Could the inspiration for the character of Miss Havisham in Dickens’ Great Expectations be lying in Camperdown Cemetery? Over the past century a legend has developed that Eliza Emily Donnithorne, a recluse who loved books and birds, was in fact Dickens’ inspiration. Did she suffer a humiliating jilting as a young woman? Or is that merely wishful thinking? Find out ...

Harbour City Stories

Eliza Donnithorne

The shipwreck of the Dunbar in 1857 is still commemorated with an annual memorial service in Sydney. How did Sydneysiders react when 120 people, many of them prominent locals, were drowned on their doorstep? Listen to the newest episode of Harbour City Stories to learn more about what happened to the Dunbar, why it gave the people of Sydney one of the most ...

The Dunbar

Talk about a convict made good! James Squire was sent to NSW in 1788 for stealing poultry and by the time of his death in 1822 was so highly regarded that his was the biggest funeral in New South Wales to date.  He was Australia’s first brewer, philanthropist, friend to Aborigines including Bennelong and something of a ladies man – listen to the ...

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Harbour City Stories

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