Who are we?

The Sydney Passengers is a group of enthusiasts brought together by a common ideal - to share in the enjoyment of the life and times of Sherlock Holmes, the world's first and foremost consulting detective, and his friend and chronicler, Dr. John Watson, made famous in the splendid tales published under the auspices of Dr. Watson's colleague, Arthur Conan Doyle, himself an author of no small repute.

As our name might suggest, we are based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (for more detailed information on Sydney, click here). We take our name from the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott' (read story in HTML format), in which the survivors of a mutiny at sea are rescued by a ship bound for Australia and "after an excellent voyage the Hotspur landed us at Sydney".

What does it take to join us?  What qualifications are required?  Our members are of all ages and backgrounds, and a great knowledge of the stories is not needed - rather a love of the Victorian atmosphere of foggy cobble-stoned streets, hansom cabs, deerstalker caps, and the immortal scene of Holmes and Watson interviewing a client before a crackling fire in their sitting room at 221b Baker Street. We meet together 5 or 6 times a year for dinner, lunch, a picnic, or an outing to the theatre.  Many of our members enjoy wearing Victorian-era clothes to our functions.  Each get-together usually has a theme based on one of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and scholarly, or sometimes scurrilous, papers on some aspect of his adventures are often presented, and quizzes or competitions conducted.

Our journal, The Passengers' Log, comes out 3 times a year; a meeting notice, Signals, is sent to all Australian-domiciled members prior to each function that we hold, and a calendar or similar item showing our meeting dates for the coming year is sent to all members.  Those with email facilities can also receive our irregular news bulletin CyberSignals plus other newsletters from overseas. There are two classes of membership for Australian residents - "Individual" for $25.00 per year; and "Household" for $30.00 (which is available for two or more persons residing at the same address).

Overseas members are most welcome and receive the journal and the calendar, and the email broadcasts if wanted.  Membership fees are based on postal charging zones, as follows:

NEW!! Visit our bookshop for great deals (free standard shipping) and online membership.
 
 

How to contact us:

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Postal address:	The following Crew members can be contacted by email:
19 Malvern Avenue   Manly  NSW  2095   Australia	Captain (President)			Navigator (Journal Editor)
Telephone:   (02) 9977 3668	Expedition Artist (Vice President)			Quartermaster (Layout Editor)

 

Function Diary:

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** 2011 **
Sunday 9th January	Picnic - Sherlock Holmes's 157th birthday - family and friends welcome
Sunday 13th March	Lunch - commemorate the 100th anniversary of the play 'The Speckled Band'
Sunday 22nd May	Lunch - "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax"
Saturday 30th July	Afternoon - Annual Film Festival - silent films 1900-1922.
Sunday 25th September	Lunch - Sidney Paget, the illustrator of the original stories in 'The Strand Magazine'
Sunday 27th November	Lunch - Joseph Bell, professor of surgery at Edinburgh University and one of the original models for the character of Sherlock Holmes
** 2012 **
Sunday 8th January	Sherlock Holmes's 158th Birthday - movie outing - the new "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" film. Families and friends welcome
Sunday 11th March	Lunch - Mystery Vessels of the Canon
Sunday 20th May	Lunch - Irish Secret Societies and World War 1 Spies
Saturday 28th July	Afternoon - Annual Film Festival - features, obscure films, shorts and cartoons (program to be finalised)
Sunday 7th October	Lunch - Celebrating Basil Rathbone
Sunday 9th December	Lunch - Canonical Hoaxes

 

Interesting Sherlockian links:

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   Sherlockian Societies in Australia     - other Australian societies.
   Sherlockian.Net     - full of great stuff and many links to resources worldwide.
   The Hounds of the Internet      - a discussion group conducted by email.
   Sherlocktron     - files, information, lists, details of societies worldwide.
   RMS etexts      - original publication electronic texts of all the stories.
   Canonical Games      - games to play at Sherlockian functions.
   Life and Times - major events in the lives of Holmes, Watson, ACD, & other notables.
   The Baker Street Connection      - some nice graphics, and texts of all the stories.
   The Gloria Scott     - information on the Sherlockian scene in Japan.
   Camden House     - 15 illustrators of the stories, musicians/composers in the Canon, and more.
   The Poor Folk Upon the Moors     - society in the south west of England.
   Sherlock Holmes Society of London - in the home of Holmes.
   The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - biographical information, quotes, key events in his life.
   Nashville Scholars of the Three Pipe Problem - lively group in USA.
   The Singular Society of the Baker Street Dozen - very informative and up-to-date site from Canada.
   Sherlockian Who's Who - a great site for information on individual Sherlockians and Sherlockian societies.
   eBooks@Adelaide - etexts of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, plus other Conan Doyle works.
   The Conan Doyle (Crowborough) Establishment - a venture to promote the life and works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
   The Crew of the S.S. May Day - another nautically-based society, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
   Literary Societies of Sydney - details of Sydney-based societies celebrating the works of noted authors.
   The Best of Sherlock Holmes - general interest (Top 10) information plus specialised material on Conan Doyle rarities.

Feedback:

If there is anything you'd like to tell us, or have problems with this page or the associated links, please contact us:

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