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Sydney: A Biography
‘I came to Sydney from Melbourne in 1978 and immediately fell in love with its history, the sandstone buildings, the gorgeous harbour, the bridge, the Opera House, its ad hoc streets and its denizens.’ In Sydney, acclaimed playwright and author Louis Nowra—author of Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo —expands his gaze to explore the energy, beauty, vulgarity, dynamism, and pulsating sense of self-importance of his adopted city. This big, bustling portrait of Sydney is told through profiles of people, high and low, with a cast of criminals and premiers, ordinary folk, entertainers, artists, thieves, and visionaries. Along with its people, Nowra surveys the city’s architecture and its global identity. And as Sydney’s history unfolds throughout the twentieth century and beyond, Nowra revels in its neon lighting, music, skyscrapers, and sense of optimism.
464 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2022
17 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Louis Nowra
54 books40 followersLouis Nowra (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. His most significant plays are Così, Byzantine Flowers, Summer of the Aliens, Radiance, and The Golden Age. In 2007 he completed the The Boyce Trilogy for Griffin Theatre Company, consisting of The Woman with Dog's Eyes, The Marvellous Boy and The Emperor of Sydney. Many of his plays have been filmed.[1]
He was born as Mark Doyle in Melbourne. He changed his name to Louis Nowra in the early 1970s. He studied at Melbourne's La Trobe University without earning a degree. In his memoir, The Twelfth of Never, Nowra claimed that he left the course due to a conflict with his professor on Patrick White's The Tree of Man. He worked in several jobs and lived an itinerant lifestyle until the mid-1970s when his plays began to attract attention.
His radio plays include Albert Names Edward, The Song Room, The Widows and the five part The Divine Hammer aired on the ABC in 2003.[2]
In March 2007, Nowra published a controversial book on violence in Aboriginal communities, Bad Dreaming.
Nowra has been studied extensively in Veronica Kelly's work The Theatre of Louis Nowra.
He resides in Sydney with his wife, author Mandy Sayer.
From Wikipedia
He was born as Mark Doyle in Melbourne. He changed his name to Louis Nowra in the early 1970s. He studied at Melbourne's La Trobe University without earning a degree. In his memoir, The Twelfth of Never, Nowra claimed that he left the course due to a conflict with his professor on Patrick White's The Tree of Man. He worked in several jobs and lived an itinerant lifestyle until the mid-1970s when his plays began to attract attention.
His radio plays include Albert Names Edward, The Song Room, The Widows and the five part The Divine Hammer aired on the ABC in 2003.[2]
In March 2007, Nowra published a controversial book on violence in Aboriginal communities, Bad Dreaming.
Nowra has been studied extensively in Veronica Kelly's work The Theatre of Louis Nowra.
He resides in Sydney with his wife, author Mandy Sayer.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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May 31, 2024RTC
Read as an eBook on BorrowBox
Published by NewSouth
512 pages
Non-Fiction
Read as an eBook on BorrowBox
Published by NewSouth
512 pages
Non-Fiction
November 25, 2024
1. In many parts, the book is resounding the facts but, more interestingly, the format of another one - City Dreamers by , published in 2016, which tells the story of the city through its people. However, any mention of the possible inspiration taken from the work of Graeme Davidson is nowhere to be found.
2. Sorry-not-sorry, I’m an architect and a scholar, with a pretty in depth knowledge of Sydney urban history, so bare with me when I latch onto some things that are particularly close to my heart and irk me here. Nowra rips to shreds Harry Seidler and his architecture, but describes atrocities committed by the generations of Packers family with something nearing fondness and portrays James Packer almost with a lighthearted sympathy. He mindlessly goes on and on about the ugliness of the Blues Point Tower, not mentioning that thanks to the (yes, questionable in its modernist urban principles) masterplan, the shore was saved for public from heavy industrial zoning. But then describes Packer’s casino privatisation of public land for high rollers as beautiful and exquisite elongated silvery object. He places the Wilkinson’s tower in the same sentence as Harbour Bridge and the Opera House [sic]. The depth of his argument here goes as far as (which is not so far): all these three built forms have curves and I like it. But, for the love of a common sense, the site has 22-hectares. It deserves a more than a largely irrelevant comments on the matter such as whether a straight or curvy edge to the waterfront will be more appealing. (1) TL;DR: There was no public tender for the project and the entire casino licence was granted without a tender process. And don’t get me started on the decontextualisation, scale, floor plate size, number of public streets and the whole BS of a privately managed corporate plazas. As Peter Mould, former NSW Government Architect said, “is difficult to debate the aesthetic qualities of a proposition so flawed: it came out of an unsolicited proposal, was approved in secrecy without planning or design advice and resulted in the relocation of a public park that will now sit in shadow-denying afternoon sun” (2). Aka. it stole public land.
3. So, for nearly 500 pages Nowra exposes, and with amusing fanfare, presents the scandals and dodgy dealings that make up the spine of our city’s history, but fails to mention the disgraceful corruption of the Barangaroo development. You know, the planning-as-deal-making betrayal of the design process and public trust (3), arguably the biggest one in Sydney’s urban history, which made Packer’s object possible? That one. One may wonder if the earlier history of Sydney retold by Nowra, the non-widely known one, the one that can’t be easily tested (unless you are a Sydney historian or an experienced researcher), was also presented in some subjective, superficial or even skewed way?
4. We all have “our own” Sydney. The bubbles of locations and times in which we experience the city are aplenty. It makes it not one, but many Sydneys that exist simultaneously, and this is as true, as exciting. My Sydney is not Nowra’s Sydney and that’s ok, more so, that is precisely what makes cities so fascinating. The issue is though, nearing the end of the book and more present times, the vibes in "Sydney's biography" become nostalgic, in that uncomfortable ok, boomer sense, insinuating that the good old (dirty and ugly) days were good and real, and what are those young, clean, pretty people doing now in OUR city?? This vibe can only be summed up by the perfectly fitting, colloquial and totally untranslatable Polish saying: Kiedyś to były czasy, teraz już nie ma czasów.
5. To summarise, my unsolicited editorial advice: to change the title to “Sydney. An opinion piece.”
(1) https://architectureau.com/articles/t...
(2) https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a...
(3) https://theconversation.com/let-it-ri...
2. Sorry-not-sorry, I’m an architect and a scholar, with a pretty in depth knowledge of Sydney urban history, so bare with me when I latch onto some things that are particularly close to my heart and irk me here. Nowra rips to shreds Harry Seidler and his architecture, but describes atrocities committed by the generations of Packers family with something nearing fondness and portrays James Packer almost with a lighthearted sympathy. He mindlessly goes on and on about the ugliness of the Blues Point Tower, not mentioning that thanks to the (yes, questionable in its modernist urban principles) masterplan, the shore was saved for public from heavy industrial zoning. But then describes Packer’s casino privatisation of public land for high rollers as beautiful and exquisite elongated silvery object. He places the Wilkinson’s tower in the same sentence as Harbour Bridge and the Opera House [sic]. The depth of his argument here goes as far as (which is not so far): all these three built forms have curves and I like it. But, for the love of a common sense, the site has 22-hectares. It deserves a more than a largely irrelevant comments on the matter such as whether a straight or curvy edge to the waterfront will be more appealing. (1) TL;DR: There was no public tender for the project and the entire casino licence was granted without a tender process. And don’t get me started on the decontextualisation, scale, floor plate size, number of public streets and the whole BS of a privately managed corporate plazas. As Peter Mould, former NSW Government Architect said, “is difficult to debate the aesthetic qualities of a proposition so flawed: it came out of an unsolicited proposal, was approved in secrecy without planning or design advice and resulted in the relocation of a public park that will now sit in shadow-denying afternoon sun” (2). Aka. it stole public land.
3. So, for nearly 500 pages Nowra exposes, and with amusing fanfare, presents the scandals and dodgy dealings that make up the spine of our city’s history, but fails to mention the disgraceful corruption of the Barangaroo development. You know, the planning-as-deal-making betrayal of the design process and public trust (3), arguably the biggest one in Sydney’s urban history, which made Packer’s object possible? That one. One may wonder if the earlier history of Sydney retold by Nowra, the non-widely known one, the one that can’t be easily tested (unless you are a Sydney historian or an experienced researcher), was also presented in some subjective, superficial or even skewed way?
4. We all have “our own” Sydney. The bubbles of locations and times in which we experience the city are aplenty. It makes it not one, but many Sydneys that exist simultaneously, and this is as true, as exciting. My Sydney is not Nowra’s Sydney and that’s ok, more so, that is precisely what makes cities so fascinating. The issue is though, nearing the end of the book and more present times, the vibes in "Sydney's biography" become nostalgic, in that uncomfortable ok, boomer sense, insinuating that the good old (dirty and ugly) days were good and real, and what are those young, clean, pretty people doing now in OUR city?? This vibe can only be summed up by the perfectly fitting, colloquial and totally untranslatable Polish saying: Kiedyś to były czasy, teraz już nie ma czasów.
5. To summarise, my unsolicited editorial advice: to change the title to “Sydney. An opinion piece.”
(1) https://architectureau.com/articles/t...
(2) https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/a...
(3) https://theconversation.com/let-it-ri...
April 29, 2023
Seeing Sydney through different eyes.
I’ve not spent a lot of time in Sydney. My first visit, part of a school trip in 1970, took in Kings Cross, various sites around Sydney Harbour, and the Blue Mountains. Since moving to Canberra in 1974, I’ve been to Sydney for work quite a few times, for medical reasons more often than I’d like, but rarely just to explore the city. But I have a list of places I want to explore, and Mr Nowra’s book has expanded that list.
Mr Nowra’s biography of Sydney starts with his recollection of a surprise visit to the city as a nine-year-old in 1959. He and his father, travelling from Melbourne to Wollongong to collect a load of coking coal, took a detour and drove into Sydney and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The contrast between the grey of the bridge and the emerald-green harbour rendered his speechless. Twenty years later, Mr Nowra moved to Sydney.
‘This biography of Sydney is told through three strands: the first is its chronological history, the second considers some of its spaces and places, and the third consists of themes such as sandstone or water.’
While I know much of the colonial history of Sydney, I am still learning about the Indigenous people who occupied the land before the First Fleet arrived in 1788. Part of Sydney’s story is told through some of the people who’ve lived here. Some are well known, others are not. As I read, I wanted a map to guide me through places, and to walk through the areas mentioned and think about how they might have looked. George Street, Mr Nowra writes, was an Indigenous path to the south. The track (which is now the Old South Head Road) is the northern boundary of Centennial Park.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time in and around Macquarie Street, and now I want to visit the Museum of Sydney where some of the foundations of the first Government House can be seen in the forecourt.
I read about the importance of the Tank Stream, and its pollution and demise. I have spent enough time in central Sydney to appreciate how geography and individuals have defined it. Sydney is an accidental city in so many ways: it lacks the more disciplined planning of Melbourne and Adelaide, making it difficult to navigate by car but far more interesting to explore by foot. The sandstone buildings are beautiful, as is Sydney Harbour.
Mr Nowra’s Sydney is essentially the inner-city suburbs of Chippendale, Redfern, the Rocks, Surry Hills, Ultimo, Walsh Bay, and Woolloomooloo. His trips to Mortdale and Concord show another side of suburban Sydney: a different sense of community.
While I am not sure that I agree with the late, great Peter Corris, whom Mr Nowra quotes:
‘Sydney is the perfect city – its beauty, atmosphere and culture providing a spectacular contrast to its underbelly of poverty, corruption and vulgarity.’
Inner Sydney has an energy that appeals, and several places I want to visit. I’ll start with four days later this year: staying near Central Station and exploring as much as I can by foot or by ferry.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I’ve not spent a lot of time in Sydney. My first visit, part of a school trip in 1970, took in Kings Cross, various sites around Sydney Harbour, and the Blue Mountains. Since moving to Canberra in 1974, I’ve been to Sydney for work quite a few times, for medical reasons more often than I’d like, but rarely just to explore the city. But I have a list of places I want to explore, and Mr Nowra’s book has expanded that list.
Mr Nowra’s biography of Sydney starts with his recollection of a surprise visit to the city as a nine-year-old in 1959. He and his father, travelling from Melbourne to Wollongong to collect a load of coking coal, took a detour and drove into Sydney and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The contrast between the grey of the bridge and the emerald-green harbour rendered his speechless. Twenty years later, Mr Nowra moved to Sydney.
‘This biography of Sydney is told through three strands: the first is its chronological history, the second considers some of its spaces and places, and the third consists of themes such as sandstone or water.’
While I know much of the colonial history of Sydney, I am still learning about the Indigenous people who occupied the land before the First Fleet arrived in 1788. Part of Sydney’s story is told through some of the people who’ve lived here. Some are well known, others are not. As I read, I wanted a map to guide me through places, and to walk through the areas mentioned and think about how they might have looked. George Street, Mr Nowra writes, was an Indigenous path to the south. The track (which is now the Old South Head Road) is the northern boundary of Centennial Park.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time in and around Macquarie Street, and now I want to visit the Museum of Sydney where some of the foundations of the first Government House can be seen in the forecourt.
I read about the importance of the Tank Stream, and its pollution and demise. I have spent enough time in central Sydney to appreciate how geography and individuals have defined it. Sydney is an accidental city in so many ways: it lacks the more disciplined planning of Melbourne and Adelaide, making it difficult to navigate by car but far more interesting to explore by foot. The sandstone buildings are beautiful, as is Sydney Harbour.
Mr Nowra’s Sydney is essentially the inner-city suburbs of Chippendale, Redfern, the Rocks, Surry Hills, Ultimo, Walsh Bay, and Woolloomooloo. His trips to Mortdale and Concord show another side of suburban Sydney: a different sense of community.
While I am not sure that I agree with the late, great Peter Corris, whom Mr Nowra quotes:
‘Sydney is the perfect city – its beauty, atmosphere and culture providing a spectacular contrast to its underbelly of poverty, corruption and vulgarity.’
Inner Sydney has an energy that appeals, and several places I want to visit. I’ll start with four days later this year: staying near Central Station and exploring as much as I can by foot or by ferry.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
September 6, 2023
‘Sydney: a biography’ is a huge title, but unfortunately Louis Nowra does not fulfil the substantial expectations raised. The book starts as an historical record commencing at the point of European settlement, but then digresses into the authors personal wanderings and discoveries. This patchwork approach explores some significant events and people in the evolution of the city, but completely omits others. Sprawling over 500 pages, this book is neither a comprehensive history nor an interesting personal journey and, therefore, it is not a useful or satisfying biography of Sydney.
December 27, 2024
A mostly entertaining book, but terribly edited. I found dozens of basic errors like repeated sentences and missing words, which were so frequent they detracted from the reading.
Many subjective descriptions also made little sense. How is there "no remanent" of the old brewery remaining at Central Park? How is the Hyde Park obelisk "obscured by fig trees"?
Still, I'm glad I read it, mainly for the sense it gives of the 18th and 19th centuries; that there were entire popular eras and places that lived and died long before my own experience of Sydney.
Many subjective descriptions also made little sense. How is there "no remanent" of the old brewery remaining at Central Park? How is the Hyde Park obelisk "obscured by fig trees"?
Still, I'm glad I read it, mainly for the sense it gives of the 18th and 19th centuries; that there were entire popular eras and places that lived and died long before my own experience of Sydney.
May 28, 2023
A great, readable crash-course of the history and vibe of my hometown. It’s not the best exploration of Sydney I’ve ever read - Peter Carey’s book on Sydney (although now over 20 years old) is far more poignant and well crafted. Regardless, this book has its moments. When Louis Nowra writes about Sydney, however, he really means the harbour and the CBD, with a small foray to the eastern suburbs from time to time. In reality Sydney is far bigger than this - an incredibly diverse city with 5.2 million inhabitants (and counting) sprawled from the Blue Mountains in the west, the Nepean river and the Royal National Park in the south, the Hawkesbury in the north and the mighty Pacific Ocean to the east. Nowra explores but a fraction of this, buying into all of the stereotypes about Sydney that - as with many stereotypes - have some truth to them but are probably far more fiction than fact. The real Sydney is far more complex and multifaceted than even the fascinating and provocative Sydney Nowra chooses to depict. But that’s okay, because this is still a fantastic book and a fascinating read, that has quenched some of my reignited thirst for knowledge about one of the most important cities in my life. Is it my favourite book? No, but Sydney is not my favourite city - yet it is still alluring, unexpected and fascinating, something captured very well by Nowra in accessible prose and creative-nonfiction style that flits effortlessly between reflections of the now and narratives of the past in such a fantastic way.
September 17, 2023
The detail and breadth of knowledge of the subject matter is evident and admirable, and the effort to include a personal touch appreciated, but I feel like it is too often scattered and disorganised and lacking a logical progression of ideas. Many parts seem too long or short, the timeline and focus jumps every which way, and although some overarching themes are presented and explored, it is more often than not too indulgent to be broadly engaging.
January 19, 2025
Kinda disjointed but interesting nonetheless. Also there are some crazy spelling mistakes and flat out missing words such as the iconic “was ed for ten years” that should not have made it to print
June 2, 2024
My book of 2024 so far. If you are a Sydneysider then this is a great must read. Great style, easy flow, makes me want to get on different train lines to random towns.
July 22, 2024
Vibrant, joyous, shameful and filthy. Just like the city.
October 13, 2024
A really good read and a must for anyone who comes from Sydney.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews