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The Dugong and the Salamander
Excavation of dugong remains at Sheas Creek 1896 , Courtesy Australian Museum Archives (AMS351/V9817) It’s strange to think about what might be entombed in dirt beneath the pavements we walk on in Sydney. But the discoveries around 1900 of two particular…
Putty Road
Mark's new book is available now. With Sydney surrounded by mountains on three out of four sides, getting out of the city area has, until fairly recently, been tricky. This was particularly the case in the colonial period. In the west…
Mark Dunn, The Convict Valley: the bloody struggle on Australia’s early frontier
Mark Dunn, The Convict Valley: the bloody struggle on Australia’s early frontier Allen & Unwin, 294 pp., ISBN: 9781760528645, p/bk, AUS$32.99 Mark Dunn opens his history of the Hunter Valley, The Convict Valley, with an observation from Lieutenant John Shortland. The naval…
Carangarang
Bennelong Point from Dawes Point c1804, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (V1/1810/1) Today is the start of National Reconciliation Week, so I thought we’d take a look at someone who was part of Sydney’s early history: Carangarang. Now I must confess…
Archaeology in Sydney
Tim Owen inspects archaeological investigations in Western Sydney. Photograph by Sharon Johnson (GML Heritage) This morning on 2SER Breakfast, Dr Tim Owen from GML Heritage talked to Tess about his work as an archaeologist in Sydney. Listen to Tim and Tess…
Living Language: Country, Culture, Community
Dawes' notebooks on display in the Living Language exhibition at the State Library of New South Wales As part of the UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages, there's a fascinating exhibition on right now at the State Library of New South…
Koori Knockout
PIX article on the Redfern All Blacks 'Aboriginal Footballers' 1946, PIX, 5 October 1946 p28 This week is NAIDOC week, and as it happens, the decider for the State of Origin rugby league, so what better topic then the Koori Knockout…
Redfern Park and Oval, one of Sydney's most important public spaces
Aerial view of Redfern Park and Redfern Oval 1949, courtesy City of Sydney Archives (CRS1132/79) This week the Minister for Environment and Heritage announced that Redfern Park and Oval would be included on the State Heritage Register, a list of heritage…
Eora fisherwomen
bara by Aboriginal artist Judy Watson, image courtesy of Judy Watson and UAP MEDIA Yesterday Governor David Hurley and Lord Mayor Clover Moore unveiled plans for a major new artwork overlooking Sydney Harbour on the Tarpeian Precinct Lawn above Dubbagullee (also…
‘The past lives on’:Paul Keating’s Redfern speech
Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating giving speech at the launch of the United Nations' International Year of the World's Indigenous People, Redfern Park 10 December 1992 Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (SRC24730) Last Sunday it was exactly 25 years since the…