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One of the first Aboriginal people to meet the Europeans at close quarters, Arabanoo taught them much about the customs and manners of his country, but died in the smallpox epidemic of 1789 which was so deadly to Sydney's first people.

Kata experienced internment in Japan, and discrimination after her return to Australia, after she married a Japanese musician just before World War II. Returning to Sydney, she became a successful novelist and scriptwriter.

In August 1834 one of the worst maritime disasters in Sydney waters took place when the Edward Lombe was wrecked off Middle Head. The story has been overshadowed by the catastrophic wreck of the Dunbar in 1857, but at the time, the wreck of the Edward Lombe was a significant…

Shipowner and builder convicted of grand larceny on 16 July 1788 and sentenced to transportation. After arriving in Sydney, he was transferred to Norfolk Island where he became associated with Eleanor McDonald. By 1804, he was building boats and by 1806, he and Eleanor had…

One of the best-known clergymen in Sydney during the first half of the twentieth century, RBS Hammond was a passionate advocate of temperance and 'practical Christianity'. His philanthropic endeavours, involving housing, feeding and finding employment for the poor,…

Merchant ship of 400 tons which was converted to convict transport. It first sailed into Sydney Harbour as part of the infamous Second Fleet and then made a trip to Norfolk Island with 150 convict women from Lady Juliana in August 1790. It did a further journey in 1794 and…

Edwardian style police station building on the corner of Forbes and Bourke Streets near Taylor Square. The building was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon in 1899 to replace a previous station on the same site that had become inadequate. The station was decommissioned in 1987…

A company under which Beaufoy Merlin operated during his time as a travelling photographer, first in Melbourne, then in New South Wales before establishing a portrait studio in Sydney. It was a grandiose name with no apparent connection to America. Joined by his assistant, a…

Earliest remaining market building in Sydney and was extensively restored and reconstructed in the early 1990s. For its first four years it was operated as a fruit market before it was converted into offices with posted street-level awnings. It became known as the Corn…

Auctioneering and produce agency first established by William Inglis and Joseph Butler at 793 George Street, Sydney. After Butler left the partnership, Inglis established a 'horse bazaar' between Castlereagh and Pitt streets in 1882. There the company sold a wide…

Sailor who died in the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. His body was found washed up near the wreck with that of passenger Charles Kemp. Both were formally identified by the first mate Thomas  Marshall at an inquest on 6 September. Their…

Sailor who survived the wreck of the Edward Lombe in Sydney Harbour in August 1834. Anderson had tried to get ashore when the ship was wrecked on Middle Head but was thrown onto the rocks. Another wave had washed him off and he managed to catch hold of a cable and…

Stock and station agent from Bingara in northern New South Wales who came to Sydney as a voluntary worker or strike-breaker during the Great Strike in 1917. On August 30, 1917, he shot and killed striking carter Merv Flanagan during an altercation on Bridge Road, Camperdown.…

Residence and surrounding land at Cooks River, near the south western border of Sydney Park. Built by AB Sparke in about 1815 and subsequently leased to merchant and starch manufacturer Adam Wilson until the 1840s. The land was in use as a racecourse and sporting venue by the…

Outbreak of bubonic plague that spread from the waterfront as rats carried the disease throughout the city. Over eight months in 1900, 303 cases were reported and 103 people died.  Millers Point resident Arthur H Payne (Paine) was diagnosed on Saturday, January 19 with the…

Darling Point, a suburb on the eastern side of Sydney Harbour, was part of the larger territory of the Cadigal clan of the Eora people. With the arrival of road access in the 1830s it was named Mrs Darling's Point, after Eliza Darling, wife of then governor of NSW, Ralph…

The history of the Bassett-Darley estates chronicles D'Arcy Wentworth's attempts to control his lands after his death, which ultimately failed, resulting in the type of subdivision typical in Sydney in the nineteenth century.

Historic rural village in the Macdonald Valley, north of Wisemans Ferry. Founded on the site of a bullock wharf on the Macdonald River (Gununday), the settlement was officially named after the English city St Albans in 1841. The area has been referred to by locals as the '…

The main war memorial in Sydney and one of the city's finest Art Deco buildings. It embodies the collective grief of the people of NSW at the loss of Australian servicemen and women since World War I. It is associated with the landing of Australian troops at Gallipoli on…

The cascading fountain with bronze animals is an invitation to children to explore, and its dedication “to all the children who have played around the Tank Stream” evokes a sense of this place stretching back into its pre-urban landscape when the Tank Stream carried fresh…