Richly illustrated exposé of development scandals and political corruption in NSW. Looks close up at:
- railways and tramways of Sydney;
- colourful characters who ran NSW;
- shifting political factions that delivered their power;
- the developers who financed Henry Parkes and other government leaders;
- the Sydney suburbs laid out to suit their interests;
- dismal planning failures of the late 1870s and 80s that haunt Sydney still.
A meticulous account of late colonial times when NSW was governed to suit developers and greedy politicians, no less than in the 21st century. The massive transformation of Sydney and its outskirts from then on is startling; the old flaws of the NSW government—even more so.