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The Sydney Passengers

Incorporating The Sherlock Holmes Society of Australia

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About Us

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, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, himself an author of no small repute.

As our name might suggest, we are based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. We take our name from the Sherlock Holmes story ‘The Adventure of the Gloria Scott (read story here) 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".

Our members are of all ages and backgrounds. 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 3 or 4 times a year for dinner, lunch, a picnic, or an outing to the theatre. 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 showing our meeting dates for the coming year is sent to all members resident in Australia. Those with email facilities can also receive our irregular news bulletin CyberSignals plus other newsletters from overseas. For information on joining, please click here.

A slide show on the history of the Sydney Passengers can be found here: From the Archives

Latest News

2025 Montpellier Award

The Carole Dukes Montpellier Award is open to all articles submitted by Passengers to the Passengers' Log over the course of the previous year and is aimed at encouraging research amongst members that enriches our knowledge and understanding of the Canon. It is named in memory of the late Passenger Carole Dukes, who was an untiring researcher, and embraces the name of the town in Southern France where Sherlock Holmes spent time carrying out research into coal-tar derivatives (referenced in 'The Adventure of the Empty House').

The nomnations for the 2025 Award were:

Sherlock Holmes In Montpellier by Keith Suter
Who Were the Real British Statesmen in 'The Adventure Of the Second Stain' by Stuart McMartin
That Was No Snake! by Michael Duke
Where Did You Get That Hat? by Matthew D. Hall

Many thanks to those Passengers who took the time to cast their vote this year. It was great to have so many responses.

The editorial team of The Passengers' Log are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2025 Montpellier Award is Matthew D. Hall for his article 'Where Did You Get That Hat?', which appeared in the October 2025 issue. Admirable Cobber Award Plaque

Due to the strong Australian connection in Matt's article, he has additionally been awarded the Admirable Cobber Award, named in memory of Passenger Arthur Williams, who often wrote articles for the Log with an Australian theme. The name is in reference to Arthur's article in the Log about Carlyle Smythe, the agent who managed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1920/21, who Doyle refered to as "an admirable cobber".

The full archive of Montpellier and Admirable Cobber Award winning articles are available here on the Passengers' Log page.

Please join us in congratulating Matt on his double award!

Crew Changes

The Captain is pleased to announce some recent changes to the Passengers' Crew (committee). Rosane McNamara has been given a promotion to Officer Of the Watch (Vice President) following the resignation of Phil Cornell (who remains Expedition Artist). We also welcome two new committee members: Robert Veld, who takes over the Anchor Watch title from the late Doug Elliott; and Matt Hall as Quartermaster. An additional ration of rum has been ordered to celebrate the new crew appointments.

New BSIs

Congratulations to Passengers Matt Hall and Michael Barton for receiving investitures into the Baker Street Irregulars at the 2026 BSI weekend. Matt was invested as 'The Earl Of Maynooth' and Michael as 'Baron Von Herling'.

Thanks to Ben Vizoskie and the BSI for use of the photo of Matt with his certificate seen at right.

Photo of Keith Suter from a 2018 Passengers meeting R.I.P. Keith Suter

The Passengers were shocked by the news in early December of the death of long-time Passenger Dr Keith Suter. Keith was an expert commentator on international affairs, regularly appearing on television and radio to provide analysis on world events. Keith contributed a number of closely researched articles to The Passengers'Log, and won the Montpellier award in 2020 for his article 'Sherlock Holmes In Tibet'. He also attended our in person meetings whenever he was able to do so, and occasionally online, always ready to contribute to discussion. He will be sadly missed.

A memorial service to celebrate Keith's life was held at the Wesley Mission in Sydney in March.

Passengers Meting Archive

Reminder that any Passengers unable to attend the Society’s Zoom meetings but who have online access, can watch them after the event on the Passengers’ YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@sydneypassengers3476.

Site Last Updated: 4th May 2026