The point of Ben Buckler before the big rock washed up. (Courtesy of Sydney City Council Archives)

The big rock at Bondi, with author for scale.

Sitting lightly on the sandstone, a fine example of the first class housing available to the working classes. (Courtesy of Sydney City Council Archives)

The city eats its own. A council truck investigates a small to medium-sized pot hole. (Courtesy of Sydney City Council Archives)

The price to be paid for living at the edge. Lincoln Crescent after the conflagration. (Courtesy of Fairfax Photo Library)

A bumper crop for Sydney’s rat catchers. (Courtesy of Sydney City Council Archives)

White supremacists defend mainstream Australia from undesirable elements. (Courtesy of Fairfax Photo Library)

Nattily dressed detective and colourful Sydney identity, Fred Krahe. (Courtesy of Fairfax Photo Library)

Property developer and colourful Sydney identity, Frank Theeman. (Courtesy of Fairfax Photo Library)

Gordon and Wendy Gallagher before cancer and the police service took their toll. (Courtesy of Wendy Gallagher)

Gordon as a young cop, terrified that someone might ask him for directions or something. (Courtesy of Wendy Gallagher)