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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Sydney's People
Sydneysiders
Cultural and Language groups
Americans

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Americans

Subject

Americans

Bodgies and African American Influences in Sydney

Bunker, Eber

Cogswell, Nathaniel

Griffin, Marion Mahony

Sydney's first ice

Transcript: Mr John Costa recalls his family feeding American Italian soldiers on their Liverpool farm during World War II

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II

A Woolloomooloo Yank

Ann and Hope

USS Chicago

USS New Orleans

Great White Fleet visit 1908

American Australian Association

American Women of Sydney

Bill Haley and the Comets

Booker T Washington Club

Bud Atkinson's American Circus and Wild West Show

The American Club, Sydney

The American Society of Sydney

Atkinson, Bud

Blue, Billy

Bruce, Lenny

Bunker, Eber

Bush, George W

Carlisle, Richard Risley

Carter, Benjamin Bowen

Clinch, Lindsay

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

Cogswell, Nathaniel

Cole, Nat King

Cole, William Washington

Connelly, P Frank

Connor, Harry

Connors, Mike

Cooke, James

Cross, Stanley George

Cruise, Tom

Davis, Sammy Junior

Dyer, Bob

Dyer, Dolly

Dykes, Jim

Eberson, John

Fields, WC

Gaston, Ed

Gibson, Grace Isabel

Gibson, Mel

Gillespie, Dizzy

Gordon, Hayes

Gordon, Lee Lazer

Gore, John (Endeavour)

Graham, Billy

Grey, Zane

Griffin, Marion Mahony

Griffin, Walter Burley

Hall, Hayden Hezekiah

Hartford Rivers, G

Hauslaib, William Russell

Hawkins, Coleman

Heard, James Charles

Hepburn, Katherine

Hibbler, Al

Hines, Marcia

Hopkins, Livingston (Hop)

Houdini, Harry

Jefferson, Joseph

Jeffries, Maud Evelyn Craven

Johnson, Carole

Johnson, Jack

Johnson, Lyndon Baines

Jones, Jonah

Kahanamoku, Duke

Keneally, Kristina

Kingsley, Omar

Laine, Frankie

Lane, Don

London, Jack

Martin, Jessie

Marx, Chico

Matra, James Mario (Maria)

McGoorty, Eddie

McGowan, Dick

Mead, Margaret

Melville, Herman

Nagle, Jacob

Noble, John Sullivan

Peters, Frederick Augustus Bolles

Phillips, Harold

Probasco, Ellsworth Lincoln

Randall, John

Ray, Johnnie

Roosevelt, Eleanor

Schell, Frederic

Scott Griffiths, Jennie

Shaw, Artie

Shields, Ella

Sinatra, Frank

Sperry, Charles Stillman

Stewart, Rex

Sullivan, Margaret Virginia

Thurmond, John

Twain, Mark

Vaniman, Melvin

Williams, JD

Williams, James Hartwell

Williamson, James Cassius

Wilson, John

Wilson, Teddy

Wirt, Loyal Lincoln

United States Army Depot

'Australian Slang' from a guide to Australia for the United States Army during World War II, 1942

'Boy! It's good to feel safe again!' Sydney - the most dangerous R and R City for US servicemen c1969

'Lost, Sweetheart?' 1940s

'The Old Commodore' Billy Blue c1830

American Indians at Northbridge Public School 1928

American soldiers laughing at a performance by comedian Joe E Brown at an army camp in New South Wales 18 March 1943

Americans entertained in Sydney c1943

Billy Blue 1834

Billy Blue, the Old Commodore, 1834

Bond undertaking not to receive any persons on board the American ship Hope without the governor's permission, 18 March 1807

Burns-Johnson boxing contest 26 December 1908

Captain Eber Bunker c1810

Circular Quay c1854

Dawson's Foundry at Circular Quay c1854

Fight for the World's Championship, Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson, in the ring at the Stadium, Rushcutters Bay, 26 December 1908

Greeting sailors on one of three US Navy ships arriving at Garden Island on a goodwill tour 1 April 1956

Illuminated address presented to James Hartwell Williams on his retirement as Consul for the United States of America 1858

JC Williamson c1874

Jacob Nagle his Book AD One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty Nine May 19th. Canton. Stark County Ohio, 1775-1802, compiled 1829

James Hartwell Williams c1860

Life with American Squadron, descriptive fantasia 1908

Maggie Moore 1893

Maggie Moore as Bettina in La Mascotte, Sydney c1882

Mark Twain, late 1895

Maud Jeffries 1898

Melvin Vaniman, portrait of the engineer about to board the transatlantic dirigible Akron 2 July 1912

No You Don't! Water police repel American sailors attempting to break into Biloela 1871

Noreen Dudgeon of Rose Bay instructs US Naval personnel in visual signalling, Sydney c1943

Portrait of Marion Mahony Griffin, 1871-1961, taken ca. 1935

Racegoers See Air Display 19 April 1942

Residence of E.K. Morse, Dangar Island, Hawkesbury River, N.S.W. Australia 1887-1889

Side-show personalities at the great annual agricultural show in Sydney 1932

Sonny Clay's Plantation Band arriving in Sydney, January 1928

Sydney Heads showing sailing ship with American flag entering Sydney Harbour and a small screw steamer inside the Heads c1850

United States R & R men from Vietnam meet Aussie girls at the Whisky-A-Go-Go, 9 November 1967

Mr John Costa recalls his family feeding American Italian soldiers on their Liverpool farm during World War II, interviewed in 1986

Mrs Jessie La Trobe describes delivering newspapers to military camps during World War II, interviewed in 1986

Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II, interviewed 1986

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Americans

Americans

Americans and Australians have been partners and allies for over two centuries now. Americans have been visitors, investors, entertainers, allies, residents and citizens with varying degrees of influence and notoriety.

Bodgies and African American Influences in Sydney

The bodgie movement was a feature of street life in Sydney in the post-war period. This article, based on oral history interviews, reveals how bodgies modelled their dress and movement on African Americans, including black GIs stationed in Sydney during World War II. Part of the first generation recognised as 'teenagers', bodgies embraced fun, sensuality and spectacle as a rebellion against the dull years of depression and war and the conformism of the dominant Anglo-Irish culture, and their parents' generation.

Bunker, Eber

Born in Massachusetts, Eber Bunker left North America at the time of the American revolution, and became a whaler and trader. He was granted land in Sydney, NSW and Tasmania, and became a prominent merchant and an influential colonist.

Cogswell, Nathaniel

A member of the first trading expedition from Mauritius to Sydney in 1802, Cogswell was officer in charge of the cargo of wine and spirits. He was rescued from the wreck of the Entreprise and later traded sugar, tea and Chinese wares to Sydney.

Griffin, Marion Mahony

The first woman in the United States to qualify as an architect, Marion Mahoney Griffin's legacy in Australia can be seen in the work done in Castlecrag, Canberra and Melbourne with her husband Walter Burley Griffin.

Sydney's first ice

Natural ice, imported from the lakes of the north-eastern United States, cooled the drinks of Sydneysiders for the first time in 1839. During the early 1850s, the trade provided relief during Sydney summers, as well as a spur to local engineers to improve ice manufacturing.

Transcript: Mr John Costa recalls his family feeding American Italian soldiers on their Liverpool farm during World War II

Mr John Costa was born in 1928 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here he recalls his family feeding Italian American soldiers on their farm during World War II.

Transcript: Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II

Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson was witness to the crash of an American Air Force plane, due to engine failure over Hammondville, during World War II.

A Woolloomooloo Yank

A description of an Australian who acts like an American.

full record »

Ann and Hope

Merchant 12-gun ship of 550 tonnes which was built at Providence, Rhode Island in the United States of America.

full record »

USS Chicago

US Navy heavy cruiser which was anchored in Sydney Harbour and was the target of a Japanese submarine attack on 31 May 1942. The torpedoes missed the Chicago but sank the neighbouring HMAS Kuttabul.

full record »

USS New Orleans

United States of America heavy cruiser which saw service in the Pacific in World War II, escaping serious damage at Pearl Harbour only to lose most of the bow to a torpedo in December 1942. It returned to service the following year and was eventually sold for scrap in 1959.

full record »

Great White Fleet visit 1908

Visit of the United States of America naval fleet of 16 vessels as part of the circumnavigation of the globe. Painted white, the peacetime colour scheme, it served as a showpiece of goodwill and demonstrated American seapower.

full record »

American Australian Association

Organisation formed to promote relations between Australia and the United States of America.

full record »

American Women of Sydney

Society formed to provide support to expatriate American women, later merged with The American Society of Sydney.

full record »

Bill Haley and the Comets

American rock and roll band who toured Australia in 1957.

full record »

Booker T Washington Club

Nightclub in Surry Hills established by the American Red Cross during World War II, exclusively open to those of African or Aboriginal cultural background.

full record »

Bud Atkinson's American Circus and Wild West Show

American circus and show imported by Bud Atkinson from San Francisco but broken up and sold at auction in April 1913.

full record »

The American Club, Sydney

Club formed in Sydney's CBD for people of good taste to meet for business and pleasure.

full record »

The American Society of Sydney

Society formed to support expatriate Americans and provide somewhere for them to meet and celebrate American culture.

full record »

Atkinson, Bud

American entrepreneur and showman who had first worked in the nascent moving picture business.

full record »

Blue, Billy

full record »

Early ferry operator on North Shore.

Bruce, Lenny

American comedian whose 1962 shows were considered too risque for conservative Sydney.

full record »

Bunker, Eber

full record »

American-born sailor who was an early whaler, merchant and landowner.

Bush, George W

Forty third President of the United States who served from 2001 to 2009.

full record »

Carlisle, Richard Risley

Gymnast and athlete who became a circus performer and toured extensively internationally.

full record »

Carter, Benjamin Bowen

Surgeon on a visiting American ship, the Ann and Hope, who recorded Aboriginal words at La Perouse in 1798.

full record »

Clinch, Lindsay

American-born newspaper journalist and editor.

full record »

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

Former First Lady of the United States who became a senator and served as Secretary of State in Barack Obama's administration.

full record »

Cogswell, Nathaniel

American sailor and trader who was a member of the Entreprise crew, and later traded staple goods to Sydney.

full record »

Cole, Nat King

American jazz pianist and singer.

full record »

Cole, William Washington

American circus owner.

full record »

Connelly, P Frank

American-born sculptor who won the competition for a memorial to TS Mort during a visit to Sydney.

full record »

Connor, Harry

American actor who visited Sydney in 1899.

full record »

Connors, Mike

Actor, comedian and theatre entrepreneur, who appeared with Roy Rene (Mo).

full record »

Cooke, James

American circus showman and entrepreneur.

full record »

Cross, Stanley George

Black and white artist and cartoonist who created a number of comic characters who endured for decades from the 1930s.

full record »

Cruise, Tom

American film actor and producer who visited Sydney.

full record »

Davis, Sammy Junior

American dancer, singer, musician and actor of stage and screen.

full record »

Dyer, Bob

American-born radio and television performer who became one of Australia's best known personalities.

full record »

Dyer, Dolly

Showgirl who married American entertainer Bob Dyer and was a successful radio personality before becoming one of Australia's first television stars.

full record »

Dykes, Jim

American-born pastor who moved to Sydney in 1983 and helped to raise community awareness of HIV AIDS, establishing the Ankali Project.

full record »

Eberson, John

American theatre architect.

full record »

Fields, WC

American actor and comedian who often played a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist.

full record »

Gaston, Ed

American-born Australian jazz bassist.

full record »

Gibson, Grace Isabel

American-born radio producer who promoted American radio programs in Australia as well as contributing to the local industry.

full record »

Gibson, Mel

American actor, director and producer who lived and studied in Sydney before pursuing his career in Hollywood.

full record »

Gillespie, Dizzy

American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer and singer.

full record »

Gordon, Hayes

American actor and director who settled in Sydney and established the Ensemble Theatre Company.

full record »

Gordon, Lee Lazer

American-born entrepreneur and music promoter who moved to Australia in the 1950s and brought popular American entertainers to Sydney, including Frank Sinatra and Bill Haley and the Comets.

full record »

Gore, John (Endeavour)

Virginian-born Second Lieutenant on HMS Endeavour during James Cook's voyage of discovery.

full record »

Graham, Billy

American evangelist who visited Australia, preaching the gospel to audiences of thousands.

full record »

Grey, Zane

American author.

full record »

Griffin, Marion Mahony

full record »

Pioneer American woman architect whose designs and illustrations were instrumental in securing the prize for Walter Burley Griffin in the international competition to design Canberra.

Griffin, Walter Burley

US-born architect and landscape architect best known for his role in designing Canberra and the Sydney suburb of Castlecrag.

full record »

Hall, Hayden Hezekiah

American-born businessman who operated mail ships and steamships between Sydney and San Francisco.

full record »

Hartford Rivers, G

American embalmer who established an embalming school with appropriate diplomas for undertakers.

full record »

Hauslaib, William Russell

American-born businessman who was actively involved in Sydney's civic and business organisations, notably as a foundation member of the American National Club.

full record »

Hawkins, Coleman

American jazz tenor saxophonist.

full record »

Heard, James Charles

American swing, bop and blues drummer.

full record »

Hepburn, Katherine

American actor who briefly visited Australia.

full record »

Hibbler, Al

American baritone vocalist.

full record »

Hines, Marcia

American-born vocalist, stage actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted home of Australia.

full record »

Hopkins, Livingston (Hop)

American-born artist and cartoonist who became an illustrator for The Bulletin magazine, and produced over 19,000 drawings.

full record »

Houdini, Harry

American magician and escapologist.

full record »

Jefferson, Joseph

American actor who performed in a number of Australian stage productions.

full record »

Jeffries, Maud Evelyn Craven

full record »

Popular American actress who performed in many Australian productions in the 1890s and early 1900s. She married Australian grazier and fellow actor James Bunbury Nott Osborne in 1904 and retired from the stage in 1906 to live on their sheep-grazing property Bowlie at Gundaroo near Lake George in rural New South Wales.

Johnson, Carole

African-American dancer who stayed in Sydney after a tour and became a founder of Sydney's Aboriginal dance culture.

full record »

Johnson, Jack

Boxer who became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion, winning the title from Canadian Tommy Burns on Boxing Day 1908 at a fight at Sydney Stadium.

full record »

Johnson, Lyndon Baines

President of the United States from 1963 to 1969.

full record »

Jones, Jonah

American jazz trumpeter.

full record »

Kahanamoku, Duke

full record »

Hawaiian swimmer, businessman and actor credited with promoting surfing around the world. He also won five Olympic medals in swimming.

Keneally, Kristina

American born politician who was Premier of New South Wales from December 2009 until March 2011.

full record »

Kingsley, Omar

American equestrian and circus performer.

full record »

Laine, Frankie

American singer who visited Australia in 1956.

full record »

Lane, Don

American-born talk show host and singer who spent much of his career in Australia, best known for hosting the Don Lane Show.

full record »

London, Jack

American writer who travelled to Sydney in 1908.

full record »

Martin, Jessie

American jazz drummer.

full record »

Marx, Chico

American comedian and film star, a member of the Marx Brothers group.

full record »

Matra, James Mario (Maria)

American-born Member of Captain James Cook's crew on HMS Endeavour during his Voyage of Discovery, and a major proponent of the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay.

full record »

McGoorty, Eddie

American boxer who won the Australian version of the World Middleweight Title during his career.

full record »

McGowan, Dick

Cafe proprietor and former American naval officer who introduced American style cafe fare to Sydney.

full record »

Mead, Margaret

American cultural anthropologist.

full record »

Melville, Herman

American novelist who visited Sydney as part of a whaling crew in the early 1840s.

full record »

Nagle, Jacob

Sailor who accompanied Captain Phillip when he explored and decided to settle in Port Jackson. Born and raised in British North America he had fought in the Revolutionary War before being pressed into service in the British Navy.

full record »

Noble, John Sullivan

American showman and circus owner who toured Australia between 1851 and 1854.

full record »

Peters, Frederick Augustus Bolles

American-born pharmaceuticals salesman who emigrated to Sydney and began commercially producing ice-cream, the first person in Australia to do so, founding the Peters brand.

full record »

Phillips, Harold

American showman who opened Australia's first Luna Park in St Kilda, Victoria, and later ran Sydney's Luna Park.

full record »

Probasco, Ellsworth Lincoln

Circus performer and horse trainer.

full record »

Randall, John

American-born convict transported to Sydney by the First Fleet.

full record »

Ray, Johnnie

American singer most popular in the 1950s, whose work was a precursor of rock and roll, and who toured Australia in 1954.

full record »

Roosevelt, Eleanor

First Lady of the United States of America from 1933 to 1945, who visited Australia during World War II.

full record »

Schell, Frederic

American artist who supervised the illustration of Andrew Garran's 'Picturesque Atlas of Australasia', contributing works himself and commissioning illustrations from other artists. He had worked on 'Picturesque Canada' before being appointed to the Atlas, and was an illustrator and art director on American magazines including Harper's Weekly & Frank Leslie's Illustrated News.

full record »

Scott Griffiths, Jennie

Texas-born journalist and political activist who opposed conscription during World War I and promoted feminism and socialism. Her views cost her her job as editor of the Australian Women's Weekly.

full record »

Shaw, Artie

American jazz musician, composer and bandleader who played at the Trocadero in Sydney with his American Navy Band in 1943.

full record »

Shields, Ella

Vaudeville singer and male impersonator who toured Australia from England in the 1920s and 1930s.

full record »

Sinatra, Frank

American singer and actor who performed in Sydney in 1959 and 1974.

full record »

Sperry, Charles Stillman

Commander of the Great White Fleet during its celebrated visit to Sydney in 1908.

full record »

Stewart, Rex

American jazz cornetist.

full record »

Sullivan, Margaret Virginia

full record »

American-born actress who travelled to Australia with her then husband JC Williamson, where she performed in many stage productions.

Thurmond, John

New York sailor who was a member of Captain James Cook's crew on the HMS Endeavour on his voyage of discovery.

full record »

Twain, Mark

full record »

American author and humorist.

Vaniman, Melvin

American photographer who travelled in Australia and New Zealand and is known for his panoramic images of Sydney.

full record »

Williams, JD

American-born entrepreneur who opened the first continuous cinema in Sydney, showing films from 11 am to 11 pm, and built a large business in popular entertainment before leaving Australia in 1916. He went on to influence the film industry in the United States, Britain and Canada.

full record »

Williams, James Hartwell

full record »

American merchant who became the first United States Consul to Australia.

Williamson, James Cassius

full record »

American-born actor who became Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding JC Williamson Ltd.

Wilson, John

American showman and circus performer.

full record »

Wilson, Teddy

American jazz pianist.

full record »

Wirt, Loyal Lincoln

Missionary, journalist and anti-war activist.

full record »

United States Army Depot

Military depot established bythe US Army during World War II on Glebe Island.

full record »

'Australian Slang' from a guide to Australia for the United States Army during World War II, 1942

full record »

Contributed By

Internet Archive

[pocketguidetoaus00unit]

('A pocket guide to Australia' prepared by Special Service Division, Services of Supply, United States Army, War and Navy Departments, Washington DC, 1943. p46)

'Boy! It's good to feel safe again!' Sydney - the most dangerous R and R City for US servicemen c1969

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3107239]

'Lost, Sweetheart?' 1940s

full record »

Contributed By

Private collection

'The Old Commodore' Billy Blue c1830

full record »

By

John Carmichael

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a709033 / PXC 284, 29]

(Mitchell Library)

American Indians at Northbridge Public School 1928

full record »

Contributed By

Willoughby City Library

[PF 6540962]

American soldiers laughing at a performance by comedian Joe E Brown at an army camp in New South Wales 18 March 1943

full record »

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[H2000.200/972]

Americans entertained in Sydney c1943

full record »

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[H2000.200/1479]

(Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs)

Billy Blue 1834

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928634 / ML 560]

Billy Blue, the Old Commodore, 1834

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an6016496]

Bond undertaking not to receive any persons on board the American ship Hope without the governor's permission, 18 March 1807

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928965 / DLDOC 159]

(Dixson Library)

Burns-Johnson boxing contest 26 December 1908

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128719 / XV1/Pub/Stad/1]

(Mitchell Library)

Captain Eber Bunker c1810

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[MIN 58 / a128664]

(Mitchell Library)

Circular Quay c1854

full record »

By

Frederick Garling

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Dawson's Foundry at Circular Quay c1854

full record »

By

Frederick Garling

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Detail of 'Circular Quay' )

Fight for the World's Championship, Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson, in the ring at the Stadium, Rushcutters Bay, 26 December 1908 ...

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-vn3638997]

(Supplement to the Referee, January 6, 1909)

Greeting sailors on one of three US Navy ships arriving at Garden Island on a goodwill tour 1 April 1956

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[d7_01478 / APA 01478]

(Mitchell Library)

Illuminated address presented to James Hartwell Williams on his retirement as Consul for the United States of America 1858

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

JC Williamson c1874

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a875025 / PXD 357]

(Mitchell Library)

Jacob Nagle his Book AD One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty Nine May 19th. Canton. Stark County Ohio, 1775-1802, compiled 1829 ...

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a366247 / MLMSS 5954, p1]

(Mitchell Library)

James Hartwell Williams c1860

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Life with American Squadron, descriptive fantasia 1908

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.mus-an6964576]

(Written and arranged by Harry V Ingham, Specially composed in honour of the American fleet, Sydney : Albert & Son, c1908)

Maggie Moore 1893

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4358089 / P1/1189]

(Mitchell Library)

Maggie Moore as Bettina in La Mascotte, Sydney c1882

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a875078 / PXD 357]

(Mitchell Library)

Mark Twain, late 1895

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4365023 / P1/1823]

(Mitchell Library)

Maud Jeffries 1898

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Melvin Vaniman, portrait of the engineer about to board the transatlantic dirigible Akron 2 July 1912

full record »

Contributed By

Gallica - Bibliothèque nationale de France

[ark:/12148/btv1b6920482n]

(BibliothÃ¨que nationale de France, dÃ©partement Estampes et photographie, EST EI-13 (175))

No You Don't! Water police repel American sailors attempting to break into Biloela 1871

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Sydney Punch, December 30, 1871, p 49)

Noreen Dudgeon of Rose Bay instructs US Naval personnel in visual signalling, Sydney c1943

full record »

By

Australian News and Information Bureau

Contributed By

Australian War Memorial

Portrait of Marion Mahony Griffin, 1871-1961, taken ca. 1935

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an23379384]

Racegoers See Air Display 19 April 1942

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.news-article17798654]

(The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 April 1942, p 4)

Residence of E.K. Morse, Dangar Island, Hawkesbury River, N.S.W. Australia 1887-1889

full record »

Contributed By

Library of Congress

[Unprocessed in PR 13 CN 1997:086, Photo 61 [P&P]]

Side-show personalities at the great annual agricultural show in Sydney 1932

full record »

Acts include Jimmy Sharman's Troupe of Boxers and Wrestlers; the Ape Man; Zelda la Rose, the Tattooed Lady; the Fat Boy and Girl, natives of the USA; and Dave Meekin with his troupe of lions.

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Home, 1 May 1932 p42 via Trove]

Sonny Clay's Plantation Band arriving in Sydney, January 1928

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a171002 / PXE 789 (v8), 2]

(Mitchell Library)

Sydney Heads showing sailing ship with American flag entering Sydney Harbour and a small screw steamer inside the Heads c1850

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128552 / ML 257]

(Mitchell Library)

United States R & R men from Vietnam meet Aussie girls at the Whisky-A-Go-Go, 9 November 1967

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 110/Item 045]

(Mitchell Library)

...

full record »

Mr John Costa was born in 1928 and was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960' project. Here he recalls his mother feeding American soldiers on their Italian family farm during World War II.
Transcript

JOHN: My parents were from Italy, from Sicily. My father came out and three years after my mother came out. My people, they came to Chipping Norton, we had a vineyard there and a market garden and I can remember then across the river from our place there was Warwick Farm Racecourse, where quite a few American sailors were in there at the time and they used to come across the river. The river at that time you could walk across it at low tide, it wasnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t very deep, and they used to come around and up to the house, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“cause a lot of Americans were Italians too, and they used to come over there and have feeds of spaghetti and stuff, Mum used to feed them. I can never forget their faces (we had a couple of cows) they used to like milk shakes, egg flips, and all that sort of thing. They really made us at home - we used to go across with them and they used to give us a few supplies, to keep us going because we had a family, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢m from a family of ten, and they were all born around the Liverpool area, all except my sister [who] was born in Pamarea in Italy.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mr John Costa, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Mrs Jessie La Trobe describes delivering newspapers to military camps during World War II, interviewed in 1986

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Mrs Jessie La Trobe, who was born in 1910, was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Her family owned a newsagency in Liverpool and here she describes delivering newspapers to local military camps during World War II.

Transcript

JESSIE: We had all the camps to do and down there, where all the houses are now on the left hand side, near Warwick Farm Station, before you cross the bridge, that was a big army camp. It was the British navy that really had it and they called it the 'Golden Hind' and they treated it like a ship. When they went in the gate they went 'onboard', when they came out they came 'ashore'. Then we had the Americans in the centre of Warwick Farm racecourse so we had all that to do, and all the extra people who were about. We had nothing to do with Moorebank and Ingleburn as far as papers went but there were a lot about, a lot of people in the street. I still have my pass to go aboard the Golden Hind. They gave me a pass because we used to have to take papers in to the boys, the paperboys. I used to have to pick the papers up at the railway station, Warwick Farm railway, and take them and deliver them into the camps to the boys in different parts of the camps because they were big camps, and take them down, and then the boys would ride their bikes back here and check their money in.

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Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs Jessie La Trobe in 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Mrs Lillian Watson recalls an American Air Force plane crash during World War II, interviewed 1986

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Mrs Lillian Dulcie Watson was born in 1904 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Mrs Watson was witness to the crash of an American Air Force plane, due to engine failure over Hammondville, during World War II.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: Do you recall the plane crashing?

LILLIAN: Down the back here? Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell me a bit about that?

LILLIAN: Yes, I can remember that quite well. It was night time, or dusk, and an air raid warning went and of course the next thing you see all these planes and this plane came round over the house and you could sort of hear the wheels, it wasn't very far off the roof. The next thing we heard Bang! Of course all the kids were out like a shot out of a gun, they were going no matter what happened, they were going to see what happened, and of course they came home and all the tales they came home to tell us. Some gruesome tales they were, some of them. Anyhow, they came home and they had bullets, all sorts of bits and pieces they had, they brought home for souvenirs. I didn't know what to do about them. 'Well' I said, 'You're not taking them into the house, you can put them out in the shed.' A couple of days afterwards, a chap came knocking on the door. He was an American negro, and he said to me 'You got children?', a very abrupt sort of a man he was. I said 'Yes' . He said 'Have they been down the scrub (as he called it)?' And I said 'Oh yes, naturally,' I said, 'All the children have been down there.' He said 'Have they brought anything home from the wreck?'. I said 'Yes'. He said 'You know you can't have them. They belong to the American camp.' I said 'Oh well, you better come and take them'. So he came out and he had a big box and he lumbered all this stuff into the box and he said 'Thank you, you'll hear more about this.' I said 'Oh boy'. So when Don [son] came home from school, because the first thing, all the kids dive out to the shed to see all their souvenirs. And he came in and he said 'What happened to all our things'. I said 'Oh, a chap came and took them all away.' 'Oh, he had no right to do that, we found them!' But they took them just the same; but he never ever came back, we never heard any more about it.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs Lillian Watson from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

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