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The latest news from theNo Images? Click hereDictionary of SydneyDONATEDictionary of Sydney Newsletter May 2018Looking down the McElhone Stairs from Victoria Street towards Cowper WharfRoadway, Woolloomooloo 1960 by Geo Paton, Courtesy City of Sydney Archives (SRC21844) https://dictionaryofsydney.org/media/58718Welcome to our May 2018 newsletterCooler weather looks like it may have nally arrived in Sydney,so it's a great time to settle in and look at some of the fantasticentries we've published in the last few months, and possiblyeven get outdoors and explore some of the sites we've beenlooking at.

The Great Strike of 1917 by historian Laila Ellmoos considers theevents in the Eveleigh Railway Workshops and the RandwickTram Workshops in 1917 that led to one of Australia’s largestindustrial con icts.Kim Hanna looks at the changing history of the site of theformer Shaftesbury Reformatory at Vaucluse, while PhilMulhearn has written for us on the Geology and geography ofthe Georges River.Historian Vanessa Witton has contributed an entry on the lifeand death of Dorothea Mackellar's older brother, Keith KinnairdMackellar, a Sydney Grammar School graduate who died in theBoer War, and the memorials to him around Sydney by hisfamily.We also have a fascinating suite of entries looking at the historyof some of the city's public stairways from architect Dr JenniferPreston, including Moore Steps, Merriman Stairs, AgarSteps, Playfair Stairs, Butler Stairs, Caraher Stairs and McElhoneStairs.Click on the orange links in the text to go straight to the entriesin the Dictionary.There are lots of new book reviews and blog posts on the sitefor you to explore as well - you'll nd links to some of thesefurther on in this newsletter.With more than 300,000 readers and over 870,000 page views inthe last year, the Dictionary has continued to grow since movingon to the new platform at the State Library of NSW last year,and we'd like to thank the Library and the City of Sydney onceagain for making this possible.Happy reading!LindaLinda Brainwood, Managing EditorDictionary of Sydneyinfo@dictionaryofsydney.orgThe Dictionary of Sydney is without any ongoingoperational funding and we are asking all of our readers tosupport the Dictionary's future if they can. All donationsover 2 can be claimed as a tax deduction too.

Support the Dictionary!Series 01 Part 01: Sir William Dixson coin collection : Australian currency from thereign of Queen Victoria, Courtesy Dixson Collection, State Library of New South Wales(SAFE/DN/C 1-14)What your donation can doThe Dictionary of Sydney publishes freely accessible, reliableand authoritative information about Sydney's history tothousands of people around the world. Every day we providefacts, information, images, multimedia and unique stories to agrowing audience of readers, students, teachers, historyenthusiasts, academics, researchers, residents and visitors.We couldn't do this without the passion, dedication andexpertise of our sta , board and volunteers and the ongoingsupport of our project partners and contributors.Now more than ever we need your help.In order to keep adding to the Dictionary and to continue tobring this free, reliable and quality content to a wider audience,we need funding. All donations are greatly appreciated, and aretax deductible as well!DONATE TODAY

The Dictionary of Sydney on theradioPhoto by Sam Hood c1935, courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (PXE 789 (v.38),113 (detail))Every Wednesday morning the Dictionary of Sydney presents asegment on 2SER Breakfast with Tess Connery. Each week ourwonderful regular presenters and Dictionary of Sydneytreasures Lisa Murray and Nicole Cama and other specialguests share stories to intrigue, entertain and inform 2SER'smorning listeners.Head to the Dictionary blog to listen to the audio and read thesummary of the conversation each week. Recent posts fromguests include a look at French Nazis in Sydney from Dr PeterHobbins, the mental health of the participants in the RumRebellion from Dr James Dunk and the always fascinating SharkArm Murder from Minna Muhlen-Schulte.You can also access all of our book and exhibition reviews viathe Review tab on the blog homepage. Why not subscribe to theblog to get regular updates from us and get a weekly helping ofSydney history delivered to your inbox!Visit the Dictionary blogTeatowels

Advertisement for W Blyth, Cook, Pastry Cook and Wholesale & Retail Confectioner,engraved by John Carmichael, from 'Low’s Directory of the city and district of Sydney forMDCCCXLVII', opp p 19. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria (RARELT 058.944L95) g a beautiful engraved advertisement by JohnCarmichael for confectioner William Blyth that appeared inFrancis Low’s Directory of the city and district of Sydney in 1847,these tea towels measure 70x50cm and are printed with nontoxic water-based Permaset inks on 100% white cotton byArcade Screen Printing in St Peters, Sydney.Choose between the bright blue or a re ned charcoal.

27.50 (including GST and postage within Australia)Buy online via a secure credit card facility hereContact us to organise a quote for shipping outside Australia.Every purchase helps to support the Dictionary of Sydney!How to buyReviewsOur reviewers have been busy with some great new Sydneyhistory titles and exhibitions and have some strongrecommendations! The Dictionary's book reviews are alwaysavailable via the Review tab at the top of the blog homepage.

Michelle Scott Tucker, Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at theEdge of the WorldText Publishing, Melbourne, 2018, ISBN 9781925603422, 386 pp,RRP 32.99Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World is the author’srst book. And what a fabulous triumph it is. Well researchedand richly absorbing, this is the remarkable story of Australia’srst free female European to settle in colonial New South Wales.Expansive, engaging and utterly engrossing the fascinating lifeof one brave pioneer woman is here explored with lovelyattention to detail.Read Dr Catie Gilchrist's review hereJill Roe, Miles Franklin: A Short BiographyHarperCollins Australia (Fourth Estate), 417 pp., ISBN:9781460755792, p/bk, AUS 32.99

The rst edition of the late Jill Roe’s award-winning work StellaMiles Franklin: A Biography was published in 2008. A decade later,a new edition has been produced: Miles Franklin: A ShortBiography.This shortened biography (perhaps better describedas a tightened biography) adds an energy and a sense ofurgency to Franklin’s story.Read Dr Rachel Franks' review hereLeigh Straw, Lillian Arm eld: How Australia’s First FemaleDetective Took on Tilly Devine and the Razor Gangs andChanged the Face of the ForceHachette Australia, 306 pp., ISBN: 9780733638107, p/bk,AUS 32.99This is a biography that has been rigorously researched andcarefully crafted. In addition to being a diligent researcher,Straw is a terri c storyteller. Arm eld’s personal history unfoldsat pace. There are stake outs, lost girls, hard women, bad men

and the various crimes that compete for attention in a toughcity.Read Dr Rachel Franks' review hereMeredith Lake, The Bible in Australia: A Cultural HistoryNewSouth Publishers, 439 pp., ISBN: 9781742235714, p/bk,AUS 39.99Extraordinary. The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History will surelydominate the short lists of every major literary award over thecoming months and will certainly come to be regarded as one ofthe most important Australian history books of the year.Read Dr Rachel Franks' review here

Jamelle Wells, The Court ReporterHarperCollins Australia (ABC Books), 309 pp.,ISBN: 9780733337888, p/bk, AUS 32.99Equal parts personal re ection on a career in the Australianmedia and a catalogue of crimes committed in New South Walesover recent decades. Perhaps the most signi cant aspect ofthis work is the contribution Wells makes to the debates aroundthe ethics of journalism, in particular, what should be coveredand how much detail should be released?Read Dr Rachel Franks' review here

Tanya Bretherton, The Suitcase Baby,Hachette Australia, 2018, 327 pp., ISBN 978-0-7336-3922-7In November 1923, a small suitcase was found washed up andabandoned on the beautiful, picturesque, bushland shores ofAthol Beach on the edge of Mosman. Inside was the body of ahealthy baby girl of about three weeks of age.Tanya Brethertonhas written a fascinating and compelling book around theghoulish discovery on Athol Beach. From this one singleincident, the reader is drawn into a fascinating story of crime,desperation, abandonment and poverty.Read Dr Catie Gilchrist's review here

Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver Colonial Australian Fiction:Character Types, Social Formations and the ColonialEconomySydney University Press, 153 pp, ISBN: 9781743324615, p/bk,RRP AUS 40.00Ken Gelder and Rachael Weaver - well regarded for a variety ofscholarly achievements as well as for their excellent anthologiesof colonial ctions - have produced an elegant and veryinformative review of character types in colonial Australianction. an essential volume for anyone curious aboutAustralian literary heritage.Read Dr Rachel Franks' review here

Zeny Edwards, A Life of Purpose: a biography of JohnSulmanWoodlane, 392 pp, ISBN-13: 9780648171928, RRP: 59.95‘The Sulman name has become a part of the vocabulary ofAustralian architecture, town planning and the arts’. Impeccablescholarship, highly readable. and a signi cant contribution toAustralian biographical and historical literature.Professor David Carment launched Zeny Edward's biography ofJohn Sulman at the Library in December.Read Professor Carment's speech hereState Library of NSWFellowships

Applications for the State Library of New South Wales'sprestigious annual fellowships are now open. The Library iso ering over 100,000 to researchers working with its richcollections. Applications close at 5 pm on Monday 16 July 2018.More information about each of the fellowships and applicationforms can be found on the Library'swebsite: .State Library of NSW FellowshipsTalking Deadly: MyGrandmother's LingoJoin animator and designer Jake Duczynski for Talking Deadly: MyGrandmother’s Lingo, a free talk presented by the State Library ofNew South Wales' Indigenous Services Team on Wednesday 30May at 6pm, as he discusses the development and impact of theanimation and the important role tech can play in tellingIndigenous stories.In 2016, Jake was approached by SBS to work with AngelinaJoshua from the remote South East Arnhem Land community ofNgukurr on a project to revive her Grandmother’s rst - andnow critically endangered - language, Marra. The result was

Walkley Award-winning animation My Grandmother’s Lingo, abeautiful voice-activated interactive story requiring the audienceto speak words in Marra to progress through each chapter.Book your tickets via the State Library website.Book your tickets for Talking DeadlyRare Bites: A Ticket inAustralia’s First LotteryBank of Australia lottery ticket number 2890, issued to John Sterling, dated 19October 1848, drawn on 1 January 1849. Endorsed to David John Thomas for 4 onback, courtesy National Library of Australia (MS re Bites is a series of lunchtime lectures at the University ofSydney showcasing treasures and some lesser-known gemsfrom Rare Books & Special Collections at the University Library.On Wednesday 30 May, Dr Neil Radford, invaluable Dictionaryvolunteer and University of Sydney Librarian from 1980-1986,will be giving the Rare Bites lecture on Australia’s rst lottery inSydney in 1849 and looking at one of the lottery tickets in heldin the University's collections. Surrounded by controversy andprobably illegal, the lottery was immensely popular however,and the government turned a blind eye because it seemed theonly way of averting the consequences of a nancial disaster.You can read Neil's entry on the Dictionary about thelottery here.Bookings for the talk should be made via the University website.Book your tickets for Rare Bites