The Historical Guide to New South Wales is a unique reference work. Never before has there been an attempt to succinctly record the location, history, industries, buildings, calamities and the population of over 9,700 cities, towns, villages, hamlets and localities (outside Sydney), whether extant or defunct. Neither has a record ever been made of the numerous surveyors who laid out our towns and the architects, engineers and builders who designed and built their most important structures. The small size of most of these places has never justified their inclusion in any standard reference book and, until now, their location and history have been a mystery to most. This book attempts to collate the significant details of each place from 1788 to 2020. More specifically, it indicates when a place was settled, surveyed, gazetted and established; the local produce of the district; the public services available and when they were provided; the natural disasters, accidents, epidemics and infestations that affected the inhabitants; the churches where they were baptised and married; the factories, mills and mines in which they worked; and the graveyards and cemeteries where they were buried. In addition, it gives details of many thousands of churches, industrial structures, public buildings, public works and utilities etc. and, in many cases, who designed them, when they were built and by whom. The Historical Guide to New South Wales will be indispensable to historians, geographers, librarians, heritage consultants, local historical societies, local councils, journalists, those tracing families, and inquisitive tourists.
Professor John Croucher gives an account of the first and continuing history of the first peoples to live in the region now known as New South Wales, as well as its history from the days of British settlement and its more recent history, of the waves of other immigrants who have made New South Wales their home. Each section in the book focuses on a different cultural or historical aspect which is examined thoroughly from the beginnings of British settlement. The complete development of the state is told, weaving through these various areas of focus, along with the important people and events. Remarkable pioneers have helped shape not only the state but the country as a whole and their voices, some coming to us via oral history, others via historical documents, make fascinating reading.
When Archibald Liversidge first arrived at Sydney University in 1872 as reader in Geology and Assistant in the Laboratory he had about ten students and two rooms in the main building. In 1874 he became professor of geology and mineralogy and by 1879 he had persuaded the senate to open a faculty of science. He became its first dean in 1882. In 1880 he visited Europe as a trustee of the Australian Museum and his report helped to establish the Industrial, Technological and Sanitary Museum which formed the basis of the present Powerhouse Museum's collection. Liversidge also played a major role in the setting up of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science which held its first congress in 1888. For anyone interested in Archibald Liversidge, his contribution to crystallography, mineral chemistry, chemical geology, strategic minerals policy and a wider field of colonial science.
"Barrington was a legendary conman and pickpocket who was transported to Sydney in 1791 upon the frigate "Active". His genteel manners and plausible eloquence soon won him a conditional pardon and by 1796 Hunter awarded him a full pardon and appointed him as chief constable at Parramatta. The illustrations are amongst the first coloured views of Sydney".-- abebooks website.
'The gathering of the grain may not be permitted to those present; but we may rest content in the satisfaction that it will be reaped in all its fullness by those who may come after us. For let the love of art once take firm root among us and it will go on bearing increased supplies of fruit year by year.' - Thomas Mort, 1871 'The Sydney Gallery has one of the finest natural positions in the world, and the Sydney folk have made the most of it. Their gallery resembles a kind of golden temple, through which are seen spaces of lovely blue harbour water. Fine light, fine pictures, fine arrangement.' -Arthur Streeton, 1920 In 2021, the Art Gallery of New South Wales celebrates its 150th anniversary. Since its founding as an academy of art in 1871, its evolution into one of Australia's premier public art museums is testament to the enthusiasm and ingenuity of its staff, trustees and supporters, and to the artists whose works have drawn in the people of Sydney and beyond. The exhibitionists is the story of the people who made the Gallery. It peels away the layers of official narratives to find the often-overlooked histories bubbling beneath the surface. These are tales of big personalities and great talents, of groundbreaking exhibitions and table-thumping conflicts, all underpinned by an unwavering commitment to bringing art to the people. Steven Miller, the Gallery's archivist, is uniquely placed to bring these stories to light. It's an inside view, and an outside one too, as Miller steps back to explore the society and cultural values that produced this iconic institution and tracks how it has morphed and modernised in step with those values - and ahead of them - for the last century and a half. The exhibitionists brings to light the history of an art museum in its 150th year - an anniversary also reached by The Metropolitan Museum, New York, last year. It is both a local Sydney story but part of a broader international one in the ways public museums develop, represent and present culture and evolve with the times.
On 3 November 2007, the Royal Zoological Society of NSW held its annual forum, with the topic being The natural history of Sydney. It has remained as the title of this book. The program contained the following introduction as the theme of the forum and it has remained as the theme for this book: “Sydney has a unique natural history, providing a home for iconic animals and plants while remaining a global city. It captured the imagination of prominent naturalists and inspired visits and collecting trips to the infant colony of New South Wales in the late 1790s and early to late 1800s. From these collections flowed great descriptive works detailing the new and unusual animals and plants of the antipodes. Gould, Owen, Huxley, Peron, Banks and many others recounted new and evocative flora and fauna. Many collecting trips for the great museums and institutions in Europe began in Sydney. Sydney still continues to engage naturalists and those grappling with the current drama of climate change and conservation. The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, founded in Sydney in 1879, is a product of the grand 19th century tradition of natural history, with a particular emphasis on animal life. Sydney is also home to some of Australia’s oldest and finest institutions, such as the Australian Museum, the University of Sydney and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Throughout Sydney, there are places where the natural habitat has not been supplanted by urban growth, and the interest in Sydney’s endemic flora and fauna remains strong. This forum draws on a magnificent interdisciplinary vision while continuing to employ all the modern tools in the investigation and communication of Sydney’s natural history. It reflects a resurgence in local history and pursues the natural history of our harbour-side city in a modern framework.” The day of the forum was a captivating display of the diversity of the fauna of Sydney, both native and introduced, and its varied habitats, and of the diverse ways of appreciating natural history, including the history of natural history. Also on display was the depth of scholarship lying behind each of the presentations. The subject clearly has a profound hold on many professional biologists, historians and those keen to conserve their local area, but if the day is any guide, there are vastly more people living in or visiting Sydney who have more than a passing interest in this topic. The subject matter ranged from the history of institutions engaged in natural history, through animal groups as diverse as reptiles and cicadas, to ideas on how to see Sydney as a natural setting. Other papers dealt with the use by Aboriginal peopleof the native biota in terms of fishing and being displayed in rock paintings, before the arrival of the colonists. There is little doubt that this theme could run to 10 volumes, not just this one, but the diversity of ideas, skills and organisms displayed in this one book will serve as a guide to what lies beyond these pages. A considerable effort was made by each author to present their material as both interesting and accurate. The material is built on lifetimes of sustained effort to study, record and communicate findings and ideas. It is also built on the lifetime work of our predecessors, who laboured to find and record the natural history of Sydney. We are indebted to their efforts. This book records not only the outcome of a successful day of presentations, but more importantly the lifelong scholarship of those authors in each of the specialist fields. Not only have the authors been absorbed by documenting the biodiversity, they have included studies, or intelligent speculation, on the factors which have impacted on this diversity since Cook sailed along the NSW coast in 1770. The Macquarie Dictionary, e.g. the revised third edition, defines ‘natural history’ as ‘the science or study dealing with all objects in nature’, and ‘the aggregate of knowledge connected with such knowledge’. This makes natural history of wide interest to the entire community of Sydney, both residents and visitors. However, we have specialised to the extent that we have focused principally on fauna, the RZS being a zoological society. Nevertheless, plant communities are recognised as part and parcel of the natural history of Sydney, as is a sense of the geography of the city, with its magnificent harbour, sandstone backdrop and spectacular national parks surrounding the city. Also of great importance is how others in the past have seen the natural history of what is now called Sydney. All these ideas are captured in this book. One of the strengths of being a naturalist, i.e. ‘one who is versed in or devoted to natural history, especially a zoologist or botanist’ (Macquarie Dictionary), is the opportunity to look across the individual disciplines, be it a specialist in birds, mammals or polychaetes, a taxonomist, or an ecologist or writer. Their advantage is the ability to see the richness of a place such as Sydney. Consequently, most botanists and zoologists have one or two highly specialised skills, but a keen interest in the broader picture and can thus appreciate the importance of, for example, cave art or fish diversity in the harbour, and recognise that the vertebrate fauna of Sydney has changed over the 222 years since European settlement, and no doubt the invertebrate fauna has changed although it is less easily assessed. Our aim in this book is to draw attention to the natural history of Sydney for scholars, as well as those who have the task of looking after a particular area, such as within a local government area, or a particular taxon, such as reptiles or fish, and those who have the opportunity to conserve areas, taxa or institutions through their employment or legislative responsibilities. It is also for teachers and lecturers, colleagues in other cities and towns in Australia, and those with a keen interest in managing our urban wildlife, our cultural heritage or promoting the profound value of our natural heritage within a city landscape. It also displays the importance of museum and herbarium collections in documenting the changes since 1770.
For children; History of Aboriginal/White relations, 1788 to present; emphasises race prejudice; numerous examples, illustrations; designed for use by upper secondary, tertiary students.
