The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

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So long Sydney

Miss Australia 1957 Helen Wood farewelled at Mascot, March 1958, State Library of NSW (APA 05090)   30 June 2021 The Dictionary of Sydney is an incredible project. It all started back in 2005 when a group of historians and industry partners secured…

Kia ora!

Detail from 'The town of Sydney in New South Wales' showing Māori chiefs, c1821 by Major James Taylor, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (V1/ca.1821/5 DETAIL])   New Zealand and New South Wales were once one colony, but on 3 May 1841…

Joseph Fowles

George street and Charlotte Place, in 'Sydney in 1848 : illustrated by copper-plate engravings of its principal streets, public buildings, churches, chapels, etc.' from drawings by Joseph Fowles, Dixson Library, State Library of NSW (DL Q84/56) Joseph Fowles was by way…

Ben Boyd

Portrait of Ben Boyd by an unknown artist, 1830s, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (ML 1461) Sailing into Sydney in his yacht Wanderer in July 1842, Benjamin Boyd was welcomed by the press of the day as a flamboyant saviour…

True brew

William Bowra, Kent Brewery cellar foreman c1925. Tooth & Company Ltd collection, Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University Archives (Z223-10-13) In 1835, two brewers, John Tooth and his brother-in-law Charles Newnham, established a new brewery on the outskirts of the…

Darlinghurst Gaol and the National Art School

Entrance to Darlinghurst Gaol 1887, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (SPF/169) Darlinghurst Gaol, on the hill at the top of Oxford Street, is one of the largest standing colonial projects left in Sydney, and yet, many Sydneysiders barely notice it…

Happy History Week

This week organisations across the state are celebrating History Week 2020, the festival organised by the History Council of NSW. Listen to Mark and Alex on 2SER here The History Council of NSW was established in 1995 as an umbrella organisation…

Assistant astronomer Ernest Adderley looking through 6 inch telescope at the Sydney Observatory 18 February 1941

Stars shining bright above you

Assistant astronomer Ernest Adderley at the Sydney Observatory looking through 6 inch telescope 18 February 1941 by Stan Grimes, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (ON 388/Box 028/Item 125) This month in Sydney is a good time to look to the…

Shipping hazards

wp-image-17470https://home.dictionaryofsydney.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SLNSW-PXC-f10-a709011h.jpgWreck of the 'Edd Lalm' [Edward Lombe] On Middle Head Fort Jackson 1834, by Oswald Walters B Brierly, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW(PXC 284, f10)500323/> Wreck of the 'Edd Lalm' [Edward Lombe] On Middle Head Fort Jackson 1834, by…

Putty Road

Mark's new book is available now. With Sydney surrounded by mountains on three out of four sides, getting out of the city area has, until fairly recently, been tricky. This was particularly the case in the colonial period. In the west…