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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
Subjects
Health and Welfare
Social welfare
Charity and Philanthropy

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Charity and Philanthropy

Subject

Ardill, George

Barker, Thomas

Benevolent Society and Asylum

Charity and philanthropy

Dixson, William

Edith Glanville

Health and welfare

Mitchell, David Scott

Russell, Peter Nicol

Sydney City Mission

The Mitchell

Transcript: Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool

Transcript: Mr George Bates remembers a carnival held to raise money for a local orphanage

Transcript: Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression

Varuna

Walker, Eadith

Walker, Thomas

Wayside Chapel

Act to incorporate and otherwise promote the objects of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children 1857

The Botany-Bay Rothschild

Walker Trust Act 1838

Female Orphan School, George Street

Mission Australia Centre

Oddfellows Hall Newtown

Oddfellows Hall Ryde

Oddfellows Hall Woollahra

Refuge for Destitute Females

Black and White Ball

Miss Australia Quest

Royal Commission into Public Charities 1873

Anglican Home Mission Society

Anzac Memorial Fund

Ashfield Infants Home

Benevolent Society of New South Wales

Church Missionary Society

City Night Refuge and Soup Kitchen

Communicare Sydney

Crusade to Women

Discharged Prisoners Aid Society

Female Immigrants' Home

Fresh Air League

Grand United Order of Oddfellows

Hawkesbury Benevolent Society

Home Visiting and Relief Society

House of the Good Shepherd Pitt Street

Independent Order of Oddfellows

Italian Benevolent Society

Italian Workingman's Benefit Society

Jewish Communal Appeal

Kaldor Public Art Projects

King George's Fund for Sailors

La Perouse Aboriginal Mission

Lin Yik Tong

Lord Mayor's Armenian Relief Fund

Lord Mayor's Patriotic and War Fund of New South Wales

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows

Mission Australia

Mission Zone Fund

Missionholme

Mitchell Library

Multiple Sclerosis Australia

Open All Night Refuge

Paraquad NSW

Parramatta Benevolent Society

Power Institute Foundation for Art and Visual Culture

Prisoners' Aid Association of New South Wales

Renwick Hospital for Infants

Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children

Samian Brotherhood

Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation

Smith Family

Society for Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius

Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children

Society for the Relief of Destitute Children

St John Ambulance Australia

St Vincent de Paul Society

Sussex Street Mission

Sydney City Mission

Sydney Dorcas Society

Sydney Female Mission Home

Sydney Female Refuge Society

Sydney Home Nursing Service

Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary

Sydney Medical Mission

Sydney Ragged Schools

Sydney Rescue Work Society

Sydney Sailors' Home

Sydney Strangers' Friend Society

Sydney University Settlement Neighbourhood Centre

University Women's Society

Veterans' Home of New South Wales

Vision Australia

Wesley Mission

Working and Factory Girls Club

Wunambiri, Surry Hills

Allen, George Wigram

Antico, Tristan

Archibald, JF

Ardill, George Edward (1847-1945)

Barff, Jane Foss

Barker, Thomas

Barrett, Harrie (Todds)

Belgiorno-Nettis, Franco

Berg, Charles

Bland, William

Buckland, Thomas

Burns, James

Byers, Isabel

Carpenter, Marion Beatrice

Catts, Norman

Charlton, Elizabeth

Chisholm, Caroline

Cook, Mary

Cooper, Daniel jnr

Crews, Bill

Cullen, Eliza Jane (Lily)

Cumines, Albert

Cunningham, Syd 'Doc'

Dalwood, AE

Dangar, Henry Carey

Darby, Douglas

Dark, Mick

Darling, Eliza

Davidson, Margaret

Dixson, Emma Elizabeth

Dixson, Hugh 1841-1926

Dixson, William

Dusseldorp, Dick

Erskine, James

Fairfax, Marguerite

Faithfull-Anderson, Clarice

Faithfull-Anderson, Frances Lillian

Foley, Horace John

Forster, Rachel

Frazer, John

Garling, Jean

Hall, Edward Smith

Hallstrom, Edward John Lees

Harris, John 1802-1846

Harris, Matilda

Harwood, Marian Fleming

Hinton, Howard

Hooker, Leslie Joseph

Hughes, John

Hughes, Susan

Hughes, Thomas

Joseph, Moses

Joy, Edward

Kaldor, John

King, Alicia Martha

King, Anna

Macarthur Onslow, Rosa Sibella

McCaughey, Samuel

McSweeny, Jean

Mitchell, David Scott

Moore, Thomas

Moore, William

Moxham, Mary Agnes

Mullins, John Lane

Munro Ferguson, Helen

Nelson, Randall 'Animal'

Paling, William Henry

Potter, Ian

Power, John Joseph Wardell

Raphael, Joseph George

Rofe, Thomas

Russell, Peter Nicol

Shelley, William

Smith, Courtenay

Stewart, Frederick

Strickland, Edeline

Todman, George Frederick

Torrigiani, Clarissa

Vickery, Ebenezer

Walker, Eadith

Walker, Thomas

Waterhouse, Mary Jane

Windeyer, Mary

Hammondville

At the soup kitchen 1885

Cover of 'Female immigration considered in a brief account of the Sydney Immigrants' Home' by Caroline Chisholm 1842

Crowd of children walking up May Street to St Peters railway station for their annual Sunshine Club picnic, 17 March 1945

Dame Eadith Campbell Walker 1924

David Scott Mitchell c1864

David Scott Mitchell's bookplate in photographic album c1900

Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute, Darlington c1873

Destitute Children's Asylum Randwick 1866

Edward Smith Hall 1852

Entrance to the All Night Refuge for Women and Children in Beauchamp Lane, Surry Hills March 1939

George Wigram Allen c1880

House of Good Shepherd 1872

In memory of Black Santa, plaque commemorating Syd 'Doc' Cunningham on King Street, Newtown 24 July 2010

JF Archibald between 1910-19

Jesus Adam (right), a counsellor at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1976

John Feltham Archibald and John Haynes, journalists of The Bulletin, in Darlinghurst Gaol c1882

John Hughes c1871-72

Juvenile Sympathy 1834

Lady Denison opening new wing at Rachel Forster Hospital 21 August 1926

Marian Harwood

Mick Dark at Varuna 2010

Mick Dark in the garden at Varuna 2010

Mothers and Children appeal poster 8 December 1920

Mr GE Ardill, director of the Sydney Rescue Work Society 2 March 1939

Mr PN Russell, a generous donor to the Sydney University 1895

Nurse accepting a donation from a swaggy, Martin Place 30 July 1915

Out-door relief 1885

Page from illuminated address to Simon Pearce from the Randwick Asylum for the Relief of Destitute Children 1881

Portrait of Caroline Chisholm 1852

Portrait of Sir William Dixson c1925

Randwick Asylum 1890

Red Cross stall on Belmore Road, Randwick for World War I 'Australia Day' fundraiser 30 July 1915

Residence of late David Scott Mitchell, the bedroom August 1907

Sir Edward Hallstrom, with a koala at Taronga Park Zoo 1964

Sydney Dispensary, for the relief of indigent persons, at the Sydney Infirmary, Macquarie Street c1830

Sydney soup kitchen 1883

The Armorial Bearings of Sir William Dixson of Sydney New South Wales, Knight, 1939

The Orphan Asylum, Randwick c1875

The Randwick Asylum: How the Destitute Children are Cared For, April 1890

The Sydney Infirmary: But the poor woman will die if she is not attended to 1869

The Sydney newsboys' day out October 1898

The annual meeting of the native tribes at Parramatta, New South Wales, the Governor meeting them c1826

The dining hall, Randwick Asylum 1890

The official opening of the William Dixson Gallery, 21 October 1929, with Sir William Dixson on the far left

The quadrangle, Randwick Asylum 1890

Thomas Barker 1873

Thomas Walker c1880

Till Charity Do Us Part 1900

Two young women collecting money in Sydney on 'Hospital Sunday' 1914

Vickery Mission Settlement and Central Methodist Mission

Women selling buttons to raise money for the Rachel Forster Hospital c1962

Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression, interviewed in 1986

Mr George Bates, interviewed in 1986, remembers a carnival held to raise money for an orphanage in Liverpool

Mrs Marjorie Gough recalls knitting for soldiers in World Wars I and II, interviewed in 1986

Thelma Crawley on delivering Meals on Wheels to Rosaleen Norton, the 'Witch of Kings Cross' 2007

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Charity and Philanthropy

Ardill, George

Temperance advocate, evangelist and charity worker, George Ardill was absolutely certain of the validity of his ideas about redemption and rescue of women and children. His later work as a member of the Aboriginal Protection Board, accompanied by similar certainty, led directly to some of the most tragic and damaging results of colonialism for Aboriginal people.

Barker, Thomas

Arriving in Sydney as an orphaned apprentice, Thomas Barker forged a life as a highly successful self-made man, testament to the opportunities available to men of all classes and backgrounds in the fledgling colony.

Benevolent Society and Asylum

The Benevolent Society, and the asylum (and later hospitals, clinics and aged care centres) it ran, provided care and sustenance to Sydney's poorest from the 1820s. Although it was founded under the auspices of the Colonial Auxiliary Bible Society, it gradually became a secular, independent non-profit organisation.

Charity and philanthropy

In nineteenth-century Sydney, charity protected poor people from starvation and homelessness. The introduction of benefits and pensions in the early and mid-twentieth century made it less crucial, though still important. In recent times, as government outsourced many functions previously been assigned to the state, charity regained some of the influence it had in the nineteenth century.

Dixson, William

William Dixson's dream was to make Australia's history better known. His passion for collecting and his enormous generosity made this dream a reality and a lasting legacy for the cultural and historical records of Australia

Edith Glanville

Edith Glanville was a leading Sydney philanthropist and pioneering female Justice of the Peace. She supported Armenians, was involved in the beginnings of the League of Nations, and founded the Quota Club and the Soroptimists Club of Sydney.

Health and welfare

The size and complexity of health and welfare services has increased exponentially since the early years of colonial settlement, but the partnership between governments and charities has remained at the heart of solutions to the problem of misfortune.

Mitchell, David Scott

The Mitchell Library was officially opened on 9 March 1910, three years after the death of its acclaimed benefactor, David Scott Mitchell, on 24 July 1907. Approximately 40,000 volumes were given to the new library along with a large collection of manuscript journals, diaries and letters, thousands of prints, maps and charts, pictures and portraits, miniatures, bookplates, coins and medals. Just over 100 years later, Mitchell's bequest to Sydney, to New South Wales and to Australia, remains remarkable.

Russell, Peter Nicol

Engineer and businessman Peter Nicol Russell was a force in manufacturing, importing and sales of all kinds of metal work and engineering supplies, providing components for many large projects in nineteenth-century Sydney. Although he retired to Britain, he endowed the School of Engineering at the University of Sydney, to help it produce a new generation of engineers.

Sydney City Mission

Appalled by the poverty he found in Sydney when he arrived in 1860, Benjamin Short founded the Sydney City Mission in 1862. While some of the problems it addressed changed over the years, the Mission's work for Sydney's most vulnerable people continues in 2009.

The Mitchell

For a century the Mitchell Library has been Sydney's memory, a storehouse of treasures and a club of eccentric scholars. It is all but impossible to write or read about the history of Australia, the Pacific and the Antarctic without being in debt to the great collector and eccentric recluse David Scott Mitchell.

Transcript: Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool

Miss Marjorie Tebb was born in 1920 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here she remembers her great grandfather's story about Aboriginal people in the Liverpool area, presumably from the nineteenth century.

Transcript: Mr George Bates remembers a carnival held to raise money for a local orphanage

Mr George Bates was born in 1912 and spent most of his adult life in Liverpool. He was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900–1960' project. Here he remembers a carnival held to raise money for a local orphanage.

Transcript: Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression

Mr George Bates was born in 1912 was interviewed in 1986 for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960 ' project. Here he talks about a friendly society called the Ancient Order of Foresters, which was active in the Liverpool area during the Great Depression.

Varuna

Varuna, in Katoomba, was the home of Eleanor and Eric Dark. In 1989, with one of the most generous individual philanthropic gestures in Australia's literary history, their son Mick Dark gave the house and land to the Eleanor Dark Foundation so it could be used as a place for writers to work, and to discuss ideas around the fireplace, as it had been in his parents' time.

Walker, Eadith

Born into a privileged life of travel and culture, Eadith Walker became one of Sydney's foremost philanthropists and patrons of the arts.

Walker, Thomas

A businessman, pastoralist and philanthropist, Thomas Walker used the fortune he'd made in the colony to endow hospitals, establish cultural institutions and support the poor.

Wayside Chapel

founded by Tedd Noffs, the Wayside Chapel has been a landmark in Kings Cross since 1963, helping locals and visitors and creating several organisations active in drug rehabilitation, life education and other social reform.

Act to incorporate and otherwise promote the objects of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children 1857

Legislation that established the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children as the official body in charge of orphaned and neglected children in Sydney.

full record »

The Botany-Bay Rothschild

Nickname given to ex-convict Samuel Terry who became wealthy due to many astute business dealings.

full record »

Walker Trust Act 1838

Legislation to establish the Dame Eadith Walker Convalescent Hospital for Men at Concord and, according to the wills of Thomas and Eadith Walker, vested control of the Walker trusts in the Crown.

full record »

Female Orphan School, George Street

Two storey Georgian building on the corner of George and Bridge Streets that housed destitute girls. It was purchased by the government in 1801 from its former owner Lieutenant Kent and closed in 1829 when the purpose built orphanage at Parramatta was completed.

full record »

Mission Australia Centre

Surry Hills facility for drug users and the homeless offering accommodation and health services.

full record »

Oddfellows Hall Newtown

Oddfellows Hall constructed for the Loyal William Gane Lodge No.5 which was one of many friendly society lodges established in Sydney in the nineteenth century.

full record »

Oddfellows Hall Ryde

Hall opened in 1869 in Ryde by Oddfellows Lodge Uniting Friends No.48. Since 1917 the hall has been owned by the adjacent Wesley Uniting Church.

full record »

Oddfellows Hall Woollahra

Masonic hall initiated by the Loyal Rose of Denmark, No 39 Lodge of the Manchester United Independent Order of Oddfellows. In the 1880s it also hosted dances.

full record »

Refuge for Destitute Females

Refuge established in Pitt Street by the Sydney Female Refuge Society in part of the old Carters Barracks in 1848 to assist prostitutes to abandon their work and learn needlework and laundering skills. A new building was completed for the refuge in 1871. In 1901 the building was resumed for Central Railway and the society moved to the refuge to St Peters.

full record »

Black and White Ball

Masquerade ball for Sydney high society that is used as a fund raising event for Vision Australia.

full record »

Miss Australia Quest

Competition for girls which ran from 1954 until 2000. Competitors raised money for sufferers of cerebral palsy.

full record »

Royal Commission into Public Charities 1873

Inquiry into public charities that led to changes in the treatment of delinquent and destitute children.

full record »

Anglican Home Mission Society

Social welfare and support agency.

full record »

Anzac Memorial Fund

Fund created to raise money to erect a permanent war memorial to the fallen of World War I. By the end of the war the fund had reached 60,000 pound.

full record »

Ashfield Infants Home

Home first established on Victoria Street, Darlinghurst to cater for foundlings and to provide accommodation for unmarried mothers and their babies. Two years after it was founded, one of its supporters, Thomas Walker, suggested the home be moved to larger premises, a house called 'Gorton' on Henry Street, Ashfield.

full record »

Benevolent Society of New South Wales

An early charitable society, founded in 1813 and renamed the Benevolent Society in 1818, that became one of Sydney's largest health and welfare providers.

full record »

Church Missionary Society

Evangelical Anglican society which was formed in England to spread the gospel. Today Australia has the largest mission organisation with 160 missionaries serving in 33 countries.

full record »

City Night Refuge and Soup Kitchen

full record »

Shelter and soup kitchen established in 1868 at The Judge's House, in Kent Street by a group of businessmen. It was taken over by the Sydney City Mission in 1945.

Communicare Sydney

Charity organsiation which provides marriage counselling, financial assistance and school holiday programs.

full record »

Crusade to Women

Home established by George Ardill for homeless female alcoholics.

full record »

Discharged Prisoners Aid Society

Organisation established to address the material and practical needs of prisoners and their families. First formed in Melbourne in 1872 it was established in Sydney two years later.

full record »

Female Immigrants' Home

full record »

Organisation founded by Caroline Chisholm in 1841 to provide accommodation and support for the large numbers of single women migrating to New South Wales. The Home occupied a portion in the south west of the Immigrants Barracks on Bent Street opposite the corner of Phillip Street. It opened in November 1841 and closed on 5 May 1842 after providing for thousands of women.

Fresh Air League

Charity formed to provide poor children a summer holiday in a farmhouse in Moss Vale.

full record »

Grand United Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society which provided financial support to members in need and promoted the moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members. The order began in Australia in 1848.

full record »

Hawkesbury Benevolent Society

Charitable society established on 31 December 1818 to provide social welfare services in the Hawkesbury district In 1936 the Hospitals Commission of New South Wales acquired supervision of the society as a public hospital under the Public Hospitals Act 1929.

full record »

Home Visiting and Relief Society

Charitable organisation active between 1863 and 1902

full record »

House of the Good Shepherd Pitt Street

Refuge for destitute women which operated in part of the old Carter's Barracks in Pitt Street before the building was demolished for the new Central railway station. The refuge's work was continued at St Magdalene's Retreat House in Tempe.

full record »

Independent Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society established on the English model to provide financial and practical assistance to members, particularly in times of illness or unemployment.

full record »

Italian Benevolent Society

Social welfare organisation for members of the Italian community active 1882-1902

full record »

Italian Workingman's Benefit Society

Social welfare organisation for members of the Italian community active 1891-1902

full record »

Jewish Communal Appeal

Established in 1967 it is the fundraiser, planner and facilitator for the New South Wales and ACT Jewish communities.

full record »

Kaldor Public Art Projects

Independent arts organisation formed by John Kaldor in 1969 to support public art projects.

full record »

King George's Fund for Sailors

British charity established in 1917 to support seafarers and their families.

full record »

La Perouse Aboriginal Mission

Protestant mission established in 1885 to provide food, shelter, education and religious instruction to the Aboriginal community already living in the area.

full record »

Lin Yik Tong

Association of Chinese merchants whose conducted charitable work amongst the Chinese community.

full record »

Lord Mayor's Armenian Relief Fund

Philanthropic organisation to raise funds and goods for the survivors of the Armenian massacres in Turkey in 1915, based on the model of a British fund formed in that year.

full record »

Lord Mayor's Patriotic and War Fund of New South Wales

Regional fund to raise money to support soldiers during World War II.

full record »

Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows

Friendly society established on the English model to provide financial and practical benefits to members in times of illness or unemployment.

full record »

Mission Australia

Non denominational Christian community organisation established when nine local mission organisations amalgamated in 1997.

full record »

Mission Zone Fund

Anglican care program aimed at meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of people in the inner city through parish-based welfare services.

full record »

Missionholme

Aged care centre set up by Sydney City Mission in Redfern in 1961

full record »

Mitchell Library

Part of the State Library of New South Wales, the Mitchell Library collection is based on the bequest of David Scott Mitchell, a book collector who amassed an unequalled collection of books on Australia. The collection has continued to grow.

full record »

Multiple Sclerosis Australia

Fund raising organisation to facilitate research, education and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

full record »

Open All Night Refuge

Refuge opened in 1884 to provide meals and beds for homeless women and children. The refuge opened at 403 Sussex Street but operated in many different locations until its closure in the 1950s.

full record »

Paraquad NSW

Support organisation for people with spinal cord injuries, which provides clinical services, care and accommodation.

full record »

Parramatta Benevolent Society

Charitable society established in 1838 to provide social welfare services in the Parramatta area

full record »

Power Institute Foundation for Art and Visual Culture

Foundation established by a bequest from John Power to support scholarship, research and public education in fine arts.

full record »

Prisoners' Aid Association of New South Wales

Voluntary association providing assistance and education to prisoners.

full record »

Renwick Hospital for Infants

Hospital at Ultimo established by the Benevolent Society of New South Wales adjacent to the Thomas Street Asylum with wards for homeless women and children.

full record »

Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children

full record »

Charitable organisation that educated deaf, dumb and blind children, and became one of Sydney's large charities. It moved to North Rocks in 1961, leaving its grand building to become part of the University of Sydney.

Samian Brotherhood

Charity organisation established by migrants from Samos in Greece.

full record »

Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation

Charitable foundation formed to assist the performing arts, particularly at the Independent Theatre.

full record »

Smith Family

Children's charity focused on improving educational opportunities to help disadvantaged Australian children.

full record »

Society for Aid to Children Inoperable in Mauritius

Charity group which provides medical aid to poor Mauritian children.

full record »

Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children

Society established in 1886 by George Ardill to provide support and training for children. It went on to establish homes for babies and young children at Liverpool and Camden.

full record »

Society for the Relief of Destitute Children

full record »

Society formed by members of the Benevolent Society to raise funds for and manage an asylum for destitute children who were not eligible for the orphan schools. It aimed to be self-sufficient when it moved to Randwick and the site included a farm where the boys learnt farming skills. The children received a basic education andmany of the boys and girls became apprenticed to the Institution when they reached 12.

St John Ambulance Australia

Self funding, charitable organisation active in all States and Territories, dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger.

full record »

St Vincent de Paul Society

New South Wales branch of the international Catholic charity which began in Paris in 1833.

full record »

Sussex Street Mission

Charitable mission established in 1896 by the Congregational Church

full record »

Sydney City Mission

Philanthropic organisation formed to provide welfare to Sydneysiders living in poverty, which was absorbed by the umbrella organisation Mission Australia in 1996.

full record »

Sydney Dorcas Society

Nineteenth century charitable group offering home help and other assistance to pregnant women during their confinement.

full record »

Sydney Female Mission Home

Charity run home established to provide spiritual guidance and material support to abused women and girls.

full record »

Sydney Female Refuge Society

Society established to assist prostitutes to abandon their work and learn needlework and laundering skills under strict moral guidance.

full record »

Sydney Home Nursing Service

Charitable organisation established in 1899 to provide home-based nursing care especially for the chronically ill.

full record »

Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary

Clinic created in 1826 to provide outpatient care for 'free poor persons, unable to pay for medical attendance'. It operated from several city premises before obtaining occupancy at the Rum Hospital. In 1844 it changed its name from the Sydney Dispensary to the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary, and in 1881 became the Sydney Hospital.

full record »

Sydney Medical Mission

Charity established to provide health care services and medicine to underprivileged adults and children in Sydney’s poorest inner suburbs that operated between 1900-1917. It was established by Dr Julie Carlile-Thomas and funded by Emma Dixson. Its first premises consisted of three small rooms in a building on Elizabeth Street before it was relocated to Macquarie Street. Mission doctors provided a unique service for sick Sydneysiders who were unable to leave their homes to enter hospital, particularly women with young children, and chronic incurable patients for whom no hospital bed was available. In its early years, a dilapidated phaeton pulled by an old horse, and driven by an even older man with a long white beard, transported the doctors on their house calls, and became a common sight in what were then known as the ‘slum’ suburbs of Sydney.

full record »

Sydney Ragged Schools

Private philanthropic schools established in the inner city to provide moral care and education to destitute children and their parents. Social reformism gave way to evangelism before the depression years forced a return to the social concerns of earlier years.

full record »

Sydney Rescue Work Society

Organisation founded in 1890 to provide practical care and support to destitute children and families.

full record »

Sydney Sailors' Home

Philanthropic organisation to provide safe affordable lodgings for visiting seamen.

full record »

Sydney Strangers' Friend Society

Nineteenth century charitable group offering social welfare and assistance to those in need

full record »

Sydney University Settlement Neighbourhood Centre

Philanthropic and social support organisation established to assist 'anyone requiring and deserving help', it today works primarily with the Aboriginal community and other disadvantaged groups in Chippendale, Redfern, Darlington and Waterloo.

full record »

University Women's Society

Charitable association established to assist 'anyone requiring and deserving help', whose members worked at hospitals, asylums, children's centres and schools.

full record »

Veterans' Home of New South Wales

A charitable organisation established to support and assist former defence force personnel.

full record »

Vision Australia

National agency which was formed following the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB), Vision Australia Foundation (VAF), and the National Information Library Services (NILS) in July 2004.

full record »

Wesley Mission

Evangelical organisation which grew out of the York Street Methodist chapel in 1884 when it was decided to actively undertake conversion and charitable work among the city's outcasts, poor, and working class.

full record »

Working and Factory Girls Club

Organisation which provided safe and clean accommodation for working women at their premises at 97 Bathurst Street.

full record »

Wunambiri, Surry Hills

Remedial and resource centre in Surry Hills run by the Sisters of Mercy in the 1970s.

full record »

Allen, George Wigram

full record »

Solicitor and politician who became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Antico, Tristan

Founder of Pioneer Concrete, racehorse owner and breeder, and patron of the arts.

full record »

Archibald, JF

Founding editor of The Bulletin and patron of the arts.

full record »

Ardill, George Edward (1847-1945)

full record »

Evangelist and social worker who was the founder of refuges for women and children including the Sydney Rescue Work Society. His later work as a member of the Aboriginal Protection Board led directly to some of the most tragic and damaging results of colonialism for Aboriginal people.

Barff, Jane Foss

Educationist who was in only the second group of women to be admitted to the University of Sydney in 1884. She tutored women students and promoted the cause of women undergraduates.

full record »

Barker, Thomas

full record »

Flour miller and businessman with extensive landholdings who was equally energetic in public affairs and philanthropy.

Barrett, Harrie (Todds)

Businesswoman and philanthropist who established heavy equipment industries in the suburbs of Mascot, Randwick and Botany and donated to animal and social welfare charities as well as hospitals and medical research.

full record »

Belgiorno-Nettis, Franco

Founder of construction company Transfield and patron of the arts.

full record »

Berg, Charles

Accountant and music administrator who fostered chamber music and opera in Sydney.

full record »

Bland, William

full record »

Medical doctor, philanthropist and politician who arrived in Sydney as a convict.

Buckland, Thomas

Businessman and philanthropist who endowed children's homes and hospitals in Sydney and Blue Mountains.

full record »

Burns, James

Shipowner, businessman and philanthropist who endowed Burnside Children's Homes.

full record »

Byers, Isabel

Naremburn resident who took in Henry Lawson in 1906-07.

full record »

Carpenter, Marion Beatrice

Mayoress of Burwood in 1914, while her husband Alfred Thomas Carpenter was Mayor. She presided over the fundraising efforts of her community in relation to the Red Cross and its sewing and knitting groups.

full record »

Catts, Norman

Advertising executive who later worked for chemical companies and endowed a trust fund for the education of Aboriginal children.

full record »

Charlton, Elizabeth

Charity worker who filled the position of Mayoress of Granville while her son, James Robert Charlton, served as mayor. Her father played an instrumental role in the opening up of coal mines in the Illawarra district. She was the first president of the Granville branch of the New South Wales Red Cross.

full record »

Chisholm, Caroline

full record »

Philanthropist who founded the Female Immigrants' Home and worked to foster free settlement and women's emigration to New South Wales.

Cook, Mary

Charity worker who was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to the Red Cross. She was also the wife of the sixth prime minister of Australia.

full record »

Cooper, Daniel jnr

Merchant and philanthropist who inherited the estate of his uncle Daniel Cooper in 1853 and further expanded his business and land holdings across the state.

full record »

Crews, Bill

Uniting Church minister who founded the Exodus Foundation to help homeless youth.

full record »

Cullen, Eliza Jane (Lily)

Community and charity worker.

full record »

Cumines, Albert

Fundraiser and community leader who worked for charities in China and Australia.

full record »

Cunningham, Syd 'Doc'

Syd 'Doc' Cunningham was an Aboriginal man of the Yuin people who was known to many as Black Santa. He was a welfare worker with the Western Districts Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in St Marys and served with the Australian armed forces in World War II. In the 1960s he began making trips to remote areas of western New South Wales with presents for Aboriginal children. After his retirement in 1992, Cunningham continued to raise funds for the Christmas presents he would take to Aboriginal children, sitting outside a supermarket on King Street, Newtown with a table, a chair and a bucket. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 1989.

After his death in 1999, a plaque in his honour was erected on the spot on King Street where he had sat.

full record »

Dalwood, AE

Estate agent who donated his home to the Food for Babies Fund, establishing Dalwood Home at Seaforth.

full record »

Dangar, Henry Carey

Politician and philanthropist who was a keen member of the Australian Jockey Club and benefactor of St Paul's College, University of Sydney.

full record »

Darby, Douglas

Teacher who founded the British Orphans Adoption Society and later became a conservative politician who represented the Manly district for more than three decades.

full record »

Dark, Mick

full record »

Conservationist and philanthropist who donated his family home to the nation as a writer's retreat.

Darling, Eliza

full record »

Wife of Governor Ralph Darling and active in many benevolent committees, particularly for the reform and education of women convicts.

Davidson, Margaret

British wife of Colonial Governor Walter Davidson, known for her work with the Red Cross Society as well as Scouting and Girl Guides.

full record »

Dixson, Emma Elizabeth

Philanthropist, devout Baptist and wife of one of Sydney's most prominent businessmen.

full record »

Dixson, Hugh 1841-1926

Businessman and philanthropist who built his father's tobacco business into an Australia-wide company later merged with others to become British-Australian Tobacco Ltd. His philanthropic work supported many church, hospital and other charities.

full record »

Dixson, William

full record »

Businessman, collector and benefactor who bequeathed his collection of over 20,000 items of Australiana to the State Library of New South Wales, forming the Dixson Library.

Dusseldorp, Dick

Dutch-born engineer who established Civil and Civic, an engineering firm that worked on the Sydney Opera House and later became Lend Lease Corporation. He later founded the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, a philanthropic organisation that fosters skills in young people.

full record »

Erskine, James

full record »

Soldier and Lieutenant Governor who arrived in Sydney in 1817, departing in 1823.

Fairfax, Marguerite

Philanthropist who worked to provide child care services for working mothers.

full record »

Faithfull-Anderson, Clarice

Philanthropist who inherited extensive property from her parents.

full record »

Faithfull-Anderson, Frances Lillian

Member of one of the oldest families in the state who changed her name by deed poll in 1932, twenty years after her husband's death, to reflect her origins.

full record »

Foley, Horace John

Glebe doctor with a reputation for generosity to the poor, who as party organiser was embroiled in labour politics for over four decades.

full record »

Forster, Rachel

Charity worker and wife of the seventh Governor-General of Australia. Opening the first Rachel Forster Hospital building in Redfern in August 1925 was her last official act before returning to England.

full record »

Frazer, John

Successful merchant with interests in shipping, mining, and land speculation who became a generous philanthropist in education and public works.

full record »

Garling, Jean

Dancer, author, critic and strong supporter of the performing arts and the State Library.

full record »

Hall, Edward Smith

full record »

Banker, charity worker and editor who used his editorial position as an advocate of a free press, representative government and trial by common jury. In November 1819 he was appointed to the position of the coroner of the territory of New South Wales by Governor Lachlan Macquarie, for which he was paid an annual salary of £80. He resigned from the position in October 1821 and went to his property at Lake Bathurst near Goulburn. On his return to Sydney in 1826 he founded the newspaper The Monitor with Edward Hill, leading to many disputes with Governor Ralph Darling and convictions for libel.

Hallstrom, Edward John Lees

full record »

Manufacturer and philanthropist who revolutionised food storage, particularly in the outback, with his kerosene powered refrigerator. This was diversified to Silent Knight upright models which ran on gas or electricity.

Harris, John 1802-1846

The owner of Ultimo Estate, John Harris was the nephew of the surgeon and public servant, John Harris. He arrived in Sydney in 1844, though died two years later and bequeathed a half-acre of his share in the Ultimo Estate to the Church of Scotland in Ultimo. The trustees of the estate (Dr J Fullerton and G Hamilton) selected out a half-acre block in Quarry Street, and in 1883 a Presbyterian church was built where it stands today as a Uniting Church.

full record »

Harris, Matilda

Resident of Ultimo House who endowed scholarships for law students at the University of Sydney.

full record »

Harwood, Marian Fleming

full record »

Linguist, pacifist and philanthropist who represented the peace societies of Australia at several overseas conferences prior to World War I before returning to become an anti-war campaigner.

Hinton, Howard

Company director, art collector and patron who was a generous benefactor to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

full record »

Hooker, Leslie Joseph

Businessman of Chinese heritage who founded his real estate business in 1928 with his first office in Maroubra.

full record »

Hughes, John

full record »

Grocer and property developer whose success and wealth allowed him to become a generous Catholic benefactor.

Hughes, Susan

Benefactor to the Catholic church.

full record »

Hughes, Thomas

Solicitor and politician who became an ardent supporter of a unified Greater Sydney, and Federation, whilst continuing the family tradition as benefactor of the Catholic church.

full record »

Joseph, Moses

Jewish emancipist and shopkeeper who became a wealthy trader and provided the land for the synagogue in York Street.

full record »

Joy, Edward

Merchant who, concerned at the moral state of destitute children, devoted many years of his life to establishing charity schools which were focussed on the moral and educational reform of both children and their parents.

full record »

Kaldor, John

Textile designer and importer who became a major collector, patron and supporter of contemporary art and who has commissioned and shared public art projects since 1969.

full record »

King, Alicia Martha

Charity worker and philanthropist.

full record »

King, Anna

full record »

Wife of Governor Philip Gidley King who was active in charity work in Sydney, and later returned to the colony to be close to her children who had settled there.

Macarthur Onslow, Rosa Sibella

Third of eight children, and the only surviving daughter, of Captain Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of James Macarthur. Known as Sibella, she inherited her mother's considerable estate at Camden Park (963 acres) and 20,000 pounds. She became a prominent charity worker, being on the executive of the New South Wales branch of the Red Cross.

full record »

McCaughey, Samuel

Grazier who expanded the family merino stud, Coree, at Jerilderie and was a generous supporter of several Sydney charities.

full record »

McSweeny, Jean

Arts patron and advocate.

full record »

Mitchell, David Scott

full record »

Book collector and national benefactor who used his wealth and position to amass an unmatched collection of Australiana. His entire collection was bequeathed to the people of New South Wales as the Mitchell Library, in a building purpose built for it.

Moore, Thomas

Sailor, boatbuilder, magistrate and philanthropist who endowed Moore College. He was also labelled 'the King of Liverpool' as his 1809 land grant in Moorebank made him the first citizen of Liverpool. He also funded and oversaw the construction of many of the area's public buildings and he became the magistrate of the Georges River district in 1810 - a position he held until his death.

full record »

Moore, William

Early practitioner of homeopathy in New South Wales, who acquired large landholdings in northern Sydney, and left money endowing the Glebe Homeopathic Hospital.

full record »

Moxham, Mary Agnes

Charity worker who became president of the Parramatta branch of the New South Wales Red Cross. She was also president of the Parramatta auxiliary of the Crown Street Women's Hospital. She was the wife of the politician, Thomas Robert Moxham.

full record »

Mullins, John Lane

Lawyer, whose inherited income enabled him to become a prominent art patron and Catholic lay leader. When he entered first local and then state politics he was an important link between artists and Sydney's political and business elite.

full record »

Munro Ferguson, Helen

full record »

President and founder of the Australian Branch of the British Red Cross Society. She was also the wife of Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, Governor-General of Australia in 1914-20. In 1918 she was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) for her work during World War I.

Nelson, Randall 'Animal'

Randall 'Animal' Nelson was one of the founders of the Kings Cross Bikers Social and Welfare Club in 1989. A resident of Kings Cross since the 1950s, he was he was responsible for the bikies Toy Ride each Christmas to distribute toys for needy children and known to many as the Kings Cross Santa. He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2004 for his service to the Kings Cross community.

full record »

Paling, William Henry

Musician and teacher who became a businessman, selling instruments, publishing music and promoting concerts.

full record »

Potter, Ian

Stockbroker and philanthropist who grew up in Sydney's southern suburbs.

full record »

Power, John Joseph Wardell

Expatriate doctor and artist who left his estate to the University of Sydney for the study and acquisition of contemporary art. His bequest became the basis of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Power Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Sydney.

full record »

Raphael, Joseph George

Merchant, successful businessman and philanthropist who somewhat harshly judged most recipient's plight as their own fault.

full record »

Rofe, Thomas

Lawyer, businessman and benefactor who was convicted of conspiracy and struck off the roll of solicitors, and later turned to religion and philanthropy to rehabilitate his character.

full record »

Russell, Peter Nicol

full record »

Engineer, foundry owner, philanthropist and university benefactor.

Shelley, William

Missionary and trader who used his trading expeditions to the Pacific islands to finance his missionary work.

full record »

Smith, Courtenay

Charity worker on behalf of alcoholics.

full record »

Stewart, Frederick

Land developer at Chullora, bus company owner and federal politician who donated land at Dundas for the establishment of the Lottie Stewart hospital, named for his first wife.

full record »

Strickland, Edeline

Charity worker and wife of the Governor of New South Wales of 1913-17, Gerald Strickland. She was the daughter of the 7th Earl De La Warr and the Honourable Constance Mary Elizabeth Cochrane-Wishart-Baillie.

full record »

Todman, George Frederick

Businessman who entered the tobacco industry as a boy and rose to become managing director. He also held extensive property holdings and was a generous benefactor to several hospitals.

full record »

Torrigiani, Clarissa

Donor of Il Porcellino in Macquarie Street.

full record »

Vickery, Ebenezer

Ironmonger, merchant and philanthropist whose success in the coal and insurance businesses and large real estate portfolio enabled his generous support of the Methodist church.

full record »

Walker, Eadith

full record »

Philanthropist and benefactor.

Walker, Thomas

full record »

Scottish-born banker and businessman who used his money to support many Sydney charities.

Waterhouse, Mary Jane

Devout Methodist, charity worker and keen naturalist.

full record »

Windeyer, Mary

Suffrage campaigner and philanthropist.

full record »

Hammondville

South-western residential suburb established in 1932 by Anglican minister Robert Hammond. Inner-city, rent-paying families evicted during the Depression were provided with homes through a rent-purchase program.

full record »

At the soup kitchen 1885

full record »

By

Nelson P Whitelocke

Contributed By

National Gallery of Australia

[Accession No: NGA 93.2024.16]

(from 'A walk in Sydney streets on the shady side' by Nelson P. Whitelocke. Sydney: Nelson P. Whitelocke, 1885, plate 14)

Cover of 'Female immigration considered in a brief account of the Sydney Immigrants' Home' by Caroline Chisholm 1842

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

Crowd of children walking up May Street to St Peters railway station for their annual Sunshine Club picnic, 17 March 1945

full record »

By

Ivan Wilfrid Ive

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 017/Item 085]

Dame Eadith Campbell Walker 1924

full record »

By

Harold Cazneaux

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 39/Item 716]

David Scott Mitchell c1864

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a668028 / PXC 831,166]

(Mitchell Library)

David Scott Mitchell's bookplate in photographic album c1900

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a8723002 / PXA 460]

(in album 'Views of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania' photographs predominantly by F.A. Coxhead) (Mitchell Library)

Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute, Darlington c1873

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[on4_40169 / Home and Away 40169]

Destitute Children's Asylum Randwick 1866

full record »

By

Freeman Bros & Prout

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

Edward Smith Hall 1852

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Entrance to the All Night Refuge for Women and Children in Beauchamp Lane, Surry Hills March 1939

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 026/Item 040]

(Mitchell Library, courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd)

George Wigram Allen c1880

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By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1321030 / PXA 549, 11c]

(Mitchell Library)

House of Good Shepherd 1872

full record »

By

Charles Percy Pickering

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a1107158 / PXD 524, 155]

In memory of Black Santa, plaque commemorating Syd 'Doc' Cunningham on King Street, Newtown 24 July 2010

full record »

By

Newtown graffiti

Contributed By

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/newtown_grafitti/4823316690]

(CC BY 2.0)

JF Archibald between 1910-19

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a5823001 / P1/2150]

(Mitchell Library)

Jesus Adam (right), a counsellor at Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross 1976

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A6180, 30/1/76/38]

John Feltham Archibald and John Haynes, journalists of The Bulletin, in Darlinghurst Gaol c1882

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a4157058 / P1/58]

(Mitchell Library)

John Hughes c1871-72

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Juvenile Sympathy 1834

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[Sydney Herald 8 September 1834 p1 via Trove]

Lady Denison opening new wing at Rachel Forster Hospital 21 August 1926

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Marian Harwood

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[via Trove nla.news-page17072494]

(Sydney Mail, 8 August 1934, p23)

Mick Dark at Varuna 2010

full record »

By

Contributed By

Varuna The National Writers House

Mick Dark in the garden at Varuna 2010

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By

Contributed By

Varuna The National Writers House

Mothers and Children appeal poster 8 December 1920

full record »

Contributed By

Benevolent Society

Mr GE Ardill, director of the Sydney Rescue Work Society 2 March 1939

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ON 388/Box 026/Item 040]

(Mitchell Library, courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd)

Mr PN Russell, a generous donor to the Sydney University 1895

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 December 1895, p1171 via Trove]

Nurse accepting a donation from a swaggy, Martin Place 30 July 1915

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a9720001 / V*/Wor W 1/12]

(Mitchell Library)

Out-door relief 1885

full record »

By

Nelson P Whitelocke

Contributed By

National Gallery of Australia

[Accession No: NGA 93.2024.6]

(from 'A walk in Sydney streets on the shady side', by Nelson P. Whitelocke. Sydney: Nelson P. Whitelocke, 1885. Page: plate 4)

Page from illuminated address to Simon Pearce from the Randwick Asylum for the Relief of Destitute Children 1881

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a2733005 /MLMSS 6395]

(Mitchell Library)

Portrait of Caroline Chisholm 1852

full record »

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an9193363]

Portrait of Sir William Dixson c1925

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a128084 / DL Pe 276]

(Dixson Library)

Randwick Asylum 1890

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 17 April 1890, p 17)

Red Cross stall on Belmore Road, Randwick for World War I 'Australia Day' fundraiser 30 July 1915

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Residence of late David Scott Mitchell, the bedroom August 1907

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[d1_10951 / GPO1 10951]

(Mitchell Library)

Sir Edward Hallstrom, with a koala at Taronga Park Zoo 1964

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By

James (Jim) Fitzpatrick

Contributed By

National Archives of Australia

[A1200 / L47870]

Sydney Dispensary, for the relief of indigent persons, at the Sydney Infirmary, Macquarie Street c1830

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[ML 362.12099/4D ]

(Mitchell Library)

Sydney soup kitchen 1883

full record »

Image courtesy of the

State Library of Victoria

[A/S04/06/83/96]

(The Australasian sketcher with pen and pencil, 4 June 1883 p 96)

The Armorial Bearings of Sir William Dixson of Sydney New South Wales, Knight, 1939

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a7399001 / DL Pe 269]

(Dixson Library)

The Orphan Asylum, Randwick c1875

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[DL PX 149, 36]

(Dixson Library)

The Randwick Asylum: How the Destitute Children are Cared For, April 1890

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 17 April 1890, p 17)

The Sydney Infirmary: But the poor woman will die if she is not attended to 1869

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Sydney Punch, 4 September 1869, p128)

The Sydney newsboys' day out October 1898

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Australian Town and Country Journal, 22 October 1898, p36 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71319312)

The annual meeting of the native tribes at Parramatta, New South Wales, the Governor meeting them c1826

full record »

By

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[nla.pic-an2820681]

The dining hall, Randwick Asylum 1890

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 17 April 1890, p 17)

The official opening of the William Dixson Gallery, 21 October 1929, with Sir William Dixson on the far left

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a7442001 / DL Pe 275]

(Dixson Library)

The quadrangle, Randwick Asylum 1890

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Illustrated Sydney News, 17 April 1890, p 17)

Thomas Barker 1873

full record »

By

Barcroft Capel Boake

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[a928553 / P1/94]

Thomas Walker c1880

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[d1_24034 / GPO1 24034]

(Mitchell Library)

Till Charity Do Us Part 1900

full record »

The separation of Darby and Joan, as practised at present by Mr Bumble of NSW alleged Charities Department

Contributed By

National Library of Australia

[The Bulletin, 28 July 1900 p16 via Trove]

Two young women collecting money in Sydney on 'Hospital Sunday' 1914

full record »

Contributed By

State Library of South Australia

[PRG/280/1/8/254]

Vickery Mission Settlement and Central Methodist Mission

full record »

By

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

[hood_09540 / Home and Away - 9540]

Women selling buttons to raise money for the Rachel Forster Hospital c1962

full record »

From the collections of the

State Library of New South Wales

(Mitchell Library)

Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Miss Marjorie Tebb was born in 1920 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here she remembers her great grandfather's story about Aboriginal people in the Liverpool area, presumably from the nineteenth century.
Transcript

INTERVIEWER: I was wondering if you could tell me the story about the Aborigines and your great grandfather, who was a Mr Shepherd?

MARJORIE: Well, all I can remember is what I've been told. These Aborigines used to come around and they'd give them food and everything. And this particular, three times he'd given him a pair of trousers to put on. His name was Jackie, they were nearly all 'Jackies' the Aborigines in those days. The fourth time he'd come around he wanted 'food, Boss'. So anyway [great grandfather said]: 'I'm not giving you any food Jackie. You've got no trousers on; I've given you three pairs. What happened to the last pair I gave you?' 'Oh well Boss' he did say, 'they did fall down and I did walk away and leave them.' Because I suppose he just, they weren't used to wearing them even though we tried to educate them into wearing clothes, it was just no good.

INTERVIEWER: As a child, can you recall any Aborigines in the area?

MARJORIE: No, not in the area.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Miss Marjorie Tebb for 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mr George Bates talks about the Ancient Order of Foresters during the Great Depression, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mr George Bates was born in 1912. He was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960 ' project. Here he talks about a friendly society called the Ancient Order of Foresters, which was active in the Liverpool area during the Great Depression.

Transcript:

GEORGE: In those Depression days I joined that very good Ancient Order of Foresters. Now that used to take the place of what Medicare does today. They done it for the goodness of people and everything like that. And I joined that Ancient Order of Foresters, raised to the honour of, right up to the general of it, the headmaster of it. And one thing I got a great distinction from that of getting the Ancient Order of Foresters and that was renowned in the Depression days round Liverpool. You joined the Foresters, a subscription to it, and if you had doctors, sickness or anything like that it covered like Medicare does today, and that was renowned the Ancient Order of Foresters. Even recently I had reason to be working for the St Vincent de Paul here in Hillview, paying their accounts, being the treasurer, and a lady noticed that I was paying an account and she said 'you are Mr Bates'? I says 'yes'. She said 'my godfather, good luck to you. I can remember you helping my mother in the Ancient Order of Foresters forty years ago, helping with that family and it gives me great distinction to say hello to you, you helped them and you're doing that to this day. Great credit to you'. And it gave me a great privilege for her to say that to me.

INTERVIEWER: How many people belonged to the Foresters in Liverpool?

GEORGE: Approximately, well say, for instance, if you joined up all the area around Liverpool, it'd be up to approximately fifty families.

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Detail from interview with George Bates, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mr George Bates, interviewed in 1986, remembers a carnival held to raise money for an orphanage in Liverpool

full record »

Mr George Bates was born in 1912 and spent most of his adult life in Liverpool. He was interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900-1960 ' project. Here he remembers a carnival held to raise money for a local orphanage.
Transcript

GEORGE Another thing that brings back memories of the orphanage those particular days, we had a very good knowledgeable person who was George Laurantis [?] who had the theatre in Liverpool. And in his goodness he'd always have the orphans of a Saturday afternoon upstairs to look at the pictures and one thing and another. But another scene came up, where he was arranging a big day at the Liverpool Bowling Club and he was raising for the orphanage in Liverpool, and he got, he was very good at organising things George was in those days, George Laurantis got even the top jockeys from Sydney to come up and attend this big carnival for the orphans of Liverpool. Top jockeys came, like Sellwood, and so and so. And he got it all organised at the Liverpool Bowling Club; and it looked like rain. And he was in a dither over it. But anyhow, they got through the carnival for the orphanage in those days and raised six hundred pounds. It was a fantastic set up. And George Laurantis took the money up to the Sister Superior at the orphanage and he says 'Oh Mother!' She says 'What is it Mr Laurantis'? He said 'How lucky we were!' She said 'How do you mean lucky Mr Laurantis?' He said 'If it had been rain we wouldn't have had our carnival at all'. But you had no rain,' said the Mother. 'I know that, I know that, but I got real dithered about it'. She said 'You should have seen me, you shouldn't have got dithered because there'd have been no rain today'. He said 'Why's that Mother'? 'Well' she said, ' I went down to our saint in the grounds', a big statue there in the grounds, of St Theresa, and she said a prayer in front of St Theresa and she said 'Lord, send no rain here for Liverpool today because they're running the big carnival in Liverpool' she says. She was so confident; and she said 'I'd have given you the confidence immediately if you'd only made contact with me.' [1]

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Detail from interview with George Bates, from the 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith.)

Mrs Marjorie Gough recalls knitting for soldiers in World Wars I and II, interviewed in 1986

full record »

Mrs Marjorie Gough was born in 1908 and interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here she talks here about her contribution to the war effort in both world wars.
Transcript

MARJORIE: I knitted socks for the first war [WWI] when I was seven. I was born in England and came out. War broke out in 1914 and we came out in 1915 and our boat was the last boat that came out to Australia and then they stopped bringing people out. And we used to knit, in the last war [WWII] you'd knit in church and everywhere, in the last war. Now you wouldn't see people knitting in church but we knitted in church, socks and things for the soldiers.

INTERVIEWER: Who would get the knitted items to the soldiers? Would it be through Red Cross?

MARJORIE: Through Red Cross, yes, and we used to put a little note in and say who did them. My sister, she's still got it I think, she got a reply back from one of the chaps. But the Red Cross, they would supply the wool, and then [we'd] knit for all the soldiers, that was in the first war [WWI]. Then in the second war [WWII] [we] knew people that we'd send them to them.

INTERVIEWER: It wasn't through an organisation in the Second World War?

MARJORIE: No, just knitted them and sent them to people that we knew; little balaclavas and socks, jumpers, things like that. I used to like knitting..

Contributed By

Liverpool City Library

(Excerpt from interview with Mrs Marjorie Gough in 'Looking back at Liverpool : an oral history of the Liverpool region 1900-1960' conducted in 1986 by Liverpool City Council, editor and project co-ordinator Catherine Johnson ; researchers Angela Imbrosciano, Verica Miiosavijevic, Kathleen Smith)

Thelma Crawley on delivering Meals on Wheels to Rosaleen Norton, the 'Witch of Kings Cross' 2007

full record »

By

Courtesy:

City of Sydney Council

(From the oral history collection)

Social welfare