The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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Sydney’s grand General Post Office
Martin Place and General Post Office Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (SRC20098) It was announced recently that Australia Post has secured a deal to sell one of Sydney’s grandest heritage buildings - the General Post Office in Martin Place, a Renaissance style building…
Atmospheric cinema
The Sydney Film Festival starts tonight so I thought we'd talk about recreating an authentic early cinema experience! Frontage to Market Street of the State Theatre and shopping block, Sydney, Australia, c1929 Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (PXA…
Convict travels
These leaves are held by the State Library of NSW and were among a store taken by Mary Bryant when she escaped and which she gave to James Boswell. The plant is Smilax glyciphylla, commonly known as wild sarsaparilla; "a small…
Letters of Complaint
2SER Breakfast listeners had a special treat today as Lisa talked about Letters of Complaint, just one of the projects she's been working on in her role as the City Historian at the City of Sydney. A cliff-face stair-way, Darlinghurst…
On the buses
'6 o'clock - Rush home' from 'The Hours of the Day in Sydney' , Illustrated Sydney News, 6 September 1879, p12 There’s been a lot of talk this week about Sydney’s buses and the NSW Government’s plans to privatise a section…
Bricks!
Brick chimneys St Peters 2008 by Paul Howard They are one of the most ubiquitous building materials in Sydney, so you probably haven't given them much thought, but the history of bricks in Sydney is actually rather fascinating! Listen…
The Australian Blondin: The dangerous adventures of Henri L’Estrange
Harry L'Estrange c1877 Pic: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a928408 / P1/987) There are some very colourful characters to be found in the Dictionary of Sydney. The showman, aeronaut and tightrope walker, Henri L’Estrange, wowed Sydney audiences in the 1870s…
The Art of the Scott Sisters
Helena Forde, nee Scott c1866 Pic: © Australian Museum Harriet Scott, Ash Island 1856 Pic: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a9971002 / MLMSS 1694, 23b) A few weeks ago Nicole talked about The Australian Museum which is 190 years old this…
Our oldest museum turns 190!
Australian Museum, College Street, Sydney 1860-63 by William Hetzer Courtesy Powerhouse Museum 87/1019-8 Last Thursday it was the 190 years since the Australian Museum was established so today we thought we'd have a very quick look at the long history of…
The old Commodore, Billy Blue
Billy Blue 1834 by JB East Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales (a928634 / ML 560) 29 March 2017 Lisa Murray A few weeks back, we looked at the early history of Americans in Sydney. At the time, I…