Sydney Harbour: A History

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UNSW Press, 2009 - History - 359 pages

Ambitious and wide-ranging, this sweeping history of one of the world’s most recognized landmarks explores every aspect of Sydney Harbor through studies of its natural, human, and cultural history. Revealing why Sydney Harbor has been a defining element for the people who have lived around it since the time of the harbor clans, this volume examines the icon as a means of communication; a barrier; a resource to be exploited; and a place of beauty, spirit, and meaning. By chronicling the story of the waterway from the time of the first aboriginal communities and detailing contemporary debates about the future of the working harbor, this comprehensive account outlines the important interactions between the glittering harbor and the people who inhabited and shaped it.

 

Contents

1 The harbour people
1
2 An unexpected harbour
16
3 From convicts to commerce
50
4 Possession secured
83
5 Foreshore defenders
114
6 A harbour of wonder a harbour of filth
150
7 Big plans and a bridge
192
8 Workers and warriors
227
9 Modern harbour
254
10 The peoples harbour
288
Acknowledgments
328
Notes
329
Select bibliography
346
Index
348
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About the author (2009)

Ian Hoskins is the council historian at North Sydney Stanton Library and the manager of two museums, a heritage center, and a historic cemetery. He curated social history exhibits at the Powerhouse Museum and is the coauthor of What’s in a Store?: A History of Retailing in Australia.

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