The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Search the blogs
Fifty years of Kaldor Public Art Projects
View of Project 32: Jonathan Jones' barrangal dyara (skin and bones), Photo by Peter Greig, courtesy: Kaldor Public Art Projects This year Kaldor Public Art Projects is marking fifty years of challenging and surprising Sydneysiders with large scale, public and interactive…
Archaeology in Sydney
Tim Owen inspects archaeological investigations in Western Sydney. Photograph by Sharon Johnson (GML Heritage) This morning on 2SER Breakfast, Dr Tim Owen from GML Heritage talked to Tess about his work as an archaeologist in Sydney. Listen to Tim and Tess…
The Witch of Kings Cross
A Weird Story By A Gifted Fifteen Year Old Authoress, Smiths Weekly, 6 January 1934, p16 via Trove Amidst the bohemian neighbourhood of Kings Cross in the mid 20th century, the self-proclaimed ‘witch’ Rosaleen Norton (1917-1979) was hard to miss; a…
PN Russell
Mr PN Russell, a generous donor to the Sydney University 1895, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 December 1895, p1171 There is virtually nothing in Sydney that has not, at some stage, had the hand of an engineer…
What does Margaret say?
Lisa with her treasured 1977 edition of the Margaret Fulton Cookbook An officially decreed Australian Living Treasure (aka an Aussie icon) died on 24 July. Her name? Margaret Fulton. Listen to the whole conversation with Lisa and Tess on 2SER here Now,…
Hollywood nights
'She is 24, has a smile like sunshine, a devastating humor, and stands nearly 5 feet 10 inches in her nylons.', The Australian Women's Weekly, 1 December 1954, p69 via Trove Doris Goddard, the glamorous publican of the iconic Hollywood Hotel in…
Living Language: Country, Culture, Community
Dawes' notebooks on display in the Living Language exhibition at the State Library of New South Wales As part of the UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages, there's a fascinating exhibition on right now at the State Library of New South…
Jessica North, Esther; The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became First Lady of the colony
Jessica North, Esther; The extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became First Lady of the colony Allen & Unwin, 2019, pp 1-277, ISBN 9781760527372, p/bk, AUS$29.99 They could have hanged Esther Abrahams. In 1786, the pretty young Jewish woman had attempted…
Sydney’s Oldest Unsolved Murders
An account of the English colony in New South Wales : with remarks on the dispositions, customs, manners, &c. of the native inhabitants of that country, compiled, by permission, from the MSS. of Lieutenant-Governor King by David Collins, London: 1798-1802,…
The Stolen Girls
Five unnamed women who were working as domestic servants in Sydney under the auspices of the 'Aborigines Protection Department', Sydney Mail 24 May 1922, p23 via Trove Walking around Sydney’s wealthy suburbs it is easy to be seduced by beautiful heritage…