Culture of Sydney

Early culture

Early Sydney was a convict colony, with a military government. The "New South Wales Corps" was notoriously corrupt and self seeking and was known as the "Rum corps" Early Sydney was molded by the hardship suffered by early settlers, the penal nature of the settlement, the corruption of the military and an understandable lack of respect for authority.

The arrival of Governor Macquarie[?] resulted in a much more industrious and ordered society. By this stage there was already a wealthy class of settlers, mostly agriculturists. Notable amongst these were the MacArthurs who introduced Merino sheep into Australia. MacArthur was an important figure in the Rum Corp and in the rebellion against Governor Bligh.

Victorian Times

Rocks Push

Early 20th Century

The Great Depression

World War II

50s and 60s

Sydney Push

The gay community, and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.