HMB Endeavour :: Interview with Captain Ross

In our Issue 12: Sep-Oct 2012 edition, we travel to Lord Howe Island with the HMB Endeavour on its journey to re-enact Captain Cook's voyage to Tahiti for the Transit of Venus in 1769. And what a trip it was to the island nestled in the Tasman Sea off Australia's east coast with its long history.

Click for a sneak peek at Issue 12. Paradise lost & Found

Read more about Issue 12: Sep-Oct 2012 edition. Click here.

In addition to our article on heritage travel to Lord Howe, we spoke to the Master of HMB Endeavour, Captain Ross Mattson, and he gave us an insight into what it is to sail on and captain the replica of the iconic ship - a ship that was so pivotal in Australia's modern history.

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Interview with Captain Ross Mattson - Master of the HMB Endeavour

[Q] What was a typical day for the captain and crew? Did you try to follow the routine from Cook's time? Did you use any of his original journals or tools?
A. The ship follows the traditional three-watch system where our voyage crew sail the vessel as Cook would have done over 240 years ago. Crew are allocated a watch where we work 4 hours on, 8 hours off 24/7. While the ship has 21st-century safety equipment and certain modern conveniences, it is fairly "raw" as there is no mechanical assistance for setting our 10,000 square feet of sail so we are very dependent on training our voyage crew who often have no sailing experience in order for us to sail. We even have hammocks instead of bunks so it is very easy to fully immerse yourself into what it was like for early European seafarers. For our transit of Venus voyage, while we sailed to Lord Howe Island instead of Tahiti, we were still able to give a historical feel to the voyage by having a historian and astronomer onboard who used traditional tools and practices to make astronomical observations.

[Q] Did you feel an affinity with Cook himself? Do the cramped conditions on the Endeavour help you to relate with the original crew?
A. There is not a day that goes past that there isn’t a reflection or affinity for what Cook endured. Yes, we do have engines for safety as well as keeping to 21st-century timetables, but they are reluctantly used. So we are totally dependent on the wind, crew and conditions for us to sail and when there is a critical decision to make, often with sail and/or vessel handling during inclement weather, I often reflect on what Cook have done.

Cook also had a rapport with his crew and of course the scientific party. When we sail, we have 16 professional  crew, 36 voyage crew (sail trainees) and four supernumeries (passengers), so there is quite a diverse demographic of 56 personnel in total. While the responsibility of the vessel navigation and wellbeing of the crew is paramount, there is a strong emphasis on crew moral. A good ship is a happy ship.

[Q] Was there any stage when you thought you wouldn't make it?
A. This particular voyage to Lord Howe Island was very difficult due to the time frame to make the transit. We had to be at Lord Howe on a particular day and time. Unfortunately we experienced one of the worst low pressure systems that the NSW coast had experienced for some time. Not far from Lord Howe the seas were up to 15 metres! Fortunately with good weather forecasts we were able to avoid the full force of this weather system, but we still encountered 60 knot winds and 8 metre seas.

To use Cooks infamous words as far as the ships integrity is concerned he wrote in his journal "no sea can harm her" and after experiencing some fairly heavy weather with our recent 13-month voyage around Australia I would concur, but ensuring an 18th-century vessel meets 21st-century deadlines particularly with the conditions that we experienced, had its difficulties.

[Q] How do think your voyage has helped to bring a better peace with our indigenous community?
A. On our recent circumnavigation of Australia we developed a partnership with the Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations to fund berths for Indigenous Australians on board. We also flew the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Flag throughout the voyage and were welcomed by numerous indigenous communities all around Australia. The word reconciliation was used on numerous occasions, but to have this firsthand experience of meeting different indigenous communities, developing friendships with our indigenous crew and to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island flags on the replica of Cook’s ship was very significant. I believe we have played some role in this very important story of modern Australian history.

[Q] How did stave off scurvy during the trip?
A. Fortunately we do have a modern galley (kitchen) and a very competent chef who made sure that we always ate our fruit and greens!

[Q] Do you feel that you've contributed to Australian history?
A. Most definitely. People who come out on board and sail with us are fully immersed in early European maritime history. We often have lectures on board to teach and show traditional practices of navigation, sailing, weather and general history all relating to the trials and tribulations of what Cook and his crew had to endure.

[Q] How do you think the circumnavigation and transit of Venus trip to Lord Howe helped Australians to understand their history better?
A. Endeavour is a very unique vessel as it is both an operational sailing vessel and a floating museum. Bringing this to the communities around Australia has ensured that the Australian National Maritime Museum has brought the story of Cook and Endeavour to thousands of people across remote and regional Australia. By having a world renowned replica of Cook’s vessel we’re effectively recreating history itself in a three dimensional perspective. One can read the books and see the movies but to experience this firsthand is a very unique way of understanding history.

[Q] After so many months at sea, how do think our convict and immigrant ancestors would have felt stepping on dry land again?
A. From the experiences that I have encountered at sea I can only imagine for the non-seafarer what a great sense of relief they would have felt stepping on to dry land. Having the space to move, somewhat more privacy and independence on land without the fear and concerns of the ship sinking would be the first relief of stepping ashore, then one could also bring in the connotations of a religious nature as with all the hardships that they would have encountered one would have to thank "someone" for their safe arrival.

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Thanks to Australian National Maritime Museum and Captain Ross for talking to us, and we look forward to hearing about the next voyages planned for the piece of Australian history that is the HMB Endeavour.

Captain Ross. Image courtesy of Australian National Maritime Museum

HMB Endeavour. Image courtesy of Australian National Maritime Museum

Author Q&A :: Ann Howard - Rainbow on the River

From time to time, we'll be talking to great Australian authors about their local history and what inspired them to start researching and writing their stories.

This week we talk to Ann Howard, author of Rainbow on the River - a terrific new book on the history of Dangar Island and the lower Hawkesbury. It continues her series on the subject, including:

1. Rainbow on the River
2. A Ghost, a Murder & Other Dangar Tales - Volume 1
3. Ten Dry Pies & other Dangar Tales - Volume 2
4. Derrymacash to Dangar

Your can purchase by contacting Ann on annhoward[at]ozemail.com.au or phoning 02 9955 2074. All books are $25 + $5 postage except Derrymacash to Dangar, which is $10 + $3 postage.

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1. Q. What inspired you to research the Hawkesbury River area? 
• A. Thirty-eight years ago, I was invited to a party on the island from university. I went there in September. The jasmine hedges were perfuming the air and there was no traffic. It was an instant love affair. I moved on a year later, buying and restoring The Pavilion, the last remaining part of the Dangar homestead.  
2. Which resources did you find most helpful?
• Q. Favourite website? 
• A. Trove is brilliant but I’ve been researching for 38 years and all my preliminary research has been primary.
• Q. Favourite library? 
• A. For this particular research I didn’t have one – I looked at the Royal Australian Historical Society Library but found sketchy and inaccurate information about the Dangar family. I was really on my own as an independent scholar. 
3. Q. What resources did you come across when researching your books that haven’t been widely used by others? 
• A. Well really it was finding and interviewing people (sometimes serendipitously, sometimes by due diligence), and obtaining family documents, diaries, photographs and letters. People have been very generous with their time, resources and information. I think that the great mass of Australian history is slipping through our fingers. People are grateful to me, because I record in a straightforward, non-political, non-judgemental way. When I first came to Australia from London, I found that children did not know what a drover was, but they knew what cowboys were. Australian drovers moved more head of cattle at one time than their American counterparts. I took my sons in a gypsy caravan over stock routes in the far reaches of NSW and interviewed drovers for a book.
4. Q. Was there any information you uncovered that stopped you in your tracks? For eg, you've previously mentioned that a chance encounter with a 90-year-old woman led you to fascinating research into the 1890s. 
• A. Yes, historical research is like opal mining. I chipped away at it over many years and found new historical facts about the 1890s that stopped me in my tracks. The Dangar family was unaware of what I uncovered – illustrating just how quickly history is obliterated! They had a father who was really keen on history and they tuned out! Then later they were grateful to me. Also, the mother of John Dangar Reid transcribed the family letters, for which I am abidingly grateful. 
5. Q. Which stories affected you the most in your research? 
• A. Well, the fact that 800 passengers at a time and two brass bands used to leave Lime Wharf and go out into the ocean and up the river to Dangar Island, where they stayed for four hours. Everybody had assumed the island was a quiet backwater. 
6. Q. Which stories amused you the most in your research? 
• A. Ryland, a manager from the American company which won the tender for building the Hawkesbury River Bridge, arrived with his whole family, a cigar-smoking American full of bravado, with a revolver in his belt. He was the father of a little boy, born to a local Australian woman, name unknown. His baby was christened ‘Hawkesbury’ after the river and taken back to the US.  
7. Q. If you could track down one thing you haven’t yet managed to find out, what would it be?  
• A. I’d like to know the draught of the SS Namoi because I know the Hawkesbury River is 108 feet deep in the centre, but I wonder whether they had to moor offshore and take passengers in small boats to Dangar Island, or if they could moor at the wharf. I’d also love to go underwater in the murk of the river because there must be all sorts of artefacts half-buried there. I’ve watched people lose fishing knives and bottles in the river – it’s easily done! 
8. Q. What’s your best tip for people wanting to write a history book of their own? 
• A. If you are passionate about a subject, you will find a way to do it.
9. Q. How did you go about bringing the stories to life?  
• A. I let them speak for themselves. The last book I wrote was hardly edited and is in the voice of an 8-year-old girl. Learn to listen carefully to what folk tell you. 
10. Q. How do you know when you’ve written a good book?  
• A. I get the same warm, expansive feeling you get when you have your family and pets around you, or you’ve drunk slightly too much good single malt whisky or had a great cassoulet. 

Next Chapter History Group :: Capital Punishment in NSW

The Next Chapter History Group meets on the second Thursday of each month at Randwick City Library, Randwick from 10.30-11.30am. Facilitated by Inside History editor Cassie Mercer, each month a guest speaker talks about an aspect of Australian history.

On July 12, local Randwick historian, Pauline Curby, presents: To die or not to die, Capital Punishment in NSW 1910-1939.

Long Bay Gaol, undated. The last 9 NSW executions, between 1917 and 1939, took place at this gaol. 

(Courtesy of Randwick Library & Information Services)

One hundred years ago opinion was sharply divided in NSW on the merits of capital punishment. It was either a deterrent to crime, as many conservatives believed or a “relict of barbarism”, as one Labor politician proclaimed. Despite these polarised attitudes, hanging was falling into disuse in early 20th century NSW, as was the case in other Australian states. Why then were a handful of offenders executed, when their crimes seemed no worse than those who received gaol sentences?

The seminar is followed by morning tea. All are welcome.

Cost: FREE - $0
Time: 10.30am - 11.30am
Contact: For more information call Jane on 02 9314 4888.
Email: contactus@randwick.nsw.gov.au

Find out more about Pauline Curby and Download Chapter 1 of her book, Randwick, for free on the Randwick City Council Library page.

To celebrate Randwick City Council's 150th anniversary, Council commissioned professional historian, Pauline Curby, to write a fully referenced, illustrated, comprehensive new history of Randwick.

The 406 page hardcover book celebrates the history of one of New South Wales' oldest local government areas and tells the story of the diverse range of people who live in this scenic part of Sydney. Indigenous Australians, Anglo-Celtic Australians and more recent migrants all feature in its pages, as do jockeys, surf lifesavers, bodgies and widgies. Social problems such as the care of neglected children and the issues of crime and punishment, drinking and gambling are also part of the rich tapestry of this history.

Grave Tales 2 :: The murder of William Hird

Here is the next instalment in our series of Grave Tales, from Brad Argent. It's another dark and sad tale uncovered in a cemetery just around the corner and a part of our rich local history. You'll never know what you'll find in your next visit to our shared past and your local cemetery.

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William Hird came to Sydney in July of 1882 on board the Samuel Plimsoll.  With him were his wife, Isabella and their six children (three boys and three girls).  Originally from Scotland, the Hirds spent some time in Yorkshire before making their way to Australia.

William was a sergeant with the East Riding police before immigrating, and upon arrival in he enlisted in the local constabulary and was stationed at Canterbury, about 12 kilometres south west of Sydney.

William was on duty until about 1am on the morning of August 13, 1885.  He became involved in scuffle with two men – Joseph Thompson and Ellis Birch – and one axe.  It didn’t end well for William.  His body was found later that morning just off the bridge that spans the Cook’s River in Canterbury.

William was a much loved member of the, then small, community.  On the following Saturday afternoon William Hird, 32, was laid to rest in the Cemetery attached to St. Paul’s Anglican Church.  There were over 400 mourners in attendance.

But the grave stone in the picture tells an even sadder story.  William’s wife Isabella had already endured the loss of their youngest child, John, shortly after their arrival in Sydney in 1882.  Three months after William’s death her eldest son, George, also passed away. Isabella too ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’ though she was to live for another 37 years.

When I come across headstones like this I pause to think, not only about the tragedy of lives cut short, but of the grief for those left to remember.

Read the first instalment in the series - Story of Strange Butson Hartigan!

✻ Brad Argent is content director at Ancestry.com.au. Australia’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au contains more than 930 million records in its Australian and UK collections. 

Shooting through Bondi’s history

The peak of summer is when Bondi does its thing best. Everyone comes out to play – surfers, tourists and shoppers, to form part of the buzzing crowd.

It would come as no surprise to you that this is the way Bondi has always been. For a century now, it’s the place to be on a Sydney summer day.

But postcode 2026 has a much more fascinating history, from its first indigenous tribes, to European settlers and mid-century gangsters. Here are six things you probably didn’t know about our famous (and infamous) beachside suburb:

1. “Bondi Points” could refer to the headlands on either side of the beach. But rather, it’s a term used to describe spear blades used by the local indigenous population some 4,500 years ago. Where the Bondi Pavilion now stands is thought to have been a tool trading “shop” for them, based on the number unearthed there.
2. When World War II broke out in 1939, Bondi’s famous sand was covered with barbed wire and iron stakes as it was thought to be a potential invasion point. Swimmers could still reach the shoreline to bathe by negotiating their way through the maze of fortifications. The locals nicknamed it the “rat run”.
3. Tamarama Beach was the scene of Australia’s first rollercoaster. The Switchback Railway opened in 1887 and was a diving, plunging, hold-your-breath circus attraction above the sands near the waterline.
4. Freshwater lagoons once lay behind Bondi Beach, while rolling sandhills ran from there to near Rose Bay, some 4km away. These hills can still be seen in pictures of the area up until the 1920s.
5. Bondi had an underbelly all of its own. The suburb was the scene of the first organised car bombing in Australia in the 1960s.
6. Shark fishing on the beach was a popular pastime last century. Rather than discourage sharks, the lifeguards would actually try and lure them closer to the shore for the fisherman. Their favourite method for doing this? Tying pieces of meat to those famous Speedos and then swimming out beyond the waves!

3. Tamarama Beach was the scene of Australia’s first rollercoaster

2. Bondi’s famous sand was covered with barbed wire and iron stakes

Judy Parnell and friends sitting on railing, Bondi Beach c. 1947

* Cassie Mercer is editor of Inside History, a bi-monthly magazine focused on Australia’s genealogy, history and heritage. Kimberly O’Sullivan is Waverley Council’s historian. She is passionate about cultural memory and Bondi’s local history.

Grave Tales :: Story of Strange Butson Hartigan

This is the first in a series of Grave Tales, from Brad Argent and his travels across the land and its many burial grounds. He may be a little nuts about cemeteries but aren't all historians!

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For most suburbanites, cemeteries are large well laid out affairs located on the outer reaches of the city or town, but what many don’t realise is that there might be a smaller, quainter, necropolis just around the corner.

Tucked away in the quiet back streets of the Inner-western Sydney suburb of Canterbury is a cemetery.  Like many of the smaller suburban cemeteries still around today this one is attached to St. Paul’s Anglican Church – a beautiful building from 1859, designed by Edmund Blacket who was also responsible for the Great Hall at Sydney University.

Residing in this cemetery is the wonderfully named Strange Butson Hartigan, the third son of Reverend Edward and Elizabeth Florence Hartigan (nee Eyre).  At the age of about 19 Strange left his 12 brothers and sisters and joined the West India Regiment, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain.  A military life must have suited him as he pops up in the US Civil War records in the early 1860’s.  At this point he is married to a music teacher, Ellen Sandars and living in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1865 he’s back in Ireland, this time marrying a Margaret O’Dea in Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland.  What happened to his first wife, Ellen, is unknown, but it’s possible she died in the US.  Strange and Margaret make their way to Australia later that same year and arrived in Sydney, via Adelaide, on February 22, 1866.  Strange died 12 years later on October 10, 1878.

I’ve yet to find out about the life of Strange once he arrived here, whether he had children, when his wife died, etc. – I only recently stumbled upon his existence.  But to think that 145 years ago a world weary ‘soldier of fortune’ came to spend his quiet years just around the corner from where I currently live is pretty awesome.

Take a closer look at your neighbourhood cemetery, there might be some strange things there too.

Read the 2nd instalment in the series - The murder of William Hird!

✻ Brad Argent is content director at Ancestry.com.au. Australia’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au contains more than 930 million records in its Australian and UK collections. 

HMB Endeavour returns to Sydney

On Monday, May 21, the HMB Endeavour returned to Sydney from its 2011-12 circumnavigation of Australia. Part of the Australian National Maritime Museum collection, the HMB Endeavour is a 44 metre Australian built replica of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour. She was built based on the 18th century survey completed by the Royal Navy service and held at the UK's National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London. We all know about Captain Cook but do we know that his epic world circumnavigation of 1768-71, which took in Tahiti, Pacific Islands, NZ and Australia, was a voyage of scientific discovery and not all about expansion of the then British Empire?

The HMB Endeavour is now mored in Darling Harbour but is closed for refit, getting ready for its' next voyage for the Transit of Venus to Lord Howe Island. Don't worry though, she will be open to the public again in July.

Stay tuned for more stories on the HMB Endeavour and 18th century sea travel soon! Until then, here are our photos from the Endeavour's return.

Remembering HMAS Kuttabul :: About the midget submarines

Each issue we find that we have more and more to fit into our magazine and Steven Carruthers article on the 1942 attack on Sydney Harbour was no different. Now we have a way of showing you so much more.

Our iPad version allows us to include galleries of images, audio and video that simply can't go into our print edition at the newsagents.

As part of our article to commemorate the 1942 attack and those brave men lost in the sinking of the HMAS Kuttabul and the Japanese midget submarines, the talented people at Headland Creative have produced superb animations that take you back to those terrible days 70 years ago and show us something of the Japanese perspective.

Beneath the waves & in the air

Inside the Japanese midget submarine

Be part of the Kuttabul Commemoration:
The lunchtime re-enactment cruise is an endorsed fundraising event in support of Legacy. Organisers wish to bring into the public eye the great work performed by Legacy year round, for the widows and orphans of our deceased servicemen and women. The Kuttabul Commemoration Project’s Sydney Harbour Cruise is a major event on the 70th anniversary calendar in remembering the events of 1942.

Tickets for this solemn and memorable event are available through Gary Traynor. Tickets are $80 and numbers are limited. Gary is the founder of a not-for-profit website called Medals Gone Missing. This site helps to reunite families with war service medals that have become lost. Visit Medals Gone Missing and click on “Events”, or like it on Facebook - Kuttabul Commemoration Project for more on the project.

Launch of special iPad edition for State Library of NSW

A fantastic new iPad app lets you look inside the vaults of one of the world’s great libraries - click here to download for FREE.

Inside History magazine has just launched a special iPad edition which allows users to explore, share and interact with the State Library of NSW’s unrivalled collection like never before.

“Inside History magazine is thrilled to be working with the talented team at the State Library to launch this unique tour of arguably one of the world’s great libraries,” says Cassie Mercer, Inside History editor.

“I was nine when I first visited the State Library of NSW from the country, and I still remember being mesmerised by the Mitchell Library's extraordinary leadlight windows and the seemingly endless levels and shelves of books stacked up to meet them. I feel like I grew up at the Library,” says Ms Mercer

This special edition brings together short films, photo galleries and highlights from staff curators and guest writers who reveal the intimate history of objects, their creators and owners.

Many intriguing questions are answered, like why the Macquarie Collector’s Chest was created and how the original 1644 Tasman map ended up in Paris and then at the State Library.

The feature story on the current major exhibition, Lewin: Wild Art, takes you into the world of a young illustrator, John Lewin (1770-1819), who was inspired by Australia’s flora and fauna to develop his own remarkable style. And this issue is sumptuously illustrated with Lewin’s beautiful artwork.

Users can go behind the scenes as State Library of NSW conservators restore 3,500 glass plate negatives from the gold rush, discovered in a garden shed in Chatswood in 1951. This extraordinary find proved to be the most important photographic documentation of goldfields life in Australia.

“From displaying Matthew Flinders’ logbook and journal on board the Queen Mary 2 as it retraced his circumnavigation, to utilising new technologies, the State Library continues to explore new opportunities to ensure as many people as possible have the chance to engage with the Library’s remarkable collections,” says NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive, Alex Byrne.

“Inside History is an active champion of the State Library and, with our shared passion for making history interesting and accessible, we jumped at the chance to jointly launch this special iPad edition. It’s a wonderful addition to our extensive online offerings and we hope it makes people wonder what else might surprise from in the vaults of the State Library.” says Dr Byrne.

Download the FREE app here for your chance to win an original illustration of Paul Keating from the pen of Daily Telegraph cartoonist, Warren Brown.

For more information please contact:
Ben Mercer, Inside History magazine, 0405 272427, ben@insidehistory.com.au

Vanessa Bond, State Library Media & Communications Branch
(02) 9273 1566, 0411 259 898, vbond@sl.nsw.gov.au

Recipe For Murder - Sydney thallium murders in 1940-50s

Recipe For Murder, the winner of the NSW Premier's History Award is playing again tonight, Thursday April 5th, 9.30pm on ABC1

A brilliant documentary that tells the true story of three Sydney women who poisoned their way into the pages of the city’s newspapers back in the 1940s and 50s. We'll be watching!


Recipe For Murder - 90 sec Teaser from Sonia Bible on Vimeo.

Maritime Heritage - A nation's start and source of its diversity

Ship "James Craig" - Sydney, 2011

"on opening the scuttle in my cabin, I perceived an aromatic odour, as of spicy flowers, blown from the land" - Welcome Wall, Australian National Maritime Museum [ANMM], Sydney.

Last Saturday we were walking away from a farmers market in Prymont Bay Park and we decided to walk along the shoreline of the city of Sydney. We didn't go far before we saw the ANMM's Welcome Wall and it has way of stopping you from walking past. The names of immigrants to Australia and snapshots of their stories holds you, and takes your mind to another time from the 1970s to the start of our nation in the 1790s.

If you're in Sydney, whether as a resident or visitor, then definitely visit the Australian National Maritime Museum and make sure you follow them on facebook or twitter for exhibition updates.

Or sail around Australia with the ANMM! The HMB Endeavour is circumnavigating Australia from April 2011 to May 2012, and you can join the journey! In April 2011, the magnificent replica of James Cook's HM Bark Endeavour started its historic circumnavigation of Australia. Built as a gift to the Australian people, Endeavour will follow in the wake of our earliest European explorers, visiting major and regional ports right across Australia. Find out more and sail away!

Other maritime museums in Australia:

• Western Australian Maritime Museum
• South Australian Maritime Museum
• Queensland Maritime Museum
• Maritime Museum of Tasmania

Sydney's Crown Street Hospital

The Next Chapter History Group runs on the 4th Thursday of every month and uncovers the history of the local area with special guest speakers. Inside History Magazine is the proud sponsor of the group and supporter of Randwick Branch Library.

This month's subject is presented by:
Speaker: Dr Judith Godden
Title: Researching the history of Crown Street Women's Hospital

When: 10.30am - 11.30am, 25th August 2011
Where: Randwick Branch Library
Address: Level 1, 73 Belmore Rd, Royal Randwick Shopping Centre
Bookings: Bookings are not required
Cost: Free
Contact: For more information, call Jane on 02 9314 4888
Email: contactus@randwick.nsw.gov​.au

Dr Judith Godden is a professional historian who is writing a commissioned history of Crown Street Women's Hospital. Her book Lucy Osburn, a lady displaced. Florence Nightingale's envoy to Australia (Sydney University Press) was short-listed for Australia's 2008 National Biography Award. She will have two books published this year: Australia’s Controversial Matron: Gwen Burbidge and Nursing Reform (The College of Nursing, Sydney) and, with Carol Helmstadter, Nursing before Nightingale 1815-1890.

Her illustrated talk will be on her work in progress writing the first comprehensive history of Crown Street Women's Hospital in Surry Hills. Her talk will focus on the reasons for writing its history and why people protested so vigorously against its closure in 1983. An important theme is how the surviving records, and gaps in that record, determine our understanding of the past. She especially welcomes the opportunity for discussion and to hear any memories you might have of Crown Street.

Are you researching relatives that worked or were patients at the Crown Street Hospital? Here is where we would start our research:

• State Records NSW: Archives in Brief 88
• State Library of NSW
• City of Sydney Archives , or direct your query to
• The Medical Records Manager, Royal Hospital for Women, Locked Bag 2000, RANDWICK NSW 2031 | (02) 9382 6111

Photograph of Crown Street Women’s Hospital courtesy of State Record

Barani Barrabugu - Sydney's Aboriginal Journey

Barani Barrabugu - Yesterday Tomorrow is a beautifully illustrated guide on Sydney’s long Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, from first contact to today's living culture.

The 84 page booklet describes over 60 significant Aboriginal sites across Sydney using stories and maps - from Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo, through to contemporary communities in Redfern, Alexandria and Waterloo.

Download your free copy from the City of Sydney council site and walk the paths that the first Australians walked across Sydney.

Several walks are described, along with suggestions for cultural institutions and organisations to visit, making this a valuable resource for Sydneysiders and visitors. Enjoy!

Vote for Inside History - Sydney Business Awards

Like Inside History? Well, we've been nominated in the 2011 City of Sydney Business Awards. Show us how much you like us. Vote for us in the City of Sydney Business Awards 2011 - you might just WIN $1500! Vote for Inside History - IHM.

Sydney Theatres & public halls

We were enjoying fruit cake and tea with our nan, Rita, over the Queen's Birthday long weekend and got talking about how good Sydney's cinemas were in the "old days".  It was the 1940s, Rita was in her 20s, and you would get a movie and a live orchestra for just 2/-6 in "old money".

The conversation deepened as the rain started outside; we talked about Sydney's picture halls and theatres, and settled on Rita's favourite, the Prince Edward theatre. She told us story after story of movies watched, ice creams eaten, what she wore, but couldn't recall which street it had been on, so we promised to find out when we got home.

The next day I caught up with Christine Yeats from State Records NSW and we got talking about underutilised archives in the collection and what should she pull out but "Archives in Brief 36 - Theatres and public halls". Strange how different streams collide! This collection offers some wonderful insights into the history of the stage and silver screen in Sydney, including registers of licences, inspections carried out by the Board of Fire Commissioners, seating plans and more.

It truly is amazing what your archives hold. The State Records NSW reading rooms are located at:

[1]  Western Sydney Records Centre. 143 O'Connell Street, Kingswood
[2]  Sydney Records Centre. 2 Globe Street, The Rocks, Sydney

How do I use the reading rooms? Find out at State Records NSW online or ask directly on 02 9673 1788. Happy reading and see you at the movies! Oh, and we found out that the Prince Edward was located between Castlereagh and Elizabeth Streets in the CBD!

Follow State Records NSW on twitter at @SRNSW and facebook at State Records NSW, we do and look forward to their updates.

State Theatre Sydney | Source: City of Sydney

John Kaldor Family Collection :: Art Gallery of NSW

Amazing piece of one family's history. The John Kaldor Family Collection at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Source: Art Nation | ABC TV

Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney - Sydney's history online and connected. Its amazing what you can discover on their wonderfully rich site and blog. Geographically, the Dictionary of Sydney includes the whole Sydney basin and spans the years from the earliest human habitation to the present. Find out more about the NSW state capital today!

Source: Dictionary of Sydney YouTube

To La Perouse we went

Standing on the La Perouse peninsula and looking at Botany Bay, you are reminded of the beauty of nature and we were left wondering why more people don't explore this historically rich corner of Sydney.

The original owners of the land were the aboriginal Kameygal people, and their proximity to the coast meant that they enjoyed a plentiful supply of fish. It was fish and chips, a love of history and the Australian beach that took us to La Perouse, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Bare Island, La Perouse | Source: Inside History

Sandstone mural, Bare Island | Source: Inside History

One of the most interesting and yet beautiful parts of La Perouse is Bare Island and its 19th-century fortification in the Botany Bay National Park. The Bare Island fortification was built in 1885 to protect Sydney's Botany Bay from a feared Russian invasion. The fort is usually closed to the public but you are able to walk around the island, depending on the tide, and take in the views of the island and the surrounding beautiful beaches of Botany Bay. Entry by guided tours are available on Sundays at 1:30, 2:30. 3:30pm and you can buy tickets at Laperouse Museum, call on 02 9247 5033.

Old and new Botany | Source: Inside History

As we stood above the grave of Claude Francois Joseph Receveur, we realised just how much Botany Bay must have changed since the arrival of the First Fleet and Europeans to Australia. Pere Receveur was one of two chaplains in the French Laperouse expedition that arrived just a few days after the First Fleet in January 1788. He passed away on 17th February 1788, before his French navigator Captain Laperouse left Botany Bay and disappeared in the South Pacific. Traditionally visiting French ships lay a wreath on the grave and a mass is held annually. The 2011 Receveur Anniversary Mass will be held at La Perouse on 20th February. The NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, will be in attendance.

Macquarie Watchtower | Source: Inside History

For more images, check out Inside History magazine's flickr.

How do I get there? Unfortunately, the trams don't run as they once did from Randwick but the buses - L94, 392, 394, 399 - still do and it's an easy drive from Sydney's airport or CBD. Check Sydney Buses route finder for details or use google maps for driving directions.

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