In this episode, we explore the very earliest years of the colony in Sydney Cove by following the fates of two ships: Sirius and Supply. Join us as we learn about a struggling outpost on the brink of starvation, and the extreme lengths they would go to fetch some flour.This episode is full of quotations from First Fleet diaries, which were found in the excellent Buried Alive: Eyewitness Accounts of the Making of a Nation by Jack Egan

In this particularly lengthy episode the boys chart the history of Sydney's drinking water from the well-known Tank Stream to the well-known Desal plant, with stop-offs at several obscure systems along the way. Jed's enthusiasm for the minutae of water volumes is only surpassed by Alistair's pure joy at finally learning where the water he's been swilling for most of his life has travelled from. To get the most out of this episode you'll want to arm yourself with a map of Sydney's drinking water catchments. We recommend this one from Sydney water: https://www.waternsw.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/55975/Fact-sheet-and-map-Sydney-drinking-water-catchments.pdf or this slightly altered version from the Welcome Reef Dam astroturfing campaign: https://welcomereef.com/sydney-water-catchments/ Sources for this episode include: - wikipedia - Sydney History youtube channel - UNSW ARTS3242 Course playlist on youtube - Sydney's Water Sewerage and Drainage System by Donald Hector. Originally published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of NSW, Vol. 144, p. 3-25, 2011

We discuss the life of father of surfing Duke Kahanamoku and his trip to Australia in 1914, where he gave a surfing demonstration at Freshwater beach which popularised surfing in this country. Intertwined with the story of this legendary Hawaiian is that of early Australian female swimming pioneers, and the explosion of beach culture in the early 20th Century.Sources: David Davis: Waterman, The life and times of Duke Kahanamoku - A thorough biography of DukeWaterman - A high quality documentary about Duke Kahanamoku with lots of primary footagePhil Jarratt: That Summer at Boomerang - Duke's trip to Freshwater from an Australian perspectiveWe'd also recommend this gallery of wonderful images of Duke 

This episode Jed digs up a history book that tells the story of one of colonial Sydney's early families. Like so many others, Thomas West found himself in Sydney in 1801 as a guest of the crown. From inauspicious beginnings, West quickly established himself as a capable man, right as the colony was beginning to boom. Having what appears to be a personal relationship with Governor Macquarie, within 10 years of arriving in chains West managed to secure himself an unofficial land grant on the South Head Road, beyond the edge of Sydney town, to establish Sydney's first water mill. West's story brings 19th century Sydney to life as he crosses paths with familiar characters and navigates the political, economic, social and ecological changes of his day.

In this episode, we discuss the significance of the whaling industry in the early history of Sydney, jumping from familiar Sydney locations like Liverpool, Mosman, and Neutral Bay, all the way down the coast to Eden, and even the foundation of Hobart. Whales celebrate the drilling of oil wells - A Vanity Fair cartoon depicting whales celebrating the Pennsylvania oil rushThe whale ghosts - A short story set in Mosman which uses its whaling past as a motif - appeared in Overland in 2021Whaling in Eden - An ABC podcast episode on the killer whales in EdenA short history of lighting - A great ten minute listen which emphasises the importance of whale oil for lighting 

John Job Crew Bradfield was one of the defining engineers of early 20th century New South Wales. In this episode we discuss the man's contribution to Sydney's water and transport systems and his largely unrealised vision to completely reshape the hydrology of inland Australia. As unlikely as that might sound, proponents of Bradfield's eponymous scheme continue to reference him to this day as they call for massive water diversion programs to fulfill their own nation building fantasies. Further reading: The City and Suburban Electric Railways and Sydney Harbour Bridge - JJC Bradfield (1924) Watering Inland Australia - JJC Bradfield (1941) The Revised Bradfield Scheme (1981) Bradfield, 75 Years On (5 part blog series) - The Strategic Week  

In this short and punchy episode the boys discuss three different plant species/genera common to Sydney Harbour. Yes, genera is the correct word for the plural of genus, and hence we would like to apologise in advance for insisting on using 'genuses' throughout the episode.   Listen in to our last episode of Season 4 as we discuss some well known facts, obscure trivia and maybe even the odd tall tale about three plants dear to Jed's heart; Lomandra longifolia, Xanthorrhoea and Tetragonia tetragonioides!

In this episode we discuss Bungaree - a significant figure in the early history of Sydney and part of the first voyage to ever circumnavigate the continent of Australia!The detailed "King Bungaree" by Keith Vincent Smith was our major source for this episode.

In this episode Jed attempts to tell the multi-generational story of Yarramundi, Colebee and Maria of the Boorooberongal clan of the Dharug people of what is now Western Sydney. From the first encounters between the Dharug and the British on Dyarubbin in 1791, to the first ever land grant from the British regime to the original inhabitants of Australia in 1816, from Macquarie’s aborted ‘native institute’, the first Indigenous/British marriage and all through the stolen generation to the present day, Yarramundi’s family have been at the centre of the unfolding relations amongst the people that call Western Sydney home. In this podcast we discuss The History Listen podcast episode Yarramundi and the people of Dyarubbin and the Sydney University research that debunks one of the stories they tell. As with anything do with the people of Dyarubbin, Grace Karskens research is wonderfully helpful and the State Government published Dyarubbin: Mapping Aboriginal history, culture and stories of the Hawkesbury River that she was involved with is well worth a look if you’re interested in the specific geography of these last few episodes. Lastly, at the end of the episode we plug The Australian Histories Podcast and Jed also mentions a book he read on William Buckley, which is Jock Serong’s Buckley’s Chance.

In this episode we discuss the excavation of the Lapstone Creek rock shelter and what it tells us about Aboriginal history and culture in the Sydney region. Tune in to learn more about where you can find the best rock in the region for making stone tools, how it got there, and what kind of innovative uses it was put to by Aboriginal people over their staggeringly deep occupation of this continent!Sources:Grace Karskens: People of the River - a wonderful bookThe Lapstone Creek Excavation - the foundational text of Australian archaeologySourcing Stone from the Sydney Region - a hatchet jobCastlereagh and Penrith Lakes - a lovely blog postPenrith Lakes Scheme - an aspirational video of what the quarried moonscape could become

In this episode Jed surprises Alistair with a dramatic reading of several passages  from Watkin Tench’s 1793 publication ’A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson’. The stories we explore relate to some of the first journeys the colonisers made to Dyarubbin, the one river that they had mistakenly identified as both the Hawkesbury and the Nepean.

In this bonus episode we discuss Following the Flow, a documentary exploring the people, places, ecology and history of the Macquarie Wambool River in Western NSW. Alongside Stories from Sydney, Jed has been working on this project for the past 3 years and is very excited to be bringing it to Sydney for a screening at the Golden Age Cinema in Surry Hills in July. As well as chatting inland waterways we crack open the vault and return to some fondly remembered clips from Jed's episodes 'Celebrating a New Beginning Across the Blue Mountains' and 'The Town Where the Bell Meets the Macquarie'. Head to www.followingtheflow.com.au to watch the trailer and join our mailing list or connect with @FollowingtheFlowfilm on facebook and instagram. We hope to see you there!

In the last episode of Season 3 we briefly trace the history of Australia's first and most important export, coal, and the city with which it is inextricably linked. We trace this history from the dreaming of the Awabakal people all the way to the open cut coal mines of the Upper Hunter that frame our national narrative to this day.One particular mystery, however, forms the focus of the episode; just why did roughly 50 merchant ships laden with Newcastle coal go missing in the Pacific Ocean bound for the West Coast of the Americas? And why were the powers that be so stubborn in their refusal to address an issue that cost over 1000 lives in the late 19th Century?

This fortnight we discuss the Theosophical Society and their impact on Sydney, from the 2GB radio station, to the Star Amphitheatre in Balmoral (pictured) and The Manor in Clifton Gardens.   Tune in to hear about the famous Australian figures associated with the movement, their early interest in Buddhism, and the touted messianic hero who renounced his role and brought a decade of eager anticipation crashing down around him!

In the early years of the 20th century Sydney was the undisputed Department Store capital of the world. Retail family dynasties competed with each other to open the largest, most modern and most spectacular stores from Broadway to Wynyard.Alas, the 1960s brought changing fortunes for these icons as the CBD started to decay and sprawling Sydneysiders begun to favour newer, more climate controlled suburban shopping centres with plenty of onsite car parking. This episode we discuss five of the biggest names in Sydney's department store history, charting their rises and inevitable falls to find out what has become of some of these epic buildings and one-time institutions today.

In this episode we discuss tensions within working class politics in Sydney during the First World War.   If you enjoyed this episode you might be interested in this podcast episode about the Great Strike of 1917 from the City Of Sydney.   Also, we really enjoyed this podcast episode from Forgotten Australia about Percy Brookfield, which was what alerted us to this story in the first place.   And finally, here is an article about the Sweetacres factory in Roseberry.

In 1880 the bushranger era came to a dramatic end in Eastern Australia with the infamous death of Ned Kelly in Melbourne. Earlier that same year a man just as infamous at the time was hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol after engaging in his own wayward adventures across the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria and in the South Pacific. Some 110 years later the letters Andrew George Scott, known to the 19th century public as 'Captain Moonlite' wrote,came to light in the New South Wales State Archives. These letters gave a surprising insight into the mind of a fascinating character and gave queer Sydney an erstwhile hero. In this episode we explore just a few of Scott's misadventures and discuss his ongoing significance to Australian culture. This episode was written based on the work of Garry Linnell is his book 'Captain Moonlite: The Tragic Love Story of Captain Moonlite and the Bloody End of the Bushrangers'.

Well before the gold rushes of the mid 1800s, there was another all but forgotten resource extraction boom which played an important role in the expansion of the early colony. After being first logged along the Hawkesbury River, red cedar soon became the third largest export from the nascent port of Sydney and was known colloquially as “red gold”. It played a vital role in the foundation of places as diverse as Kiama, Maitland, and Byron Bay, and its presence is still to be observed in many buildings throughout Sydney today.    A short video on red cedar which features the Reading Room in Canberra is available here. You can also check out the Macquarie Armchair, the oldest surviving piece of Australian red cedar furniture, or read this short article which contains many beautiful images of red cedar trees. Stories about red cedar have also featured in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Newcastle Herald.

This episode we discuss the story of the Sydney Cove, a ship that set sail from Calcutta bound for its eponymous port in 1796. The Sydney Cove never quite made it the whole way, but after countless misadventures just under half of her crew did.Join us as we discuss a story that is not only all but unbelievable but is one of the most significant stories of first contact between First Nations people and visitors from across the British Empire. This tale was more or less lost to time for much of the 20th century but from the unearthing of the shipwreck in 1977 there was no putting this tale back in the rum bottle, as it were.The original inspiration for this story came from reading Jock Serong's work of historical fiction: Preservation. The factual heavy lifting was largely courtesy of Mark McKenna's book: From the Edge; Australia's Lost Histories. If you'd like to read the full text of William Clark's published account of their journey you can find it, and an assortment of other relevant correspondence, here.And if you know where we an get a carton of James Squire's Preservation Ale we'd love to hear from you!

We discuss the history and significance of the local bowlo with special guest Louis Heath. Perhaps you, like us, have always wondered where this quaint game comes from, and why so many bowling clubs dot the streets of Sydney. If so, then you're in luck! We'll dive into the royal origins of the sport, its enormous boom in popularity in the post-war era, and what the future holds for these local institutions. If you would like to discuss bowlos or share resources with Louis, you can reach him at louisheath@hotmail.com. You can also read his thesis here, or simply reference this graph showing the steady rise and fall of bowling clubs over the last 100+ years. Here is the newspaper article about the significance of third places during the COVID pandemic that is mentioned during the episode.   You can also read Wendy Bacon's investigative stories on the proposed development of Paddington Bowling Club here, and this Herald article about the recent restoration of the land to the Aboriginal Land Council.