The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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Sydney's City Circle
The Great Excavator, Building magazine, 12 October 1923, p107 This week saw a massive overhaul of Sydney's public transport timetables, and this, along with the ongoing construction works around the city and suburbs have left many of us feeling a bit…
YES, YES, YES!!
'Lesbian Brides' marching group, Mardi Gras 1994 Photograph by C. Moore Hardy, Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (C. Moore Hardy Collection 061352) It was an historic moment last Wednesday when it was announced that the Australian people had voted overwhelmingly in favour…
‘Sydney’s best kept secret’: Yaralla estate
Yaralla 2007 Courtesy City of Canada Bay Library Did you know ‘the most significant, suburban Edwardian estate in NSW’ is in Concord West, on the banks of the Parramatta River? Yaralla Estate, sometimes referred to as ‘Sydney’s best kept secret’, was…
Our City: 175 years in 175 objects
Young council employees c1905, probably employed as gully flushers Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (006011) This morning on 2SER, Lisa talked to Nic about the fantastic exhibition she's been working on which commemorates the City of Sydney Council's 175th anniversary . This…
The Lucy Osburn-Nightingale Museum
Sydney Living Museums’ wonderful event Sydney Open is coming up on 4 and 5 November, where the doors of more than 60 of the city’s most important and intriguing buildings and spaces will be open to the public for one weekend. One…
Sydney’s coffee obsession
Sydney Gazette, 31 July 1803, p4 via Trove Sunday 1 October was International Coffee Day and we certainly love our coffee in Australia. Historian Garry Wotherspoon has written an article in the Dictionary of Sydney about how our city’s obsession with…
A distinguished lady doctor
Dagmar Berne c1890, State Archives and Records NSW (9873_a025_a025000112) Today on 2SER Breakfast we looked at the inspiring tale of Sydney's first female medical student, Dagmar Berne. It's not really a happy story, but this resilient and generous woman made an…
Thomas Ley: Politician and murderer
Portrait of TJ Ley 1925 Courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an23460617) The State Archives and Records NSW has a new exhibition online and at the Western Sydney Records Centre in Kingswood titled ‘Captured: Portraits of Crime 1870-1930’. It explores photographs and…
The Peapes ghost sign
The Peapes sign recently uncovered at Wynyard, September 2017 Photo courtesy City of Sydney You may have heard about or seen the colourful advertising sign for Peapes Menswear store that was revealed recently down at Wynyard (285-287 George Street) after the…
James Bray and his Museum of Curios
Drawn from life by JS Bray, the tiger or brown-banded snake, Hoplocephalus curtus - venomous by JS Bray, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (c004220010 / PXA 192) The first entry to be published on the Dictionary since our recent…