The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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An Old Swamp in the City
‘The Inundations at Marrickville: Rescuing the Homeless’ May 1889 Illustrated Sydney News, 6 June 1889 p14 The new decade began in Australia with an apocalyptic vision of drought, fire and flood, but it’s always a bit of shock to Sydney when…
Here's one for all the (library) lovers out there
Preserve this as a bookmark / the property of the Free Public Library, Sydney c1880, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales (M 027.591/1A1) This coming Friday is Library Lovers Day, so today on 2SER Breakfast Dr Mark Dunn…
Anne McKendry, Medieval Crime Fiction: A Critical Overview
Anne McKendry, Medieval Crime Fiction: A Critical Overview McFarland & Company, 267 pp., ISBN: 9781476666716, p/bk, US$39.95 Medieval Crime Fiction: A Critical Overview by Anne McKendry is this year’s must-have text for all crime fiction enthusiasts and scholars. McKendry’s work is a stunningly…
Bettina Bradbury, Caroline’s Dilemma: A colonial inheritance saga
Bettina Bradbury, Caroline’s Dilemma: A colonial inheritance saga NewSouth, November 2019, 352pp, p/bk, ISBN: 9781742236605, RRP: AUD$34.99 If you hold a romanticised appreciation of living a middle-class life on the land in the Victorian era, then this non-fiction book will challenge that…
State Library of NSW Bushfire Fundraising Auction: Dinner for four in the Shakespeare Room!
Photo: WIRES It's been a heartbreaking few months, and right now, WIRES Wildlife Rescue is caring for thousands of injured, orphaned and sick animals. The State Library of NSW, the home of the Dictionary of Sydney, wants to help ensure our…
The Santas of Sydney’s Christmas Past
Little boy sitting on Santa's lap at Roselands December 1969 , National Archives of Australia (A1200, L85978) Some of us still have the photos taken of us crying, having a tantrum or terrified while perched on the knee of the strange…
Antonia Pesenti & Hilary Bell, Summer Time
Antonia Pesenti & Hilary Bell, Summer Time NewSouth, October 2019, 44pp, h/bk, ISBN: 9781742236070, RRP: AUD$24.99 Summertime is a tale of reminiscence, of the best summer activities that prompt happy thoughts. and hint at possibilities for any family looking for a summer…
Sound the alarm! Shark nets at Coogee
The first Coogee shark net, December 1922 by AE Foster, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (ON 30/Box 55 No 675) It's summer, and for many of us, that means swimming in the sea. There has been a long tradition in…
The Newcastle Hotel
Barmaids serving customers in the Newcastle Hotel 1968, National Archives of Australia (A1500, K19075) In honour of Clive James who died this week, today we're going to peek inside the doors of one of the Sydney establishments that helped him along,…
James Waugh's Stranger's Guide to Sydney
The Stranger's Guide to Sydney,, courtesy Mitchell Library, State LIbrary of NSW (DSM/981.1/W) We've all used a tourist guide when we've visited a new city. They can help us orientate ourselves, to find the landmarks we want to see, and understand…