Introduction to Sydney Tour

This Introduction to Sydney walking tour is an excellent way to learn about the early history of the city, from the arrival of the First Fleet to the establishment of the Federation. It allows visitors to paint a portrait of how this hardscrabble penal settlement evolved into the beginnings of a world-class city. In addition to this foundation, we’ll also explore early contact with Aboriginal groups living in Sydney, the relationship between convicts, military, and native-born Australians, and the effort to make Sydney into a world-class city.

Our tour will begin in Sydney Cove, known today as Circular Quay, the main ferry terminal in the city. We’ll start by looking at the culture of the Aboriginal groups that lived in this area and then discuss the arrival of the First Fleet. Using this cove—now a lively plaza of bustling activity—as our text, we’ll look at the entire British project in Australia through the lens of this first contact and settlement. Our conversation will lead us through a variety of subtopics, including the division of the city along class lines, the status and contributions of convicts, and the eventual displacement of Aboriginal groups.

Our walk will take any variety of paths, depending on the interests of the group and the background of the scholar leading it. However, a few key sites will be considered, including the Museum of Sydney, where we will discuss the Rum Rebellion, which also occupies the site (and preserves the remains) of Australia’s first Government House, the convict-built obelisk at Macquarie Place, and salvaged remains of one of the First Fleet ships lost in the South Pacific.

We’ll continue up Macquarie Street and explore several notable historic structures, including the Hyde Park Barracks, St. James Church, and King Street Law Courts. We’ll focus on Governor Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth, who were a significant force in early Sydney and built some of the city’s most iconic buildings. We’ll look at Macquarie’s vision for the city and how he approached tricky issues like emancipated convicts, English class systems, relationships with the Aboriginal groups, and the difficult task of building a British civilization on the opposite side of the globe. 

Depending on time, we may also visit the local mint and the Sydney Hospital, originally built as the “Rum Hospital.” Our time together will conclude in Hyde Park, one of Sydney’s best green spaces, also a legacy of this early period, where we can take shelter from the sun in a cool, shaded corner and wrap up our discussion. 

We’ll emerge from our time together with a sharper sense of Sydney's—and, indeed, Australia’s—early history from the First Fleet (1788) through the middle of the 19th century, with hints here and there of modern and contemporary life.