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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Multimedia
Cabramatta 2009

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Cabramatta 2009

By

Jenny McInerney

Contributed By

Private collection

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Shopping Sydney Vietnamese

Subjects

Mobile economy and street vendors Retail Vietnamese

Places

Cabramatta

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McInerney, Jenny

Private collection

Shopping

The early colony's closed economy, with limited currency and reliance on government rations, did not foster a retail culture, but it soon developed as the city moved beyond its prison status. At first dealing in necessities of life, Sydney's shops became more elaborate and diverse over time, and as elsewhere, department stores and shopping malls developed new kinds of shopping and consumption.

Vietnamese

One of the largest and most visible migrant communities in Sydney, the Vietnamese were the first large group of Asian immigrants to settle in Sydney after the White Australia policy. Despite initial racism from Anglo-Australians, and the difficulties of a transplanted and initially a refugee group, the community has built thriving commercial and cultural centres in Sydney's south-west.

Sydney

Founded by Europeans as a social experiment, Sydney's beginnings brought death and dispossession to the original inhabitants of the place, as well as surprising freedom and prosperity to many of the convicts. Over its history, the city's growth has been shaped by factors that are common to many cities, but also by unique forces. In the twenty-first century, for the first time, the idea of sustainable progress is itself in doubt.

Mobile economy and street vendors

Retail

Vietnamese

Cabramatta

South-western suburb which began as an agricultural township. It evolved into one of Sydney's most multicultural suburbs after the Second World War when it was settled by successive waves of European and Asian migrants.

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