Hidden Histories
Our Tours
Years of archival research, made walkable. Each tour starts somewhere obvious and ends somewhere you didn't know existed.
Our tours are built on a simple commitment: 70% of what you hear comes from primary sources. The other 30% is the careful original research and local legend that make these stories unforgettable.
SPECIALTY2.5 HRSDay at the Asylum
Step inside one of Australia's most extraordinary psychiatric institutions — its patients, its doctors, and its secrets.
Gladesville Mental Hospital operated from 1838 to 1993, making it one of the longest-running psychiatric institutions in Australian history. This tour goes beyond the urban legends to reveal the true stories of patients, the pioneering (and sometimes horrifying) medical treatments, the social history of mental illness in colonial and Federation-era Australia, and the fascinating individuals who shaped — and were shaped by — this institution.
ADULT TOUR2.5 HRSLower North Shore Heritage Walk
The convicts, clergy, and characters who built the North Shore — told through documents no-one else has read.
This walk covers the founding of the North Shore Line, the convict connection to the area, the stories of the early colonists, and the hidden history of Royal North Shore Hospital — one of Sydney's great institutions with a history as dramatic as any fiction.
ADULT TOUR2.5 HRSMiddle North Shore Heritage Walk
From William Gore's farm to the Rum Rebellion's forgotten victims — the stories behind the streets you drive every day.
The streets of Willoughby, Artarmon, and Lane Cove hide extraordinary stories — from the Aboriginal Cammeraigal people's connection to this land, to the European settlers who named streets and suburbs after their homes on the other side of the world.
SEASONAL3 HRSRemembrance Day Tours
A profoundly moving tribute to the servicemen and women of the North Shore, told through the graves at St Thomas, Crows Nest.
A deeply moving tour created to honour the men and women of the North Shore who gave their lives in WWI and WWII. Drawing on commemorative research at St Thomas Cemetery (Crows Nest) and Gore Hill Cemetery, each tour brings specific servicemen and women to life through their individual stories, photographs, and records.
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