The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Search the blogs
On our way
House removal, Brown St & Missenden Rd, Camperdown, 10 April 1916 Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (NSCA CRS 51/659) Moving the Dictionary Over the last year we've been working on moving the Dictionary's content on to a new platform hosted by the State…
Aging gracefully
Feast Day at Liverpool Asylum 24 July 1886, Illustrated Sydney News, 14 August 1886, p16 July marks the start of the new financial year, and for many reliant upon the government for support, this often means a change in pensions and…
Pip Smith, Half Wild
Pip Smith, Half Wild Allen & Unwin, 2017, ISBN: 9781760294649, pp1-390 During the winter of 1920, Sydney was gripped by the spectacularly scandalous story of Eugenia Falleni. Falleni had for many years pretended to be a man called Harry Crawford. Harry was…
Barangaroo
NAIDOC Week is in full swing, celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples so we thought we'd take the opportunity to celebrate someone a very powerful woman in Sydney’s history - Barangaroo. …
Isaac Nathan - ‘Australia’s first composer’
Isaac Nathan, Australia's first composer c1820 Courtesy National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an2292675) The Dictionary of Sydney chronicles the lives of some of Sydney’s most fascinating people. Isaac Nathan, who was hailed as ‘Australia’s first composer’ despite being the English-born son of…
A Humorous Rollerskater
The Patineur Grotesque in Prince Alfred Park in 1896. To wrap up the Sydney Film Festival, I thought today we could look at the origins of cinema in Sydney. Listen now In 1896, in the early days of moving pictures, the innovative Lumière…
Sydney’s grand General Post Office
Martin Place and General Post Office Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (SRC20098) It was announced recently that Australia Post has secured a deal to sell one of Sydney’s grandest heritage buildings - the General Post Office in Martin Place, a Renaissance style building…
Atmospheric cinema
The Sydney Film Festival starts tonight so I thought we'd talk about recreating an authentic early cinema experience! Frontage to Market Street of the State Theatre and shopping block, Sydney, Australia, c1929 Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (PXA…
The Dictionary of Sydney needs your help
Promissory note for one pound issued by Garnam Blaxcell, 29 January 1814 Courtesy: Sir William Dixson Numismatic Collection, State Library of NSW (a6416001 / SAFE/DN/P 262) The Dictionary of Sydney has been publishing freely accessible, reliable and authoritative information about Sydney's history since November 2009. Every…
Convict travels
These leaves are held by the State Library of NSW and were among a store taken by Mary Bryant when she escaped and which she gave to James Boswell. The plant is Smilax glyciphylla, commonly known as wild sarsaparilla; "a small…