DICTIONARY OF SYDNEY TRUST PARTNERSHIP WITH SYDNEY MECHANICS’ SCHOOL OF ARTS Progress Report – Year 3, July 2011 Executive Summary Background

• Three-year partnership initiated in August 2008 for part-time historian to research and write content relevant to SMSA interests

• First payment made 14 November 2008 • MoU drawn up and signed 13 May 2009

Achievements Year 1 (2009)

• Catherine Freyne employed as SMSA Writer-in-Residence Dec 2008 • Articles totalling 27,970 words written by Catherine and others • Research on suburban schools of arts undertaken, resulting in interactive map • Talkabouts, including SMSA Writer-in-Residence, arranged through Dictionary of Sydney • Dictionary of Sydney website made public November 2009

Achievements Year 2 (2010)

• Mark Dunn employed as SMSA Writer-in-Residence March 2010 • Articles totalling 18,592 words written • Talkabouts, including SMSA Writer-in-Residence, arranged through Dictionary of Sydney • Clear frontpage acknowledgement of SMSA on Dictionary site, with link to SMSA website • Promotional video created acknowledging SMSA sponsorship

Achievements Year 3 to date (July 2011)

• Articles totalling 5877 words written before end of funding in Jan 2011 • Mark Dunn giving talks based on SMSA work to historical societies • Talkabouts arranged through Dictionary of Sydney • SMSA partnership publicised through Dictionary of Sydney blog and social media • Funding resumed

SMSA sponsored content currently published on the Dictionary of Sydney • 15 entries, totalling over 45,000 words, visited by 3529 visitors

Forthcoming SMSA sponsored content

• 5 more entries in process, approximately 10,000 words A rich and complex history

• Wide range of connections for the SMSA within Dictionary of Sydney • Ongoing value added by Dictionary multimedia and historical research

Dictionary of Sydney statistics

• 46,302 pages visited 666,061 times November 2009 to July 2011 • Over 80% of visits come through search engines • Increase in visits of 26% over last six months.

Partnership benefits

• Recognition as partner of important and growing project • Extension of historical content of interest to SMSA within Dictionary of Sydney • Exposure of SMSA and events through Dictionary of Sydney networks and channels

A: GPO Box 1591 Sydney NSW 2001 P:02 9265 9851 E:info@dictionaryofsydney.org W: www.dictionaryofsydney.org ABN: 78 138 125 629

DICTIONARY OF SYDNEY TRUST PARTNERSHIP WITH SYDNEY MECHANICS’ SCHOOL OF ARTS Progress Report – Year 3, July 2011 Background In August 2008 the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts (SMSA) offered the Dictionary of Sydney Trust a three-year partnership to support the creation of the Dictionary of Sydney. The partnership involved a cash grant of up to $75,000, paid in three annual payments, to support the employment of a part-time historian. The historian was to research and write content to be published on the Dictionary of Sydney and would focus the study on Schools of Arts, Mechanics and other like Institutes (eg Railway Institutes, Literary Institutes, etc), Free Libraries, Private/Subscription Libraries and Technical Education.

The first cheque of $25,000 was presented by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts to the Dictionary of Sydney Trust at a ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor Clover Moore. The function recognised the 175th anniversary of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts and celebrated its ongoing contribution to education and learning in Sydney. The ceremony took place in the Lord Mayor’s Reception Room on 14 November 2008.

Roger Morris, President SMSA; Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP; and Dr Shirley Fitzgerald, Chair Dictionary of Sydney Trust.

The SMSA partnership and the ceremonial cheque presentation were publicised to Dictionary of Sydney supporters through the Dictionary of Sydney E-Newsletter in September 2008 and December 2008 respectively. The partnership was a highlight in the 2009 Annual Report.

A Memorandum of Understanding was drawn up between the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts and the Dictionary of Sydney Trust to formalise the partnership. This was signed on 13 May 2009. This forms Attachment A to this report.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 2

Year 1 Achievements (2009) In late 2008 Catherine Freyne was appointed as the inaugural Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts Writer-in-Residence. Catherine studied Australian history and Spanish language at the University of New South Wales, and has been engaging exuberantly with both disciplines ever since. Catherine started her position with the Dictionary in 2009. She divided her professional time between the Dictionary of Sydney and ABC Radio National where she produced social history documentaries for Hindsight.

The first part of the year was spent researching the subject areas of the SMSA’s history, the development of scientific and technical knowledge, and education in Sydney, including worker education in relation to Sydney’s history, and to brainstorm ideas for entries for the Dictionary. This was required to establish the strengths and gaps in the historiography and to identify relevant sources, including manuscript collections and pictorial material. A list of suggested entries, both thematic and biographical, was developed by Catherine and this guided the first entries written. A surprising gap in the literature was discovered in terms of biographical research on key figures involved in technical education. A substantial amount of original research was undertaken to bring the historical contribution of these amazing figures to light. The entries researched and written by Catherine are highly curated in terms of pictorial and manuscript material; this reflects her passionate interest in making the most of the Dictionary’s multimedia capabilities. Four major entries were completed by Catherine in 2009. Entry Words The School of Arts movement 6699 Selfe, Norman 4027 McKenzie, Violet 3492 Sydney Technical College 6918 TOTAL: 21136

The article on Norman Selfe was a substantial piece of original research. This article was also published in the Sydney Journal, the academic e-journal that is associated with the Dictionary of Sydney. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/sydney_journal/article/view/1186 This article in the Sydney Journal was promoted in the June 2009 e-newsletter.

Catherine also commissioned articles from other writers.

Entry Author Words Lawson, Louisa Susan Magarey 2076 Maiden, Joseph Jodie Frawley 2353 National Art School Deborah Beck 2405 TOTAL: 6834

A list of Schools of Arts was obtained and research undertaken to confirm dates and locations, so that the organisations could be added, annotated and mapped within the Dictionary of Sydney. As a result of this research, a special map was curated of the Schools of Arts in Sydney. This provides a visual presentation of the location, geographical spread, construction dates and lifespan of the many Schools of Arts across Sydney.

All of the Schools of Arts in this map were entered as entities as buildings and have their own map, timeline and summary information. Arcadia School of Arts Hall is an example.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 3

Screenshot of the Arcadia School of Arts hall listing as a building type entity.

Thirty-seven suburban School of Arts halls were included on the map and entered into the web of connections in the Dictionary of Sydney, in addition to the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts. Schools of arts included in the Dictionary are listed below and hyperlinked to their entity pages.

• Abbotsford School of Arts hall • Arcadia School of Arts hall • Arncliffe School of Arts hall • Arthouse Hotel • Ashfield School of Arts hall Holden

Street • Ashfield School of Arts hall Liverpool

Road • Auburn School of Arts hall • Balmain School of Arts hall • Beecroft School of Arts hall • Bexley School of Arts hall • Blacktown School of Arts hall • Bondi-Waverly School of Arts hall • Botany School of Arts-Literary Institute • Burwood School of Arts hall • Camden School of Arts hall • Campbelltown School of Arts hall • Campsie School of Arts Reading

Room • Carlton School of Arts hall • Chatswood Willoughby School of Arts

Hall • Comleroy Road School of Arts

(Kurrajong) • Como School of Arts hall

• Cronulla School of Arts • East Kurrajong School of Arts hall • Eastwood School of Arts hall • Engadine Literary Institute hall • Epping School of Arts hall • Galston School of Arts hall • Glebe School of Arts hall • Glenorie School of Arts hall • Granville School of Arts hall • Guildford Soldiers Memorial School of

Arts • Gymea Bay School of Arts hall • Haberfield School of Arts hall • Harbord Literary Institute hall • Hornsby School of Arts hall • Hurstville School of Arts hall • Ingleburn School of Arts building • Kellyville School of Arts hall • Kenthurst Literary Institute hall • Kogarah School of Arts hall • Lane Cove War Memorial School of

Arts hall • Lawson Mechanics' Institute hall • Leichhardt School of Arts hall • Leura Literary Institute building • Liverpool Memorial School of Arts hall

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 4

• Lower Portland School of Arts hall • Rooty Hill School of Arts hall • Manly Literary Institute building • Rozelle Mechanics' Institute hall • Manly School of Arts Victoria Hall • Sackville North School of Arts hall • Merrylands School of Arts building • Sans Souci Literary Institute hall • Minto School of Arts hall • Springwood School of Arts hall • Miranda School of Arts hall • St Albans School of Arts hall • Mount Victoria Public Hall and Cinema • St Leonards Mechanics' School of Arts

building • Newtown School of Arts hall • North Ryde School of Arts hall • St Marys Mechanics' Institute hall • North Sydney School of Arts • Sutherland Memorial School of Arts

hall • Oatley School of Arts hall • Peakhurst School of Arts and Public

Hall • Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts

building • Penrith School of Arts hall • Wilberforce School of Arts or Literary

Institute hall • Prospect School of Arts hall • Richmond School of Arts hall • Rockdale School of Arts hall

• Windsor School of Arts and Literary Institute

In 2009 the SMSA instigated a lunchtime talk series called Sydney Talkabout, with the Dictionary of Sydney assisting in the identification of appropriate speakers. Commencing in February 2009, a range of historians, many of whom are volunteer authors and contributors to the Dictionary of Sydney, spoke at the lunchtime talk series. These talks were promoted through the Dictionary of Sydney’s e-newsletters in March and June 2009.

The facilitation of speakers for SMSA talks and events has been an ongoing mutual benefit of the partnership between the SMSA and the Dictionary of Sydney. It has established strong ties between the two organisations. The SMSA benefits from the ready supply of articulate Dictionary writers willing to give lectures and talks, while the Dictionary benefits through the provision of a public talk interface of the digital Dictionary. These talks are popular and well attended.

Catherine Freyne delivered a talk at SMSA as part of the Sydney Talkabout Series on 7 July 2009. The talk was based upon the exciting and original research undertaken on Norman Selfe.

Norman Selfe (1839–1911) was a brilliant engineer, inventor and marine architect, whose wharves, sea walls, dredges and bridges hastened the transformation of Sydney harbour from a natural to an industrial landscape. His dream to connect Sydney with its north shore wasn't realised in his lifetime but his harbour bridge designs and proposals later influenced the tendering process under Bradfield. Norman Selfe helped kick-start technical education in New South Wales, co-founded the Royal Australian Historical Society, and campaigned tirelessly for improvements to the city of Sydney. Today he is best remembered in the name of Normanhurst, where his grand house Gilligaloola still stands.

The talk was promoted in the June 2009 Dictionary of Sydney E-Newsletter.

Catherine Freyne and Stewart Wallace, Dictionary of Sydney Project Manager, presented to the SMSA Board in October 2009. Catherine reported on progress over the first year, research directions, ideas and articles being researched. Stewart demonstrated the forthcoming website and highlighted the ways the material on the education, science and technology was displayed.

The Dictionary of Sydney website went live in November 2009. An event was held on 8 December 2009 in the Lord Mayor’s Reception Room to recognise the second payment of $25,000 from the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts and to celebrate the launch of the Dictionary of Sydney with all of the volunteer contributors. The ongoing support of the SMSA was reported in the December 2009 e-newsletter sent to subscribers.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 5

Celebrating partnerships and the growth of the Dictionary: Lisa Murray, Chair Dictionary of Sydney Trust; Roger Morris, President SMSA; and Deputy Lord Mayor and Dictionary Trustee Phillip Black. Year 2 Achievements (2010) After a year in the position as Writer-in-Residence, Catherine Freyne left the Dictionary of Sydney to take up a full-time position at ABC Radio’s Social History Unit. Mark Dunn, who had been previously short-listed for the position when interviewed in 2008, was appointed as the new SMSA writer-in-residence. Mark is a professional historian with 15 years’ experience in Sydney’s urban history. He is a member of the Professional Historians’ Association (NSW) and is currently President of the History Council of NSW. Mark divides his professional time between the SMSA Writer-in-Residence position, freelance historical writing and researching his PhD at the University of New South Wales.

Mark began his residency at the Dictionary in March 2010. The appointment was publicised through the March 2010 e-Newsletter and the SMSA partnership was promoted.

Through 2010, Mark worked two days a week, researching and writing a range of articles about subjects related to the SMSA’s history, the development of scientific and technical knowledge, and education in Sydney, including worker education. He was encouraged to investigate the institutional development of schools of arts, institutes, libraries, technical colleges and museums, as well as on individuals, movements and events related to the scientific and educational history of Sydney.

The following articles were researched and completed by Mark Dunn during the period March – December 2010. Entries that have been published on the Dictionary of Sydney website have been hyperlinked. Entry Words Ultimo House (Technical college site) 995 Henry Carmichael (Founder, SMSA vice president and educationalist) 2350 The Technical or Working Men’s College 4008 Waterloo Tanning School 1464 Erskineville Bootmaking School 1476 Arthouse Hotel (former SMSA building) 2137 Fowles, Joseph (Teacher and member) 3536 Bondi-Waverley School of Arts 1491 Lincoln House, 275 Pitt St (current SMSA building) 1135 TOTAL: 18592

The majority of these were published in the quarterly uploads of content to the Dictionary of Sydney website in November 2010, February and June 2011.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 6

Mark Dunn delivered a very successful free public talk on Joseph Fowles on 21 September 2010, as part of the SMSA’s lecture series Sydney Talkabout. The talk was based on original research undertaken as the SMSA Writer-in-Residence.

Joseph Fowles (1809–1878) was an accomplished 19th century artist and technical/architectural drawer who had a passion for Sydney’s unique buildings. Fowles took an active part in the artistic life of the colony; he was an active member of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, as well teaching drawing here and sitting on the Board during the 1860s and 1870s. Fowles is best remembered for his illustrations of Sydney streets and buildings published as Sydney in 1848, which consisted of 40 illustrations of Sydney’s streets and buildings made with painstaking accuracy with the intention ‘to remove the erroneous and discreditable notions current in England concerning this city’. Fowles’s contribution to Fine Arts in the young colony was significant.

This was attended by in excess of 60 people and was very well received.

In April 2010 the Dictionary of Sydney Trust won a National Trust Heritage Award for Interpretation and Presentation in the community category for the Dictionary of Sydney website, launched in November 2009. The award was presented at a luncheon attended by a broad spectrum of the New South Wales heritage community. The Judges commended the Dictionary’s role in community education and awareness:- "Authoritatively sourced and produced information from the Dictionary can only help to illuminate heritage issues and places with the community, and it promises to become an invaluable tool in promoting awareness of heritage, and of the values of contested places and interests, as it continues to consolidate and grow." This award highlights the Dictionary’s potential for supporting a range of community advocacy and educative initiatives. The SMSA partnership in supporting the content development of the Dictionary contributes significantly to the Dictionary’s educational potential.

In August 2010 the homepage of the Dictionary of Sydney website www.dictionaryofsydney.org was updated to clearly acknowledge our financial and research partners. Key partnerships are displayed with supporters’ logos at the bottom of the homepage. The SMSA is acknowledged as a Project Sponsor. The SMSA logo is displayed immediately to the right of the City of Sydney, the Dictionary’s Major Government Partner. The logo clicks through to the SMSA’s website.

Screenshot showing acknowledgement of the SMSA as a Project Sponsor on homepage

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 7

In October 2010 the SMSA Board advised that, due to the negative impact of the global financial crisis, the SMSA was not in a financial position to offer the third instalment of the three-year grant. At the meeting held between the SMSA Secretary, DoS Trust Chair, and DoS Executive Officer, the Secretary Grahame Marks conveyed to the DoS Trust that the SMSA was proud to be associated with the Dictionary of Sydney and that the SMSA Board was desirous to continue working with the Dictionary of Sydney. The Dictionary of Sydney Trust acknowledged that this was a valuable partnership that benefited both organisations. It was agreed that assistance would still be given to source authors and speakers for the SMSA’s events, particularly the Sydney Talkabout series, and to mutually promote each other's activities.

In November 2010 the Dictionary held an event as part of the Visions of Sydney series, in conjunction with the History Council of NSW. Entitled "The History of the Future" the event launched the Dictionary of Sydney's promotional video (available on YouTube), and acknowledged the first year of public access to the website. Chair of the Trust, Dr Lisa Murray spoke about the project and its potential, acknowledging sponsors and supporters. The video also clearly credited the SMSA as a Project sponsor.

The Dictionary of Sydney Trust offered to present to the SMSA Board the achievements of the partnership in 2010, but an opportunity was not available. A report on partnership and the achievements of 2010 was sent to the Secretary of the SMSA in December 2010. The SMSA partnership was once again highlighted to our subscribers in the December 2010 issue of the e-newsletter.

Year 3 Achievements to date (July 2011) Mark Dunn continued working until the end of January 2011, when the Year 2 funds dried up. As the result of a suggestion by Carole O’Brien (a member of the SMSA Board), an article was researched and written on Lucien Henry, an artist who was a French convict in the 1870 commune and an art teacher at SMSA in the 1880s. An event was added to the range of technological topics covered by the Writer-in-Residence – the Industrial and Art Exhibition in 1861. These were published on the Dictionary in June 2011, our most recent regeneration. An article was also completed on Henri L’Estrange, a balloonist and funambulist. L’Estrange was one of several daring aviators in late 19th century Sydney who exploited the technological advances in flight. This is currently undergoing the editorial process.

Entry Words Lucien Henry 1842 Industrial and Art Exhibition 1861 1019 Henri L’Estrange 3016 TOTAL: 3 entries 5877

The hiatus in the grant left a number of research subjects in mid-air. Another topic that was being investigated by Mark Dunn was an article that describes a “day-in-the-life” of the SMSA and explores the question: what was it like to attend the public meetings and talks conducted by the SMSA in the nineteenth century? A Newtown School of Arts entry was in the planning stages. Another fascinating – and unusual – link to the SMSA that was being explored was the Fakir of Oolu, a performer who appeared there.

Mark’s talk on Joseph Fowles at the SMSA Sydney Talkabout series in 2010 proved so popular that a number of historical societies have approached him to present the talk at their meetings. Mark has voluntarily agreed to give the talks again. The City of Sydney Historical Association and the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society will hear the presentation this year. We are delighted at Mark’s commitment to the Dictionary of Sydney project and his willingness to volunteer his time to promote this grand public history project. Mark’s talks continue to spread the word of the SMSA’s support in creating the Dictionary of Sydney.

Despite the gap in financial support, the Dictionary of Sydney Trust maintained its partnership with the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts through supplying speaker names. Melanie Ryan, and Emma Grahame, DoS editorial coordinator, have established a good working relationship.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 8

This is a positive and ongoing benefit of the partnership for both organisations; and it is something that the Dictionary of Sydney Trust appreciates and values. So far, during 2011, talks have been given by Dictionary of Sydney authors and contacts including Kate Matthew (on Governesses in Sydney), Noeline Kyle (on Constance Kent, notorious murderer), Jan Roberts (on Maybanke Anderson, sister of Norman Selfe), Colin Griffiths (on the work of Harry Seidler). Upcoming talks arranged with Dictionary of Sydney authors include Keith Vincent Smith (Bungaree and Gnung-a Gnung-a Murremurgan, Aboriginal navigators), and Meredith Burgmann (on Government)

The Dictionary of Sydney Trust has continued to look at the ways that the SMSA’s contribution to the development of the Dictionary of Sydney can be acknowledged. In 2011, a new category under Contributors called “Supporters” was added and the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts was listed there in its own right. The list of Contributors allows users to browse by author, Institutions and Collections, and Supporters and see all the entries, illustrations and audio contributed by that person or institution.

Screenshot showing the listing of the SMSA as a supporter under the Contributors index.

Listing the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts as a Supporter of entries allows all the articles published through the Writer-in-Residence program to be indexed in one place and clearly demonstrates the valuable support provided by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 9

Screenshot showing all the articles attributed to the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts

through their support of a writer and researcher.

In addition, acknowledgement of SMSA support has been implemented on individual articles under the author name. This by-line explicitly acknowledges the SMSA’s contribution in supporting a historian.

Screenshot showing by-line acknowledgement of SMSA support.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 10

In March 2011 the Dictionary of Sydney Trust created a new medium for the community to keep informed and engaged with the progress of this vast, every-growing public history project. The Dictionary now has a blog Looking Up – Sydney’s history from a new angle: http://dictionaryofsydney.wordpress.com/

Posts are prepared by the editorial coordinator Emma Grahame to highlight new pieces of research, demonstrate the effectiveness of the Dictionary as a research tool, and to share exciting new discoveries and connections made through the Dictionary. It is also used to bring to the fore the research and writing that our volunteer contributors, resident historians, and project partners are currently working on. Talks and events can be promoted and linked back to historical information in the Dictionary. The blog provides the opportunity for readers to comment on posts and to interact more directly with the project.

Three posts on the blog thus far have been SMSA-related. • "Getting Technical" http://dictionaryofsydney.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/getting-

technical/ about the SMSA partnership and entries relating to technical education • " A woman of rare talents and lofty character"

http://dictionaryofsydney.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/a-woman-of-rare-talents-and-lofty-character/ about Maybanke Anderson and promoting Jan Roberts’ talk at the SMSA

• "The wearing of the green" http://dictionaryofsydney.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/the-wearing-of-the-green/ about the Green Bans and promoting Colin Griffiths’ talk at the SMSA

The Dictionary of Sydney also entered the world of social media through establishing a Facebook page and Twitter account. These forms of communication supplement the Dictionary of Sydney’s quarterly e-Newsletter to subscribers and the blog “Looking Up” and allow the Trust to readily converse with its followers and to engage with new audiences. As the Dictionary’s presence increases in these media, it will form a significant benefit that the Dictionary of Sydney Trust can bring to its partnership with the SMSA.

An improvement in its financial position gave the SMSA the opportunity to release in May 2011 a $10,000 part-payment for Year 3 of the partnership. This partial grant allocation allowed the Dictionary of Sydney Trust to re-engage professional historian Mark Dunn and he recommenced research at the Dictionary of Sydney one day a week in July 2011. The Dictionary of Sydney Trust appreciates the SMSA’s continued support for the project and its willingness and flexibility in providing a part payment of the grant. It has meant that the Trust could resecure the services of professional historian Mark Dunn and build on the research with minimal interruption.

Continuity of research leads to greater productivity and output and we look forward to Mark continuing to produce a range of articles. As well as picking up the “Day-in-the-life” concept, other subjects in the pipeline are biographies of SMSA Presidents in the 19th century, including William Windeyer (1834–1897) and John Woolley (1816–1866), and a biography of iron foundry owner, engineer, and philanthropist Peter Nicol Russell (1816–1905). The Newtown School of Arts will also be researched further.

In 2011, the Dictionary of Sydney has entered into a partnership with the bimonthly magazine Inside History, which publishes a range of articles related to history and genealogy in Australia and New Zealand. In the forthcoming September–October edition, a version of Mark Dunn's article on Henri L'Estrange will be published, which will acknowledge the support of the SMSA, further publicising both the Dictionary and its ongoing relationship with the SMSA.

SMSA sponsored content currently published on the Dictionary of Sydney The following table lists all the articles currently published on the Dictionary of Sydney website that have been sponsored through the SMSA. It identifies author, word length, when the entry was published live on the website, and the number of individual visits since publication as recorded on 24 July 2011.

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Entry Author Word length Date uploaded

Visits at 24 July 2011

McKenzie, Violet Catherine Freyne 3492 Aug-10 330Sydney Technical College Catherine Freyne 6918 Mar-10 1402The School of Arts Movement Catherine Freyne 6699 Aug-11 202Selfe, Norman Catherine Freyne 4027 Nov-09 522National Art School Deborah Beck 2405 Nov-10 262Maiden, Joseph Jodi Frawley 2353 Jun-11 0Lawson, Louisa Susan Magarey 2076 Nov-10 364Carmichael, Henry Mark Dunn 2350 Jun-11 2Fowles, Joseph Mark Dunn 3587 Nov-10 316Henry, Lucien Mark Dunn 1842 Jun-11 1Technical and Working Men's College Mark Dunn 4008 Mar-11 45Erskineville Bootmaking School Mark Dunn 1476 Nov-10 163Ultimo House Mark Dunn 982 Nov-10 232Industrial and Art Exhibition 1861 Mark Dunn 1019 Jun-11 3Arthouse Hotel Mark Dunn 2108 Nov-10 49Total: 15 entries Total words 45342 Total visits 3893

NB: the low visitation of the June 2011 entries is purely a reflection that they have only been published on the website for less than one month.

Other pages about SMSA in Dictionary of Sydney Word Length

Date uploaded

Visits at 24 July 2011

Sydney Mechanics' School of ArtsStaff writer 743 Nov-09 324

Organisation page, SMSA n/a Nov-09 252Contributor page, SMSA n/a Jun-11 6 Total visits 582

SMSA sponsored articles currently in editorial process The Dictionary has a regular schedule of quarterly uploads of new content to the site. Prior to publication, all articles go through an editorial process. There are a number of articles identified for inclusion in forthcoming quarterly updates.

Entry Author Word count Quarterly

upload

L'Estrange, Henri Mark Dunn 3016 Sep-11

Waterloo Tanning School Mark Dunn 1464 Dec-11

Lincoln House, 275 Pitt Street (current SMSA building)

Mark Dunn 1135 Dec-11

Bondi-Waverley School of Arts Mark Dunn 1491 Dec-11

Day in the life of the SMSA Mark Dunn n/a Dec-11

A rich and complex history The richness of the content developed by the SMSA Writer-in-Residence program and its contribution to the Dictionary of Sydney is perhaps best seen in the connections that are made

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 12

through people, organisations, places, buildings, events, and all the other entities listed in the Dictionary. The links and relationships are indicative of the complex and exciting nature of Sydney’s history and the SMSA’s links into the community’s history.

A search of "Sydney Mechanics" produces 109 results, connecting in to a much wider group of entries than just the 14 already published through the Writer-in-Residence program. This is a very simple way of illustrating how the SMSA’s history is being embedded in the Dictionary.

Screenshot showing first search results for 'Sydney Mechanics'.

Screenshots of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts entity listing in the Dictionary are shown below to demonstrate how the connections work beyond individual entries. You can view this live on the Dictionary through this link: http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/item/12524

The Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts is created as an organisation in the Dictionary. As an organisation it is defined through milestones and key dates (when it was formed, what buildings it occupied), and also by the people associated with it (in this case, primarily the occupation of President). These can all be mapped on a timeline, and linked to entries. Pictures of the organisation are linked and annotated. Entries about the organisation are listed. But also on the right-hand side, entries that contain a mention of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts are also listed. Here we can start to build up a picture of the influence and contribution of the organisation to Sydney’s community and its place in Sydney’s history. So we can see that the SMSA is mentioned in obvious articles (such as The School of Arts Movement), in biographical entries of people associated with the SMSA, but also in other, more tangential entries, such as the Economy, the Celebration of Anniversary Day to 1900, the Scots, and Culture and Customs.

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 13

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 14

Screenshots showing depth and breadth of material on SMSA in Dictionary of Sydney.

As the Dictionary of Sydney grows, so does the number of connections. Every new mention of the SMSA will be added to the listing and provide links into other aspects of the organisation’s historical contribution to Sydney’s history.

The other area where Dictionary of Sydney staff add value to the work of the SMSA Writer-in-Residence research is through picture research and annotation. The researcher often identifies appropriate images to accompany entries. However, the Dictionary’s multimedia research team are constantly reviewing articles and connections to find specific images that illustrate ideas and aspects of the text. These images are all captioned specifically for each use in the Dictionary, and are also connected through the entity listing. Dictionary of Sydney images are drawn from all the major Sydney archives, libraries and collecting institutions, as well as from other parts of Australia.

Updated statistics The Dictionary of Sydney website has been live for 20 months – we haven’t quite reached our second anniversary. The visitation of the Dictionary is steadily increasing each month. The statistics in the tables below illustrate overall visitation of the website in the 20 months the site has been live and our 5 most popular pages. The Dictionary of Sydney has a very long tail when it comes to page visitations, meaning that we have a very large number of pages which are visited only a small number of times. This means that while page visitation on particular pages may not look impressive, readers are finding what they want. On average, each visitor looks at 2.4 pages. Total figures 1 Nov 2009 -- 24 July 2011 Number of pages viewed 46,302Total page views 666,061Number of entry pages viewed 3,934Total entry page views 300,600

Top 5 entry pages

title number of views

Vietnamese 4456La Perouse 4003Long Bay Prison 3942Surry Hills 3839Planning 2855

Between 20 November 2009 and 19 November 2010 (the first 12 months of use), the following patterns emerged.

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• 144,649 visits to the site, 80.46% of which were new visits; 127,212 visits were from Australia, 4,754 from USA, 3,187 from the UK, 902 from Canada and 881 from New Zealand closely followed by the numbers of visitors from Germany, India, France, Singapore and Hong Kong.

• 376,602 page views lasting an average of nearly 2 minutes. • 82% of these page views were through search engines and browsers, 9% from referring sites

and 8.33% were direct traffic. • The most popular pages were Places, Buildings, About (the Dictionary) and Maps. When we compare the first 6 months of 2011 with the last 6 months of 2010, the Dictionary of Sydney website has experienced an increase of 26% over this time in visits and a 13% increase in page views. In other words, the Dictionary of Sydney’s audience is widening and its level of visitation is increasing. Partnership Benefits In addition to the deliverables outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between SMSA and DoS, the following benefits flow from the three-year partnership; • Logo recognition as a Project Partner on the Dictionary of Sydney homepage, with a link

directly to the SMSA’s website. • Acknowledgement as a Supporter through entry by-lines and Contributor listing. • Additional articles being written on subjects of interest to the SMSA and connected to the

history of the city and the SMSA itself. • Growing awareness of the DoS brand also increases exposure for its partners, so the SMSA

will invariably gain exposure through the partnership. The SMSA will receive increased exposure through other partnership channels, including Inside History magazine.

• Increased exposure through online social networking tools including Facebook, Twitter and the Dictionary's blog. The SMSA partnership and its Sydney Talkabout public lecture series has been promoted on the blog three times already since March 2011.

• Our quarterly e-newsletter and the Sydney Journal are constantly expanding exposure for the Dictionary. Currently there are over 1200 subscribers to the e-newsletter, and over 600 for the Sydney Journal. The SMSA has been featured 8 times in the quarterly e-newsletter between 2008 and 2010. The article on Norman Selfe published in the Sydney Journal has been downloaded and read 467 times.

• Each quarterly regeneration of the website sees additional articles uploaded to the site, drawing new interest from users and expanding the audience for the work being done for the SMSA. Each time we add more material to the website we draw more hits and sessions.

• A significant increase in website users has been experienced since the site went live in November 2009. Over the last twelve months we have experienced a 20% increase in visitation and a 13% increase in the number of entries viewed.

The SMSA’s sponsorship of the DoS is the first partnership that supports the employment of a researcher and writer-in-residence, making it possible for a steady stream of new articles focussing on a particular area of the city's history to be written and included on the website. The Dictionary greatly values its ongoing collaboration with such a longstanding organisation, itself an important part of Sydney's cultural and educational history. The SMSA’s sponsorship is a vital part of the way in which the Dictionary of Sydney continues to build its content and it also provides the SMSA with a highly accessible repository for its own valuable history. Prepared by; Dr Lisa Murray Chair, Dictionary of Sydney Trust 31 July 2011

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 16

Attachment A – MOU between Dictionary of Sydney Trust and SMSA

Progress Report to Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – Year 3, July 2011 Page 17