The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

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Going to the show

Souvenir of the Show, The Australian Women's Weekly, 24 April 1963, p11 New multimedia material was added to Kate Darian-Smith's article on Sydney's famous Royal Easter Show in our last build, and as always, the National Library of Australia's Trove was…

Heroic, forceful and fearless

One of our authors, Randi Svensen, who has written about Tugboats for the Dictionary of Sydney, has just had her full length history of Australian tugboats, Heroic, Forceful and Fearless: Australia's Tugboat Heritage,  published by Citrus Press, in Sydney. The tug…

Strange but true

if you haven't read Mark Dunn's entry in the Dictionary about Henri L'Estrange, balloonist, tightrope artists and bungler, you've missed out. As a packed room found out last night during Library Up Late at Customs House Library, you've missed even…

Technical trouble

Courtesy State Library of Victoria, Acc No: H82.254/60 http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/45481 Readers may have noticed that the images and the 'Cite this' link in the Dictionary are not working quite correctly in Internet Explorer 8.  Unfortunately, clicking on an image to view the…

We are part of Trove!

The Dictionary's articles have been included in the National Library of Australia's invaluable Trove service for the first time, and we are thrilled to be playing a small part in this important national endeavour. Of course, we've been correcting away on…

Building the city

Steel frame of AWA building and old Mangovite Belting Ltd building c1938, by Frank Hurley, courtesy National Library of Australia nla.pic-an23478366 The Dictionary of Sydney, like the city, is based on the built environment. From our first commissioned articles (over 600…

Frocking up

Mug shot of Neville McQuade (18) and Lewis Stanley Keith (19), North Sydney Police Station, early June 1942, from the Justice & Police Museum Collection, Historic Houses Trust of NSW Rec: 31234 At this time of year in Sydney, dressing up…

Lesbians on the loose

In Mardi Gras month, it's good to remember that Sydney has always had people of varying sexualities, and despite efforts to police them, they've always been here. The Dictionary's article on Lesbians in Sydney is by Rebecca Jennings, and traces the…

Motorbikes, sequins, pride and politics

Albury Hotel float, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, 1983 Photograph by William Yang, courtesy the National Library of Australia nla.pic-vn3097560 Where else would one find this intoxicating combination than the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras? It's Mardi Gras…

Women in focus

Filling in the details along Pitt Street, from 'Sands & Kenny's map of Sydney and its environs' 1858, National Library of Australia nla.map-rm1272 One of the more unusual articles added recently to the Dictionary is Catherine Bishop's exhaustive piece on the…