The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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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…
Welcome
Welcome to the new look Dictionary of Sydney Trust page and the new home for our blog Looking Up. The new site incorporates the Dictionary of Sydney’s organisational information, access to the Dictionary’s resources, information on our projects, and tips on…
Hellenic Sydney
One of our new articles is about Sydney's Greek communities, one of the largest and oldest groups in the city, with a venerable tradition and great pride. Evzones (Greek soldiers) who led the Greek Day march in Sydney, 28 February 1941,…
Messing about in boats
The tug Hero towing Pamir to Sydney Heads, 1947 photograph by Max Dupain, National Library of Australia nla.pic-an21125310 The Dictionary never forgets that Sydney is a maritime city, and two articles in the latest batch tell stories about the ships that…
Art for art's sake
Photograph by Jill Lummis of the stained glass window in St Paul's Anglican church, Cobbitty 2011 Sydney's always been an arty place, from the carvings and dances of the traditional owners, and the sketchbooks and pianos of the early settlers, to…
From water to ice
The story of Sydney's water supply is an epic, now told by Maclaren North in the Dictionary's new article on Water. From the Tank Stream, and the Botany swamps, through Busby's bore and Centennial Park, to the Nepean Tunnel and…