Mug shot of Neville McQuade (18) and Lewis Stanley Keith (19), North Sydney Police Station, early June 1942, from the Justice & Police Museum Collection, Historic Houses Trust of NSW Rec: 31234

At this time of year in Sydney, dressing up is high on the agenda for a lot of Sydneysiders, who are working out what to wear in the Mardi Gras parade, or to the various parties and events.

But the story of drag in Sydney goes back a lot further than Mardi Gras, and illuminates a history of gender-role policing, persecution, resistance and fabulous frocks that dates back to convict days.

Garry Wotherspoon‘s article on Drag and cross dressing in Sydney outlines this fascinating story, with multimedia that ranges from a Sidney Nolan painting to mugshots and newspaper clippings, as well as oral history about Sydney’s drag venues.

The Dictionary’s article on Lesbians in Sydney is by Rebecca Jennings, and traces the stories of female same-sex desire in Sydney from before the Europeans arrived. Rebecca’s work is based on both archival research and oral history, and adds greatly to understandings of what was, for much of the period, a hidden and private culture. Castigated as sinful and immoral in the nineteenth century, lesbianism was medicalised in the twentieth century and considered to be a psychological disorder. At the same time, the tabloid newspapers revelled in the sensational stories of lesbian murderers (such as  Eugenia Falleni) or gangsters (like Iris Webber).

'Lesbian Brides' marching group, Mardi Gras 1994 by C. Moore Hardy. Contributed by City of Sydney Archives (061-061352)

With the advent of renewed movements for women’s rights and gay liberation, the lesbian underground became a public subculture and an important part of the city’s fabric. Women produced lesbian publications, such as Lesbians on the Loose, or LOTL as it is now known, plays, films and novels in Sydney, creating a vibrant cultural space in which lesbian issues were debated, often contentiously. These women were crucial to the development of second wave feminism in Sydney.

Lesbian activists were part of the Mardi Gras from its beginnings in public protest, and remain stalwarts of the festival, as parade participants, artists and cultural producers, activists and fans out to have fun.

Have a great weekend!

Albury Hotel float, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, 1983 Photograph by William Yang, courtesy the National Library of Australia nla.pic-vn3097560

Where else would one find this intoxicating combination than the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras? It’s Mardi Gras time in Sydney again, and the rainbow flags are coming out, along with the Marching Boys and many other classics such as the Dykes on Bikes.

But every year the Mardi Gras finds new areas of interest and activism and this year will be no different.

You can read about Sydney’s pre-eminent parade in Garry Wotherspoon‘s article about the history of the Mardi Gras. Garry is a well known historian of the gay movement, and has been a participant in many of the struggles and celebrations he writes about.

Starting as a political demonstration in 1978, which escalated due to police behaviour, the Mardi Gras has developed into a full scale cultural festival, with multiple events over several weeks. It has also become a major tourist attraction, bringing visitors from all over Australia and the world.

Kicking off with the Fair Day at Victoria Park on Sunday 12 February, this year’s festival looks to be as diverse and outrageous as ever. Check out the program and see what you can get along to.

All Love is Equal, Mardi Gras Fair Day 2007 Photograph by Janissary/Bren Barnes, via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Filling in the details along Pitt Street, from 'Sands & Kenny's map of Sydney and its environs' 1858, National Library of Australia nla.map-rm1272

One of the more unusual articles added recently to the Dictionary is Catherine Bishop‘s exhaustive piece on the women of Pitt Street. Catherine takes readers on a virtual walk up Pitt Street in 1858, peering in the shop doors and windows to find the women who live, work and play there. It’s a fascinating snapshot of the range of businesswomen, employees, servants, landladies, teachers, and others, who were manufacturing, selling, cleaning, teaching and generally making a living in mid-nineteenth-century Sydney.

Catherine has made full use of the possibilities of searchable digitised resources like Trove and the New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages indexes to follow these individuals and save them from ‘the enormous condescension of posterity’, to use the phrase coined by EP Thompson. It’s a fascinating way to experience Pitt Street.

The new site incorporates the Dictionary of Sydney’s organisational information, access to the Dictionary’s resources, information on our projects, and tips on ways readers can contribute to and support the Dictionary. The Dictionary itself is still found at www.dictionaryofsydney.org.

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Hope to see you here often!

Evzones (Greek soldiers) who led the Greek Day march in Sydney, 28 February 1941, Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria, ref: an016346

Panayiotis Diamadis has written for us about the Hellenes of Sydney, who hailed from all over the Mediterranean, but traced their ancestry back to Greece. There’s been a long two-way traffic between Sydney and Greece, as well. The first Greek arrivals were convicts in 1829, later pardoned, who helped start the Camden vineyards. By the end of the nineteenth century, churches and social groups were being formed, and a thriving community was taking steps to protect its language and religious traditions.

This essay covers the history of one of Sydney’s best known migrant communities, which has become an integral part of the modern city.

The tug Hero towing Pamir to Sydney Heads, 1947 photograph by Max Dupain, National Library of Australia nla.pic-an21125310

The Dictionary never forgets that Sydney is a maritime city, and two articles in the latest batch tell stories about the ships that have plied the harbour since the Europeans arrived. Randi Svensen’s Tugboats is a lively account of this indispensable trade, which has been crucial to Sydney’s working port since 1831. A number of families worked their tugboats over generations, and built lasting businesses and reputations. Some of the tugs themselves became celebrated icons of perseverance and survival, like the Hero, a tug whose 70-year career included over 3 years underwater. Where the tugs mostly stayed inside the harbour, Sydney’s whaling fleet ranged far and wide, returning to port for processing, refitting, resupplying and leisure of many kinds. Mark Howard’s article shows just how economically important whaling was to the young city, and links the industry to many Sydney personalities and places.

Photograph by Jill Lummis of the stained glass window in St Paul's Anglican church, Cobbitty 2011

Sydney’s always been an arty place, from the carvings and dances of the traditional owners, and the sketchbooks and pianos of the early settlers, to the art societies and chamber music of the twentieth century and beyond.

The latest addition of material to the Dictionary continues our interest in these themes. Graeme Skinner has written a clutch of entries on musicians and groups of early twentieth century Sydney. Cyril Monk and his wife and colleague Varney Monk, father and daughter George and Iris de Cairos-Rego, and Ernest Truman would have met at concerts by the Austral String Quartet and Collegium Musicum, or performances of Collits Inn, Varney Monk’s prizewinning musical.

Silas Clifford Smith has given us another piece on early twentieth century artists, the XV Independent Group of Artists, who reacted against modernism during World War II, forming their own school based on ‘craftsmanship’.

Craftsmen of a different kind built the wonderful stained glass that Sydney is so rich in. Beverley Sherry‘s essay on this art form is lavishly illustrated and comprehensive, and will make you look at the windows around you in a different light. From the windows of Sydney University’s famous Great Hall, to the stained glass at Sydney Airport, this essay shows the depth of architectural design and technical expertise that has produced Sydney’s stained glass.

Delivery of ice in the city c1900 by Frederick Danvers Powers, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW a422009 / ON 225, 22

Ice, on the other hand, was a luxury item. Nigel Isaacs takes us through the fascinating story of the ‘frozen water trade’, which brought American lake ice by insulated ship to Sydney in 1839. Many native-born Sydneysiders would never have seen ice of any sort, and the coolest drink available would have been a bottle of beer dangled in a river on a rope, so it’s not surprising that it caused a sensation. Read about the ‘sherry cobbler, ice cream, mint juleps and brandy smash’ that was served at Sydney’s best establishments while the ice lasted, and thank your lucky stars for the invention of refrigeration (helped along by Sydney engineer, Norman Selfe).

In recent years, New Year’s Eve has become a huge celebration, complete with a theme, massive fireworks, music, and even an iPhone App.

But this is not new. Hannah Forsyth‘s article, newly published in the Dictionary, shows how people have been celebrating the New Year for many decades, from New Year’s Day celebrations in the nineteenth century, to the nocturnal revels which were enabled by reliable, bright lighting in the streets.

George Street, near the markets, on New Year's Eve 31 December 1878 Australian Town and Country Journal, 4 January 1879, p 24

For much of the twentieth century, the focus of New Year’s Eve was Kings Cross, with ongoing conflict between revellers and police trying to maintain decorum. It wasn’t until the fireworks shifted the public gaze to the harbour that Kings Cross quietened down on 31 December.

Have a great night, and stay safe.