"That Sydney's character was shaped by its life as a busy working harbour is a well-known fact. Yet, surprisingly, images of this critical period of the city's history are disparate, often fleeting, details of a bigger picture. Dockside: Sydney's working harbour, 1840?1875 is an intriguing selection of images from the collections of the State Library [including works by renowned artists such as Conrad Martens and Frederick Garling], providing an insight into Sydney's working foreshore."--P. iii.