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Ostrich farming in Sydney
Did you know there was an ostrich farm at Sydney’s South Head from 1889 until the early 1920s? In addition to providing the highly sought after commodity of ostrich feathers for the discerning fashionable lady, the farm became a popular tourist…
Sydney's Rum Hospital
Old Sydney Hospital, Macquarie Street c1865-85, Mitchell LIbrary, State Library of NSW (a089177 / SPF / 177) It seems rum is good for your health. Or it was 200 years ago in Sydney. Sydney in 1810 was in desperate need of a permanent…
"I challenge you sir!" - Duelling in colonial Sydney
'Honour Calls Him to the Field' from Whims and oddities : in prose and verse, by Thomas Hood, London 1836, p342 (The Internet Archive) Did you know a duel took place in a field in Homebush early one morning in March…
All aboard for Sydney's railway history
No1 Mortuary Railway station, Rookwood Cemetery - funeral train in station c1870 Pic: State Records New South Wales (17420_a014_a014000306) The railways are a quintessential part of Sydney. Railway historian Bob McKillop argues that they shaped the commerce and suburbs of Sydney…
NAIDOC 2016: Sydney's Aboriginal people
Portrait of Bennelong c1793, attributed to William Waterhouse, State Library of NSW, a1256013 / DG 10, f13 NAIDOC Week 2016 celebrations are in full swing at the moment and the Dictionary of Sydney recently published new articles about Sydney’s Aboriginal past by…
Tilly Devine: a formidable crime figure
Matilda Devine criminal record number 659LB, 27 May 1925, Long Bay Gaol. NSW Department of Prisons, Justice & Police Museum, Sydney LIving Museums Record no: 35694 Last week on 2SER, Nicole chatted about Kate Leigh the sly-grog queen, so it seemed only…
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wp-image-12532https://home.dictionaryofsydney.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Giantcoins.jpgPic: Training for the new decimal currency - a display of giant coins at the Channel 10 studio in Sydney 1965. By W Brindle. Contributed by National Archives of Australia [A1200, L52590]440438/> Pic: Training for the new decimal currency -…
Kate Leigh: the Sly-Grog Queen
Entry for Kate Leigh in State Reformatory for Women, Long Bay Photographic Description Book, 1915, State Records New South Wales (NRS 2496, No 188, 3/6007) The Dictionary of Sydney has some fascinating new articles including one on the famous ‘Sly-Grog Queen’…
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney celebrated 200 years on Monday 13 June 2016. Yet, the site had been farmed since 1788 and under cultivation with scientific plants as well as agricultural farming before 1816, so why did they choose this…
Sydney's wild weather
Wild weather just hit Sydney and parts of Australia’s east coast, causing four deaths and an estimated $38 million in damage. It seems each time this occurs, photographs and film footage captured by awestruck residents dominate the news, and this…