SYDNEY IN 1829.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 40, 16 September 1863, Page 3

SYDNEY IN 1829.

George-street, the principal in the town, was brilliant with jeweller's shops, and I soon ascertained that Sydney had been remarkable, even at an earlier period, for the same phenomenon, for it could seem no less to one unacquainted with the reason. This display of splendour was, after all, but a very natural result of the convict element in the town. The receivers of stolen plate and articles of bijouterie in England had chosen Sydney as a safe depot for the disposal of such articles, as agents for such a purpose might at that time easily be found there. A lady, the wife of an officer, wore a valuable gold comb, which was snatched out of her hair on coming out the opera one night in London. The thief escaped, and no trace of the stolen article was found in England. Two years afterwards—about 1825—the lady joined her husband in Sydney. On the first day she walked out she was attracted by the display of brilliant articles in the shop of a wellknown jeweller of that period. The first article that caught her eye, prominently displayed, was the identical stolen comb. She communicated the fact to her husband, and they visited the shop. Terms were proposed, either that the name of the consigner of the property or the property itself should be given up. The shopkeeper did not hesitate for a moment; he gave up the comb rather than disclose the name of the party who sent it to him, probably aware that, on the disclosure of how and where he obtained, all the other articles similarly obtained might be subjected to a compulsory surrender.—Reminiscence* of New South Wales by Judge Therry.