The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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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…
The Sydney Harbour Bridge turns 85!
View from pulley-wheels of north side creeper-crane looking into box section of south side arch, Sydney Harbour Bridge May 1930 by Ted Hood, Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (hood_02964 / Home and Away 2964) Last Sunday was the 85th…
Kick up your heels on St Patrick's Day with the Dictionary of Sydney
St Patrick's Day in the new land 1880, Illustrated Sydney News, 20 March 1880, p5 A few years ago the Dictionary of Sydney worked with the Consulate General of Ireland in Sydney to produce a fantastic suite of entries on the…
Sydney's gas history
Gas works, Millers Point. 1873 by Samuel Elyard, Courtesy: Dixson Galleries, State Library of NSW (DGD 5, 14 / a2085014) Energy supply and gas has been in the news a lot lately, so I thought it would be timely to take…
Mary Reibey: Australia’s pioneering businesswoman
Mary Reibey c1835 Courtesy: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW Today is International Women’s Day and its also Women’s History Month, so with Rani at the helm at 2SER, let's take a look at one of the Dictionary of Sydney’s most famous ladies…
Rowe Street
Rowe Street 1929 Courtesy: City of Sydney Archives (SRC11469) This Sunday, I am on a panel discussing Rowe Street as part of the public program for the Sydney Living Museums' exhibition Demolished Sydney. Nicole mentioned the street when talking about the exhibition a few weeks…
The Trouble with Harry
Mug shot of Eugenie Falleni 1920 Courtesy: Sydney Living Museums, Justice & Police Museum (FP07_0031_005) As part of the 2017 Mardi Gras festival, there’s an interesting play showing at the Seymour Centre called The Trouble with Harry. The play revolves around…
‘Alternative histories’: The myth of Sydney’s foundational orgy
First page of the List of Female Convicts on board the Lady Penrhyn, from the journal of Arthur Bowes Smyth May 1787 Courtesy National Library of Australia (MS 4568) The 6 February marked the anniversary of a night of salacious activity…
Trump that! Early American connections to Sydney
At the moment it seems that almost every news bulletin is headlined with another Trump edict. The American Australian alliance is a 20th century phenomenon that frequently celebrates 'the ties that bind us'. And if we look bck in Sydney's history…