Sydney: A biography (Louis Nowra, NewSouth)

Melbourne-born Louis Nowra moved to Sydney as an adult and has never lost his passion for his adopted home. Whether he’s describing the city’s mercurial weather, its elegant convict-designed colonial sandstone buildings or the roughness of life in the settlement’s early days, the language is vivid, the emotion irrepressible. This collection of almost 50 pieces ranges across the more than 230 years since white occupation. In mainly chronological order, peppered with the occasional personal foray into the present, Nowra shines a light on the people and places that interest him. Whether describing the complex relationships between the original Eora peoples and Governor Phillip, or the story behind the Tank Stream, a smelly stormwater drain with a glorious past, Nowra captures the everchanging spirit of what is arguably—to most, and inarguably to Nowra—Australia’s pre-eminent city. From Harry Seidler’s arrogant penchant for building low ceilings to suit his own small stature to General MacArthur’s intricate wartime plans to blow up the Sydney Harbour Bridge, this book is filled with graphic and illuminating detail. Any Sydneysider who would like a deeper appreciation of their city would do well to dip in, and it is essential reading for anyone planning a trip. Nowra has a fondness for the Chihuahua, but this book is more of a large shaggy hound, curious and devoted, led by the muzzle to wherever fascinating history lurks.

Julia Taylor worked for many years in trade publishing.

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Category: Reviews