North Sydney Sketchbook: Ngaire Souter and Allan Gamble (Illustrator)

Since white men landed and changed the name of Warungarea to Hunter's Hill, North Sydney has been in a constant state of flux. Smuggling, farming and business-building occupied the 19th century and then East St. Leonard's came into being. By the 1860s, it was divided into three boroughs: East St. Leonard's, St. Leonard's and Victoria. In amongst the current modern sophistication of skyscrapers, restaurants and a top yachting club, nooks and crannies of the past still exist. Don Bank, an early farmhouse, stands between two multi-storey buildings; St. Thomas's sits on a bustling business street and Graythwaite, now a school administration building, yet retains the peace of the past.