Sydney Sidetracks is a new multi-platform, interactive project from ABC Innovation which enables audiences to discover history where it happened on the streets of inner city Sydney. It is a unique service showcasing a rich range of historic audio, film, text and images all accessible via an interactive map, which can be seen on a mobile phone while out and about.
Sydney Sidetracks uses new technology to explore some of Sydney's oldest inner city suburbs; Circular Quay and The Rocks, Kings Cross, Paddington, Pyrmont, Redfern, Surry Hills, Sydney CBD and South and East Sydney. It features content from the ABC's rich archives along with material from the collections of the National Film and Sound Archive, the Powerhouse Museum, the State Library of NSW, the Historic Houses Trust, TheMuseum of Contemporary Art and The Dictionary of Sydney in partnership with the City of Sydney.
Sidetracks site at ABC Innovation
The Powerhouse Museum contributions
The Museum has contributed many historical images of Sydney from the Tyrrell Photographic Collection as well as some contemporary photography.
The Tyrrell Collection consists of 7903 glass plate negatives from the studios of Charles Kerry (1857-1928) and Henry King (1855-1923) who had two of Sydney's principal photographic studios in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The collection is an important record of city and country life - was bought by James R. Tyrrell in 1929 and sold in 1980 to Australian Consolidated Press who donated it to the Museum in 1985. Find out more about the Tyrrell Collection.
Many of these images are publicly available for free download at medium resolution from the Powerhouse Museum's contributions to the Commons on Flickr.
Extending your experience
The Museum has much more content to explore that is related to Sidetracks but not yet included.
You may wish to try our self-guided walking tours:
