500 passengers for its final journey in July 2013. We explore the history of the monorail Sydney-siders loved to hate.

The Bulletin

Australia's longest-running magazine, published in Sydney from 1880, became a conduit between rural Australia and the cities, and provided an outlet for the work of many of Sydney's best known writers and artists.

The Domain

Set aside as part of the Governor's demesne by Governor Phillip, the Domain was formalised by Governor Macquarie in 1816, and has been a people's park, cultural precinct and the scene of political action and dissent ever since.

The road east

The first track east to South Head followed the path Aboriginal people had travelled for thousands of years, but soon became a cleared road and later a paved street.

The road north

The road north from Sydney had to traverse forest, hills and deep river valleys, and a number of routes were developed before the Pacific Highway became the main northern road.

The road south

Built as an access road to the farmland south of Sydney town, the road south gradually pushed far beyond Cooks River to the Georges River ferry.

The road south-west

Improved in Macquarie's expansion of colonial infrastructure, the road to Liverpool and beyond opened up the fertile plains of Cowpastures, and led to suburban development closer in.

The road west

The first road out of Sydney town led to the farming settlement at Parramatta, and this western gateway to the city retained its importance as the suburbs spread west towards the Blue Mountains.

Tram deaths

Trams, like other forms of transport, can be dangerous.

Trams

Trams had a rocky start in Sydney, with the first tracks laid upside down, causing many accidents and leading to their removal. The International Exhibition of 1879 brought trams back to Sydney and a network was built that became one of the world's largest at its greatest extent in 1922. Economic and social changes after World War II led to the dismantling of the network, with the last tram running in 1961.

Transport

Sydney's transport has been shaped by the geography of the city, changing economic and social needs, technological limitations and advances, and political considerations. From walking tracks and animal haulage to the commuting city of today, transport has also shaped the city itself, opening up new areas and choking others. Carts, ferries, trains, trams, buses and cars have all figured in Sydney's transport history.

Trocadero

Once the most glamorous dance hall in Sydney, the Trocadero hosted Queens, Dukes, and international stars, as well as Sydneysiders out for a good time.

Tropfest

Founded in a Darlinghurst cafe, Tropfest has become a major annual event in Sydney's film calendar.

du Faur, Eccleston

Draftsman, explorer, innovator, Eccleston du Faur was also one of Sydney's pioneering environmentalists.