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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Multimedia
Urinal Observatory Hill 1968

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Urinal Observatory Hill 1968

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City of Sydney Archives

[CRS 34/2401/71]

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Dawes Point Public lavatories

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Public building Sanitation

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Observatory Hill

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Dawes Point The Rocks

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City of Sydney Archives

The City of Sydney Archives holds items from as early as 1842 when the Municipal Council of Sydney was established, and manage, preserve and provide access to more than 1 million items, including documents, photographs, maps, plans and data. The collection consists of City of Sydney corporate archives, items collected from the community relating to the City of Sydney local area and published reference material. Use the links to go directly to the City of Sydney's website.

Dawes Point

Known to its Cadigal traditional owners as Ta-Ra, the land that became Dawes Point was Sydney's first observatory and weather station, run by William Dawes. It was fortified to a Greenway design and remained government land. In 1925 part of the fort was demolished for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and most of the land became Dawes Point Park.

Public lavatories

Taken for granted in modern cities, public toilets are a relatively recent improvement. From the 1880s, Sydney authorities began to provide public conveniences for men, and later women, in order to improve street cleanliness and behaviour.

Public building

Sanitation

Observatory Hill

Hill at the top of The Rocks, west of Sydney Cove, which is the highest point overlooking Port Jackson. With commanding views both east and west, it was the site of one of Sydney's first windmills from 1796 before being replaced with a fort in 1803. By 1849 an observatory had also been constructed which can still be visited.

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Dawes Point

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Harbourside suburb at the southern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, adjacent to The Rocks. From the earliest days of the colony it was a significant as the site of the first observatory and one of the earliest gun placements.

The Rocks

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Suburb located north of the central business district on the western shore of Sydney Cove. Characterised by a precinct of restored nineteenth-century buildings which are a major tourist attraction, it was recognised as a separate suburb in 1993.