Caroline Simpson Collection
Home and garden design, history and life
Featured exhibition
This exhibition depicts the development of the NSW colony through a selection of historical maps, plans, sketches, artworks and objects
Visit
There’s plenty happening every day at our museums, historic houses and gardens, with entry free for all!

Explore our curriculum-linked programs, excursions and resources for stages 1 to 6. Inquire or book now

Find out how you can access diverse experiences through a unique calendar of events

Our first MHNSW five-year Strategy marks a new chapter of immense possibility

Sydney Open is Australia’s premier architectural event. It’s when Museums of History NSW opens the doors of many of Sydney’s most significant buildings for fans of architecture and heritage to explore

Perched proudly atop the 1870s stables at Rouse Hill Estate is a beautiful timber lantern. The lantern was inspected and critical repair works undertaken as part of the current conservation works at the estate

The State Archives Collection has just received an important set of mental health records from Western Sydney Local Health District. The transfer is particularly exciting as we thought that these records were lost!

Our first MHNSW five-year Strategy marks a new chapter of immense possibility
Home and garden design, history and life
Making history every day
Place-based collections at our historic houses and museums
A space and place to celebrate and engage with First Nations cultures, knowledge and perspectives
Welcome
Australian by birth, Winnafreda Portarlington was one of the most glamorous and well-connected women in British society in the first half of the 20th century. Find out more about this fascinating woman, her social connections, and her collections

A curious index card unlocks information about a unique subsidised school, whose history has been preserved within the State Archives Collection

At Meroogal, the ongoing conservation of the beautiful timber detailing of the Juliet balconies, the bargeboards and fascia boards of the gables, weatherboards and masonry chimneys requires specialist knowledge and skills

In this article, Dylan Hoskins, Project Assistant on the First Nations Community Access to Archives project, reflects on the significance of National Sorry Day through his lived experience as an Aboriginal person