The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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Mozart and The Doll
Performance of 'Summer of the Seventeenth Doll',1956 With a background of 17 inch cupid dolls, each representing a season of happiness, Olive Leech (June Jago) tries to stop the fatal quarrel between her lover, Roo Webster (Lloyd Berrell) and Barney…
Let's celebrate History Week 2017!
The Australian woman's mirror, October 18 1938 via Trove This year the History Council of NSW’s annual festival in the first week of September, History Week, is exploring popular culture. With tours, talks, exhibitions and more taking place across Sydney and New…
The melancholy wreck of the Dunbar
Wreck of Dunbar, South Head c1862-1863, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a939035 / PXA 1983, f.34) One hundred and sixty years ago, a large sailing vessel called the Dunbar was wrecked near the Gap, just south of Sydney Heads,…
Sydney’s modernists
The Australian Women's Weekly, September 7 1946, p48 via Trove Sydney Living Museums has an interesting exhibition at the Museum of Sydney, The Moderns: European Designers in Sydney. This exhibition seems to come at a time where this city’s built environment…
The mysterious Mr Eternity
Arthur Stace writing his message, Eternity in Sydney Courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-vn3107050) The 30 July 2017 marks 50 years since the death of a mysterious identity who inscribed the word ‘Eternity’ on Sydney’s pavements for 34 years. The Dictionary…
The Great Strike of 1917
Saturday's Demonstration in the Domain, Sydney Mail 15 August 1917, p22 This year marks the centenary of one of Australia’s largest industrial conflicts and a special exhibition commemorating the anniversary has just opened at Carriageworks. The Great Strike of 1917 is…
Aging gracefully
Feast Day at Liverpool Asylum 24 July 1886, Illustrated Sydney News, 14 August 1886, p16 July marks the start of the new financial year, and for many reliant upon the government for support, this often means a change in pensions and…
Barangaroo
NAIDOC Week is in full swing, celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples so we thought we'd take the opportunity to celebrate someone a very powerful woman in Sydney’s history - Barangaroo. …
Isaac Nathan - ‘Australia’s first composer’
Isaac Nathan, Australia's first composer c1820 Courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an2292675) The Dictionary of Sydney chronicles the lives of some of Sydney’s most fascinating people. Isaac Nathan, who was hailed as ‘Australia’s first composer’ despite being the English-born son of…
A Humorous Rollerskater
The Patineur Grotesque in Prince Alfred Park in 1896. To wrap up the Sydney Film Festival, I thought today we could look at the origins of cinema in Sydney. Listen now In 1896, in the early days of moving pictures, the innovative Lumière…