Sydney Harbour
A History
Sydney Harbour has been a defining feature for the people who have lived around it for millennia: a means of communication, a barrier, a resource to be exploited, a site of commerce and trade, and a place of beauty, spirit and meaning.
In this sweeping history of one of the world’s most recognisable landscapes, award-winning historian Ian Hoskins explores the story of this famous waterway, from its importance to the Gameragal and Gadigal people to highly charged contemporary debates about the future of the ‘working harbour’ and the ownership of its foreshores.
A beautifully written and compelling book, this new edition of Sydney Harbour surveys the interactions between the glittering harbour and the people who have fished it, sailed on it, built at its edges, fought for it, portrayed it and marvelled at it.
‘An innovative history of Sydney Harbour…Ian Hoskins brings into view a many-sided picture of the harbour over time. A delight to read.’ — Peter Cochrane
‘A detailed and beautifully written history…If you love Sydney Harbour, then this is an evocative celebration.’ — Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald
‘In this superbly illustrated history of Sydney Harbour, Hoskins explores the fascinating story of one of the world’s more recognised waterways…a fine history, an excellent read.’ — Ross Fitzgerald, Spectator Australia
Ian Hoskins has worked as an academic and public historian in Sydney for over 30 years. The original edition of Sydney Harbour: A history won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Prize for History in 2010 and Coast, his history of the New South Wales coast, won the New South Wales Premier’s Prize for Community and Regional History in 2014. His most recent work, Australia & the Pacific: A history was shortlisted for the Australian History Prize in 2022. He was the CH Currey Fellow at the State Library of NSW in 2019 exploring the Library’s extensive Pacific collections.
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