The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
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Female Orphan School, Parramatta
Three storey brick barracks in Parramatta that was built in the 1820s to house orphans after numbers increased beyond the capacity of the orphanage in the city. In use until the 1880s, the building was next psychiatric hospital for over a century before becoming part of the…
Royal National Park railway line
Short 1.9km branch line between Loftus railway station and the Royal National Park railway station that opened in 1886 to provide access to a military training camp in the park at Audley. The line closed in 1991 but was reopened in 1992 as part of the Sydney Tramway Museum's…
Cleveland House
Two storey stucco gentleman's residence, built in brick on stone foundations. Of colonial Georgian style, its design is attributed to Francis Greenway. It was later used as a school, laundry, boarding house and government offices, and as a convent and hospital. It…
Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle
Baptist church, which was a centre of Baptist evangelism until it closed in 1996. It was here that Arthur Stace was inspired to start writing 'Eternity' on Sydney streets in the 1930s. The building has was restored and repurposed as the Eternity Playhouse, home of the…
Langton Centre
Outpatient unit of the NSW Department of Health's South Eastern Sydney Local Health District providing support for people with drug and alcohol problems. The Centre was formerly known as the Langton Clinic and is on the site of the NSW Community Hospital on the corner of…
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
Statutory body established by the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1967, with responsibility for national parks, state parks and historic sites in New South Wales, including a number in Sydney. In 2003 the Service became part of the Department of Sustainable Natural Resources…
Cookney, George
George Cookney came to Sydney in 1823 with good connections and prospects, but his career ended in disgrace and transportation to Tasmania, where he redeemed himself somewhat.
Robert ‘Nosey Bob’ Howard
Robert Rice Howard was the official executioner or hangman in New South Wales for nearly 30 years. Initially a successful cab driver in mid-nineteenth century Sydney, he took on the role of 'finisher of the law' after losing his nose in an accident with a horse and losing…
Haberfield
Australia's first 'model suburb', from 1901 Haberfield was to help define how Australians sought to house themselves. It is now also a hub of Sydney's Italian community.
Walder, Sam
Sail and tentmaker who expanded the family business and prospered by making tents for the army during World War I, before a career in politics. He served in State Parliament for a decade and was Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1932. He served in numerous philanthropic, political and…
Mudie, James
Officer of marines, landowner and author renowned for his cruelty to convicts. Eventually, disgusted with colonial affairs he returned to England and published The Felonry of New South Wales, an attack on all whom he fancied had opposed him in the colony. The subsequent duel…
Singleton, Benjamin
Settler and miller who came to Sydney with his parents and brothers after his father was transported in 1791. He built water mills to grind wheat for the government stores and helped open up the Hunter Valley for farming. The town of Singleton in the Hunter is on part of his…
Eora people
Group of Indigenous clans from the Sydney basin that were united be common language and strong ties of kinship. As coastal dwellers they were skilled at navigation and fishing and had strong spiritual ties to the land, which were broken with the arrival of Europeans. The name…
Wilkinson, William
Passenger who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in 1834. He had joined the ship in Hobart. He and Captain Stroyan and two of the crew were trying to cut away the launch to attempt a rescue of all hands when they were washed away by the high seas…
Cosh, Thomas Frame
Architect who, in partnership with Major Alfred Spain, formed the architectural firm in 1904 of Spain & Cosh, and was responsible for designing many Sydney landmark buildings, including Culwulla Chambers, the New Zealand Insurance Building, the Marcus Clark building at…
Royal Australian Historical Society Green Plaque 2. History House
Commemorative plaque that was installed on History House on Macquarie Street in 1985 as part of the Sydney Green Plaques Bicentennial project. The text on the plaque read 'This Victorian town house was designed in 1871 by the architect George Allen Mansfield for George Oakes…
Royal Australian Historical Society Green Plaque 5. The First Execution
Commemorative plaque that was installed on the site of the colony's first execution as part of the Sydney Green Plaques Bicentennial project in 1985. The text on the plaque read 'Thomas Barrett, a First Fleet convict, was hanged near this place on 27 February 1788 for…
Royal Australian Historical Society Green Plaque 6. St James' Church
Commemorative plaque that was installed on St James' Church as part of the Sydney Green Plaques Bicentennial project in 1985. The text on the plaque read: 'This church, intended in 1819 as a court house, was designed by Francis Greenway and consecrated by the Rev Samuel…
Royal Australian Historical Society Green Plaque 9. Legislative Assembly Chamber
Commemorative plaque that was installed outside Parliament House as part of the Sydney Green Plaques Bicentennial project in 1985. The text on the plaque read: 'Legislative Assembly Chamber. This chamber has been occupied by the Lower House of the New South Wales Parliament…