Redcoats, Rascals & Thunderboxes – History of Sydney
From A$48 per person
Redcoats, Rascals & Thunderboxes is a 2-hour history tour available by appointment, suitable for all ages. It costs $48 AUD per person, runs in small groups of up to 6, and meets at Wharf 6, Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000, with start times arranged directly with the operator.
About This Tour
Behind the beautiful harbour and the shiny Opera House, this city has stories that will stop you cold. This is the Sydney tour that tells them all.
Sydney's Number One History Tour
Every city has a surface. Sydney's surface is genuinely, breathtakingly spectacular, and you should absolutely enjoy it. But if you stop there, you've missed the best bits entirely.
This is Sydney's number one history tour for one very simple reason: it goes deeper than any other. It doesn't skim the icons and move on. It gets underneath them. It pulls apart the froth and the postcard gloss and hands you the real story of how this city came to be, who won in the process, who lost, and what was built, broken, stolen, and saved along the way.
Starting at Circular Quay's Wharf 6, your local guide takes you on a walk through Sydney's most historically loaded terrain via a route that most visitors never find and most locals have never taken. Every stop is a revelation. Every story connects to the next. By the time you reach the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House at the end, you will be looking at one of the world's most photographed buildings and seeing it with completely different eyes.
Along the way you'll hear the warts-and-all account of modern Australia's birth, the stories that the official plaques leave out, the characters who shaped this country from the ground up, and the moments of brilliance and spectacular failure that define any great city's origin story. You'll discover photography spots that don't appear on any tourist map, because your guide found them, and they're not sharing them with anyone else.
This is the tour that Sydney regulars book for visiting family, because it finally gives them a way to show people what this city is really made of. It is the tour that first-time visitors book, and then immediately want to book again. It is simply the best history tour in Sydney, and we say that with the quiet confidence of people who have done the research.
Come and find out what this city is really about. You won't be disappointed.
Exclusions
- Items of a personal nature
- Tips or gratuities for guides (Not compulsory but welcome)
- Meals and drinks
- Bottled Water
What's Included
- Your own local English-speaking guide with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Sydney history and a gift for making it genuinely riveting
- A digital tour record including a 3D map of everywhere you walked and downloadable photos taken by your guide
- A digital copy of the 100% Ridgy-Didge Aussie Slang Survival Guide (Volume 1), because every great adventure needs a decoder ring
What To Expect
Meet your guide in The Rocks. Over 2 hours you'll walk through Sydney's oldest streets, hearing tales of convicts, governors, and the characters who shaped the city.
Itinerary Highlights
- Follow a hidden trail through Sydney's most historically rich landscape, a route that sidesteps the tourist path entirely
- Hear the full, unfiltered story of modern Australia's birth, the triumphs, the disasters, and everything in between
- See every major Sydney icon from angles and perspectives that most visitors never discover
- Capture unique photography opportunities at spots only a local guide would know to find
- Arrive at the Sydney Opera House forecourt at the end of the tour knowing this city in a way that almost nobody does
Tour Schedule
| Days | By appointment |
| Starts | Arranged at booking |
| Duration | 2 Hours |
| Meeting Point | Wharf 6, Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000 |
| Ending Point | Sydney Opera House Forecourt |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this tour bookable online?
It's available by appointment — enquire directly to arrange a time.
Where do we meet?
Wharf 6, Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000.
Is it suitable for kids?
Yes, it's open to all ages.
