The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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Franklin, Jane
Explorer and early agitator for women's rights. Lady Jane Franklin was married to Sir John Franklin, Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land between 5 January 1837 and 21 August 1843. In 1839 she travelled overland from Melbourne to Sydney, possibly the first woman…
Royal Exchange
Building which aimed to provide a place of meeting for the commercial community. It was situated on Bridge Street, and its construction was met with support from Sydney's business community including John Fairfax, Thomas Holt Jnr, David Jones and Thomas Sutcliffe Mort. The…
Swan, John
Ship's captain. In 1834 he was the captain of the cutter the Venus, owned by Sydney businessman John Mackie. Returning from the South Coast, he and the ship's crew were instrumental in the rescue of 17 survivors of the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour. In late…
Warren, William Henry
Civil engineer who became the first Professor of Engineering at the University of Sydney.
After two years’ service with the New South Wales Department of Public Works, Warren initiated the teaching of engineering at the University of Sydney in March 1883. He…
Ryan, John
Convict who arrived in Sydney as part of the First Fleet. He was a silk weaver who was convicted in London in 1784 of theft and sentenced to 7 years transportation to America, but escaped after a convict mutiny on the Mercury. He was recaptured and departed for New South…
Central Railway Station
Central Railway Station was Sydney's third terminus, replacing the original 1855 station further south in Redfern and a later upgraded station built in the 1870s.
Rushcutters Bay
Inner eastern high-density residential suburb between Potts Point and Darling Point, named for the rushes cut by convicts for thatching in the early days of the colony. Sydney Stadium was built there in 1908 but demolished in the 1970s for the Eastern Suburbs Railway.
Kismet Theatre Pty Ltd
Theatre and entertainment company established in Sydney in 1921 by the pastoralist, entrepreneur and theatre producer, Sir Rupert Turner Havelock Clarke. The main order of business was the building of theatres, establishing the Kismet (later Odeon) Theatre in Randwick and the…
Fisher Library
The main library at the University of Sydney named for Thomas Fisher, its major benefactor. It opened in 1909 in the south-western corner of the Quadrangle. In 1962 it moved to a new building adjacent to Victoria Park, the original reading room being renamed MacLaurin Hall.…
Miss Southern Cross, G-ACJV
Percival Gull monoplane flown by Charles Kingsford-Smith from London, England to Wyndham, Western Australia, in record breaking solo flight in 1933. The aircraft crashed in Yerranderie in 1934, killing the passenger Leslie Hinks, who was returning to Sydney from Kalgoorlie…
War Memorials to World War II and later conflicts
While memorials honouring the dead of the Great War were adapted to mark the sacrifice of those lost in World War II, the losses of a new generation led to innovations in memorialisation. Those who died on active service in Sydney, and those lost in conflicts Malaya, Korea,…
Barker, Thomas
Arriving in Sydney as an orphaned apprentice, Thomas Barker forged a life as a highly successful self-made man, testament to the opportunities available to men of all classes and backgrounds in the fledgling colony.
Alpen, Hugo
Alpen influenced the musical culture of Sydney through his composition, teaching and conducting. As Superintendent of Music for New South Wales public schools, he emphasised singing and listening as part of music training for all students.
Works by Members of the Amateur Photographic Society of NSW August 1886
Album of photographs by members of the Amateur Photographic Society of New South Wales and presented by the society to the Governor, Lord Carrington, at the opening of an exhibition or 'conversazione' of their work at the Sydney Town Hall on 5 August 1886.