I grew up in Balmain in the late 80s and early 90s, when the rough and tumble working class suburb of boys that didn’t cry had just about been overtaken by the basket weavers. But there were still vestiges of a glorious maritime industry – the shipyards at Mort Bay, the Port Control Tower staring back at us from The Hungry Mile, and always a few grizzled stevedores hanging off the balcony at The London, or skulking in a dark corner of The Dry Dock. I would catch the ferry to school, waking myself up by standing at the forward bow, the wind and salt whipping me in the face, bracing for whatever the day may bring. The harbour, to me, has always been so much more than the glittering jewel of NSW tourism, its rich and fascinating history worth so much more than the millions it adds to property values.

Acoustic Life of Boatsheds from Big hART, happening as part of this year’s Sydney Festival, takes audiences on a tour of the harbour’s working history, immersing you in a history dating back tens of thousands of years and very much still in existence today. Boarding an historic Rosman...