Caroline Simpson Collection
Home and garden design, history and life

There’s plenty happening every day at our museums, historic houses and gardens, with entry free for all!

This financial year, our Annual Giving program gives you the opportunity to enrich the lives of children across NSW and beyond through the power of education

Explore our curriculum-linked programs, excursions and resources for stages 1 to 6. Inquire or book now
Home and garden design, history and life
Making history every day
Place-based collections at our historic houses and museums

The Vaucluse House kitchen garden recently underwent a significant rejuvenation project to preserve the site and allow it to continue to be used as a valuable educational resource
![View of the Australian Ballet 'The sleeping beauty (detail)' [right] and the Opera Australia 'Mariana Hong in Falstaff (detail) ' and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 'People's choice concert (detail) [left] stairwell banners - The People's House marketing & installation photoshoot](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/11/5fa6b34f18bd4d5b9b469a42a8ae591c.jpg)
Kieran Larkin, Senior 3D Designer at Museums of History NSW, talked to us about some of the highlights and challenges of designing the landmark exhibition The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50, on display at the Museum of Sydney until March 2024

What practical techniques can we learn from historical building design to minimise heat and energy consumption in our homes today?

Inspired by a stunning shellworked model of the Sydney Opera House by Bidjigal artist Esme Timbery, First Nations curator Tess Allas commissioned a woven model of the iconic building from master weavers Steven Russell and Phyllis Stewart
A space and place to celebrate and engage with First Nations cultures, knowledge and perspectives
Welcome
Our first year as Museums of History NSW has been a momentous one. Here are some highlights

This important heritage work includes the structural remediation to columns, subfloor structure and balustrade and the painting of the columns using a traditional sand paint finish

This week Vaucluse House was adorned for Christmas with the delivery of a handsome tree, placed in the elegant drawing room and traditionally decorated

The Married Women (Lecturers and Teachers) Act of 1932 restricted employment of married women in the Department of Public Instruction. We hold 693 declarations for exemption by married women teachers for the years 1932–35