The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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The first woman hanged in Sydney
David Collins records the death of Ann Davis in An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, 1798, p86 On 23 November 1789, Ann Davis became the first woman hanged in New South Wales. Listen to Rachel and Alex…
Horse Drawn: John Rae and 'The Turning of the First Turf'
John Rae c1884, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (ML MSS A807) John Rae is, perhaps, my favourite dead white male. On the surface, he’s really rather ordinary. An administrator who was meticulous and ambitious, he was a career public servant.…
Contribute to the Dictionary
Download our Guide to writing for contributors here. Convicts letter writing at Cockatoo Island 1849. By Vidors, Phillipe de. From the collection of the State Library of New South Wales A928881/SSV/39, Mitchell Library…
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Download our new units of study linked to the Australian history curriculum here.…
The Sydney Journal
Sydney Journal, Vol 3, No 1 (2010) Vol 4, No 1 (2013): From the Ground Up: People and Places in Sydney’s Past: A special issue of Sydney Journal is available here.…
Find your way through the Dictionary
A series of blog posts designed to give our readers a guided tour around the Dictionary. Finding your way through the Dictionary …