A Brief History of Sydney
By Tim Lambert with help from Lucy Wilde
The Foundation of Sydney
Sydney was founded in 1788 when the first fleet arrived from England.
On 13 May 1787 a fleet of 11 ships set sail from Portsmouth, England. On board were 759 convicts, most of them men with sailors and marines to guard the prisoners. With them they took seeds, farm implements, livestock such as cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses and chickens and 2 years supply of food. The first colonists came ashore at Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. They were commanded by Captain Arthur Philip (1738-1814).
Sydney was named after Thomas Townshend - Lord Sydney (1733-1800). He became British Secretary of State in 1783 and recommended the British establish a colony in Australia.
At first things were difficult for the colonists and food was short although Phillip sent a ship to South Africa for more provisions which returned in May 1789. Food was rationed and the rations were anything but generous. However things gradually improved. A second fleet arrived in 1790 and a third fleet came in 1791. At first the settlers lived in simple wooden huts but later convicts made bricks for houses.
Discipline in the new colony was savage. Minor offences were punished by flogging. More serious offences were punished by hanging. The first person to be hanged in Australia was Thomas Barrett who was executed on 27 February 1788 for stealing food. The first woman to be hanged in Australia was Ann Davis who was executed on 23 November 1789.
The oldest Surviving building in Sydney is Cadman's Cottage, which was built in 1815-16 as a coxswain’s barracks. It was named after a John Cadman who once lived there. (Today Cadman's Cottage is used as an information Centre for the National Parks and Wildlife Service).
Captain Phillip left Australia in December 1792. For three years New South Wales was left without a governor until John Hunter (1737-1821) took over. He was governor from 1795 to 1800 and he was followed by Philip King (1758-1808) who was governor from 1800 to 1806.
Soon after the first fleet arrived intermittent conflict with the Aborigines began. With their superior weapons the Europeans were bound to prevail and dispossess the Aborigines. However their greatest ally was disease. The local Aboriginal population was devastated by smallpox.
Furthermore in 1806 William Bligh was made governor of New South Wales. Bligh is famous for provoking the mutiny on The Bounty. After arriving in Australia Bligh managed, typically, to alienate the settlers. At that time rum was used as a currency. Bligh tried to stop this but a group of officers overthrew him declaring he was unfit to rule. They imprisoned Bligh and he eventually agreed to leave Australia.
Nevertheless the colony of New South Wales developed rapidly especially after a pass was found through the Blue Mountains in 1813. Sydney grew rapidly.
The first theatre in Sydney was built in 1794. In 1804 a stone bridge was built over the Tank Stream. It was the first stone bridge in Australia. The first post office in Australia opened on Lower George Street in 1809.
The first governor, Phillip, set aside land for his own use. It became the Domain.
Phillip also gave the vicinity of Manly its name when he saw 'manly' Aborigines standing there.
Lachlan Macquarie was governor of New South Wales from 1810-1822. So far Sydney had grown in a haphazard way. Macquarie was determined to bring order. So he built the first paved roads and also erected many public buildings. He was helped by the architect Francis Greenway (1777-1824).
Some of the earliest settlers were made to work on vegetable gardens. However the venture was not a success and in 1816 the land was turned into the Botanic Garden.
Hyde Park Barracks was built in 1819. Originally it was accommodation for convicts. Today it is a museum.
The Australian Museum was founded in 1827.
The oldest church in Sydney is St James, which was built in 1824.
Meanwhile the first free settlers arrived in 1793. One of them was called John Palmer. He was granted some land and he built a house on it called Woolloomooloo. It gave its name to an area of Sydney.
From 1830 hackney carriages ran in the streets of Sydney.
The first Australian gin was distilled in Sydney in 1834 by Robert Cooper.
The Growth of Sydney
Sydney grew at a phenomenal rate through the 19th century even though transportation to New South Wales ended in 1840. By 1861 the population of Sydney was 56,000 and it was a flourishing town. By 1881 the population had grown to an amazing 221,000. By 1901 the population of Sydney was 481,000.
In 1842 Sydney was incorporated (given a corporation and mayor).
Sydney University was founded in 1850.
In 1855-57 Fort Denison was built to protect Sydney. It was named after Sir William Denison (1804-1871) who was governor or New South Wales from 1855 to 1861.
As the city exploded in size many new buildings were erected. Government House was built in 1845. Sydney Observatory was built in 1858. St Mary's RC Cathedral was built on the site of previous church, which burned down in 1865. St Mary’s Cathedral was consecrated in 1905. However the twin spires were not added until 1999.
St Andrew's Cathedral was consecrated in 1868 and the Great Synagogue was consecrated in 1878.
Macquarie lighthouse was built in 1883.
Customs House was built in 1885. It was designed by the architect James Barnet (1827-1904). (The same man designed the Australian Museum Building, which was built in 1864). Centennial Park was laid out in 1888. Sydney Town Hall was built in 1869-1889 and the Queen Victoria Building was erected in 1898
Meanwhile in 1855 a railway was built from Sydney to Parramatta.
In 1861 horse drawn trams began running through the streets of Sydney. In the 1880s they were replaced by steam trams and at the beginning of the 20th century by electric trams. However the tram system began closing in the 1950s and the last tram ran in 1961.
In 1926 the first part of an underground railway opened in Sydney.
Modern Sydney
During the 20th century Sydney continued its rapid growth. By 1954 the population of Sydney was over 1.8 million.
However there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in the poor parts of Sydney in 1900, which killed 103 people. A man named Robert Sutherland Thompson was put in charge of the situation. In 1898 a Frenchman working in India called Paul-Louis Simond had suggested that bubonic plague was transmitted by fleas that live on rats but his theory gained few supporters. One of them was Thompson. He carried out careful observations of the epidemic in Sydney, which proved the Frenchman's theory was correct. Afterwards slum clearance began in The Rocks, which was then the roughest part of Sydney. (Today its is a district of hotels and expensive restaurants.
Taronga Zoo opened in 1916.
The Anzac War Memorial was designed by Bruce Dellit (1898-1942). It was built in 1934. The sculptor of the monument was Raynor Hoff (1894-1937).
The task of building Sydney Harbour Bridge began on 28 July 1923 when the first sod was turned and work began on the approaches. In March 1924 a contract was signed with the building firm Dorman, Long and Co. By 1930 the arch was in place. Sixteen men were killed building the bridge.
Sydney Harbour Bridge opened on 19 March 1932. It was opened by Jack Lang (1875-1975) who was Premier of New South Wales in 1925-27 and 1930-1932. (Although a man called Captain de Groot cut the tape before the Premier could).
The new Bridge was 3,770 feet long. The span of the main bridge was 1,650 feet. Clearance for vessels passing underneath was 170 feet.
Bridgeclimb (a climbing tour) began in 1998.
Also in 1932 Archibald Fountain was erected in Hyde Park.
In 1935 a tiger shark was caught and placed in Coogee Aquarium. On Anzac Day, 25 April 1935 it regurgitated a human arm. The arm had a tattoo of two boxers and police were able to obtain fingerprints. The arm belonged to a 40 year old man named James Smith a former boxer. When examined it was clear the arm had been cut with a knife not bitten off by a shark. There was a theory that Smith's body was put in a trunk and dumped at sea. His arm would not fit so it was cut off with a sharp knife and tied to the trunk. However it came loose and a shark swallowed it. At any rate the rest of the body was never found.
On 17 May 1935 police arrested a 42-year-old man named Patrick Brady. However at his trial Brady was acquitted. He died in 1965. Nobody was ever convicted to Smith's murder.
On 31 May 1942 three Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour. One of them fired a torpedo which hit HMAS Kuttabul, killing 19 Australians and 2 Britons.
In the late 20th century the number of manufacturing jobs in Sydney declined. However the service sector boomed and today Sydney is Australia's main commercial and financial centre. Sydney is also an important port (although most of the cargo goes through Port Botany).
Today Sydney is, of course, a major tourist destination. Many new museums opened in the late 20th century. Sydney Tram Museum was founded in 1988. It moved to its present site in 1988. Powerhouse Museum opened in 1988. Sydney Jewish Museum opened in 1992.
Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II. Sydney Tower was built in 1981.
Furthermore the Chinese Garden of Friendship opened in 1988. The same year, 1988, Bicentennial Park opened. Also in 1988 Sydney Exhibition Centre opened.
From 1988 the Darling Harbour district was redeveloped and is now known for its shops, restaurants and entertainment.
Sydney Harbour Tunnel was built in 1992.
In 1994 Governor Phillip and Governor Macquarie Towers opened. The Museum of Sydney opened in 1995. The Anzac Bridge opened in 1996.
Other famous buildings in Sydney include the MLC Centre, built in 1977 and Aurora Place built in 2000.
Star City casino complex opened in 1997.
The Olympic Games were held in Sydney in 2000.
At the moment Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre is being built in Sydney.
Today Sydney is a multicultural city with many immigrants both from Europe and Asia.
Today the population of Sydney is about 4.2 million.
To read a history of Melbourne click here.
To read a history of Canberra click here.
To read a history of Australia click here.
Last revised 2007