The Latest Breaking News from State Library of New South Wales

The barque Glenswilly arrived in Sydney Harbour from Greenock, outside Glasgow, on October 29 1839. Among the new arrivals were Hugh Dixson, his wife Helen, and their infant son, also named Hugh.

Sydney is gaining on Melbourne’s long lead as a literary city, with a new partnership between Sydney Writers’ Festival and the State Library of New South Wales. This year-round program of literary events, programmed by the festival (with many hosted by the library) presents a serious injection into Sydney’s literary…

Despite the inherent chance and coincidence of Australian history, there’s a certain sense of inevitability when we trace our national narrative in hindsight. The sequence of chapters in our textbooks and syllabuses seems logical and coherent. Colonisation follows European imperialism and exploration. Suffrage follows the discovery of gold. Federation is…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. This story also contains examples of outdated language

Review: William Yang’s Sydneyphiles Reimagined, State Library of New South Wales.

A man hangs, precariously, high above the street, holding onto the girder of an unfinished skyscraper. Around his ankles, a second man holds on for dear life.

One of the first moves of the newly elected Whitlam Labour government in December 1972 was to free seven men imprisoned for their beliefs. Their crime had been refusal to comply with the National Service Act, a so-called “lottery of death” that sent some 15,300 young Australians to fight in…

Mother’s Day has long been exploited for commercial and political gain. This year, again, my inbox is filled with gift ideas to “make mum smile”. With the federal election looming, we can expect candidates to make the most of this weekend to demonstrate their pro-family credentials.