Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney, ca 1885-1890

The firm of Higinbotham & Robinson were publishers and lithographers in late nineteenth century Sydney, well known for printing and publishing maps. Their maps are recognisable by the “HR” monogram and “fiat lux” motto impaled on the arrow indicating North.

Between about 1885 and 1890 Higinbotham & Robinson published a sequence of small maps covering many of the municipalities in the greater Sydney area.

Each map shows the boundaries of the municipality, with the principal streets, railway lines, wharves, parks and reserves. If a municipality was divided into Wards, as most were, the ward boundaries and names are also shown. The maps do not usually show natural features except for shorelines rivers and creeks.

In some cases there is more detail. For example the Waterloo map shows swamps and water supply dams and some of the more prominent industrial sites. The Redfern map shows the Eveleigh rail workshops.

A few maps were published in more than one edition. For example the Marrickville map was reissued at some point to show adjustments to ward boundaries and a new rail line.

The scale of the maps varies between 50 chains to the inch (Ryde & Marsfield for example) to 15 chains to the inch (Waterloo). There are 80 chains to the mile.

The municipality maps are particularly useful today for evidence of early street layouts and street names, and also because they show the ward boundaries. The historical rate books of local Councils, now a popular research source, are usually organised according to wards and the maps are an easy way to work out which ward to focus on.

Not all municipalities were published. For example there is no map for the Municipality of Smithfield & Fairfield (incorporated 1888). The list below mentions all those we know of in the City of Sydney Archives, which we have made available in the Historical Atlas. If any others exist which we have missed, please let us know.

A good place to see a complete list of NSW municipalities, with foundation dates and other information such as changes of name and amalgamations, is Local Government Local History: a guide to NSW local government minute books and rate records, edited by Joy N Hughes (Royal Australian Historical Society 1990).