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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
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Lord's Mill, Botany Bay 1838

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Lord's Mill, Botany Bay 1838

By

John Carmichael

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

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Booralee fishing town Botany Economy Industry in the Cooks River valley Servicing Sydney's thirst

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Industrial building Wheat Wool

Natural features

Botany Bay

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Botany

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Carmichael, John

National Library of Australia

Economy

With the arrival of Europeans, the traditional economy of Aboriginal clans was disrupted, and gave way to the convict economy of the Commissariat and government stores. But this closed economy was soon opened by free settlement, whaling and sealing, shipping and farming success, making Sydney the port for a vast hinterland. Depressions and booms alternated, bringing poverty and prosperity to the city. Sydney's growth and diversity mean that regional economies now exist within the Sydney region.

Botany

Visited by James Cook and Joseph Banks in 1770, but rejected as a site for the colony in 1788 by Arthur Phillip, Botany remained an important source of water and a site for varied industry throughout the nineteenth century, before becoming a transport hub in the twentieth. Throughout, a close-knit community has survived.

Booralee fishing town

Just as the Kameygal people had enjoyed the rich sea life of Botany Bay, Booralee thrived as a vibrant fishing village for over a century until overfishing and pollution saw the demise of the fishing industry.

Industry in the Cooks River valley

As industry took hold in Cooks River valley, pollution and drainage became entrenched problems accompanied by flooding and public health concerns.

Servicing Sydney's thirst

Increasing population and industry saw the Cooks River transformed from a pristine natural watercourse into a highly modified and polluted river

Industrial building

Wheat

Wool

Botany Bay

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Large bay south of the city of Sydney, into which the Cooks and Georges rivers run.

Botany

Industrial and residential suburb on the northern shore of Botany Bay, immediately east of Sydney Airport. Originally seen as a country retreat, it saw industry flourish in the post-Second World War era.

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