Collections

Millions of items, infinite stories

Museums of History NSW holds several of the state’s most significant and fascinating collections – from the vast State Archives Collection to the Caroline Simpson Library Collection, and individual collections relating to our museums and houses. Dive in and explore!

Experience the collections

Browse all
Thornton's Temple of flora : with plates faithfully reproduced from the original engravings and the work described by Geoffrey Grigson with bibliographical notes by Handasyde Buchanan.
Featured display

Scientific Splendour: The art of botanical illustration

Our current display explores the development of botanical illustration from the end of the 18th century to the turn of the 20th century. Initially employed to support scientific discourse, botanical illustration evolved as an art form that increasingly prioritised aesthetic style over scientific exactitude

The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 1 July
Melody Theatre, Riverwood
Online talk

Theatres and Public Halls Files

This webinar will explore the records of theatres and public halls found in the State Archives Collection, and what they can tell you about the history of your local community

Friday 25 July 10.30am–11.30am
Jacqui Newling grating ginger on a wooden board, with lemons and sugar loaves, to make ginger beer
Workshop

Food and Memory

Have you ever wanted to record your family recipes and food stories? Do you like to play with words and ideas?

Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Sunday 27 July 10am–12.30pm
The home beautiful / by Mark Foys Ltd. [trade catalogue]
Talk

From Mail Order to Online Shopping

Join curator Michael Lech for an insightful look into the world of department store and mail order catalogues

The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 12 August 6pm–7.30pm
SS William MacArthur in dock - surveyors test holes
Online talk

Ships, more ships, and still more ships

Featuring files, plans, and our recently digitised content (NRS-21054), this webinar will explore the records of the State Dockyard, Newcastle, held in the State Archives Collection

Friday 29 August 10.30am–11.30am
New South Wales. "Map of the Colony of NSW exhibiting the situation & extent of the appropriated lands, including the counties, towns, village reserves, etc., compiled from authentic surveys, etc." "Dedicated to Sir John Barrow, Bart., President of the Royal Geo N.1579
Online talk

Crown Plans – Revisited

Join us for an introduction to the world of NSW Crown plans. Learn how you can start searching for, accessing, and understanding Crown plans and related records in the State Archives Collection

Friday 26 September 10.30am–11.30am
Homemade pincushion with clear plastic bracelet at back made by former Susannah Place resident Ellen Marshall
Workshop

Visible Mending with Leah Giblin

The sustainable fashion movement might seem like a new trend but at Susannah Place (built in 1844) in The Rocks, the mending of clothes and other household items was a necessary part of life for the working-class residents of this inner-city community

58–64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000
Sunday 19 October 10.30am–12.30pm

Photo collections

Our collections include thousands of photographic images dating from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting diverse aspects of life in NSW

Find out more
Two strands of pearls, or more, v3 by Dianne Beevers

Regional NSW

Thanks to the support and involvement of our regional communities, audiences, peers and partners, our work and remit stretch across the state

Aboriginal Languages and Nations in NSW & ACT © Reconciliation NSW

First Nations Community Access to Archives

This project aims to improve access for First Nations people to important archival material about culture, kinship, stories, and languages within the State Archives Collection

Webinars

Government Printing Office 1 - 07748 - Mental Hospital Parramatta: patients' bedrooms

Mental health patient records

This webinar explores the surviving patient records created by government mental health facilities that are held within the State Archives Collection

Cover label Small debts registers [Newcastle Court of Petty Sessions]

Small Debts Registers

This webinar explores the newly indexed and digitised Small Debt Registers held in the NSW State Archives Collection, and how they can highlight the history of NSW local communities

Government Printing Office 1 - 30889 - Batlow Soldier Settlement - a married settlers home

Soldier Settlement in NSW

This webinar explores records in the NSW State Archives Collection that tell the stories of soldier settlers. Learn more about the individuals who participated in the scheme, and how you can research these men and women in our collection

Settlers' Muster Book, 1800

Settlers’ Muster Book, 1800

This webinar led by Dr Carol Liston AO, Adjunct Associate Professor in History at Western Sydney University, explores the contents of the Settlers’ Muster Book 1800

Acquisition of the John and Phyllis Murphy wallpaper collection

Murphy Wallpaper Collection

The recent donation to the Caroline Simpson Library of thousands of wallpapers in the John and Phyllis Murphy Collection means that Museums of History NSW now has the largest holding of historical wallpapers in Australia

Design for frieze / by Ethel Atkinson

Creating Imagined Interiors

Join industry experts at the Caroline Simpson Library as they discuss different approaches to creating interiors for house museums and film and television productions

Photo of children in dress up clothes

Unlocking Past Lives

Join Matthew Stephens, research librarian at the Caroline Simpson Library, as he uses the library’s specialist collection to explore the contexts of a selection of historic family photographs

Vivienne Chaffer : Colour [interior design student workbook]

Phyllis Shillito and her colour curriculum 1945–1979

This event focused on the colour curriculum of pioneering Sydney-based colour designer and educator Phyllis Shillito (1895–1980) of the 1940s to the 1970s

Love in the Library – Members Hour at the Caroline Simpson Library

In February, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Collections Discovery Assistant Mel Flyte shared with our members expressions of love discovered in the Caroline Simpson Library

Dr Aaron De Souza (standing, right), Research Manager at Museums of History NSW, presenting archaeological artefacts from the site of Australia’s first Government House
Latest News

Exploring the archaeology of the first Government House

Donors joined Dr Aaron De Souza, Research Manager at Museums of History NSW, for a fascinating bespoke talk and behind-the-scenes viewing of a selection of the more than 140,000 archaeological finds from the site of Australia’s first Government House

Scottish Rifles outside Hyde Park Barracks / photographer Charles Bayliss
Latest News

New insights from an old photograph

A recent acquisition for the Caroline Simpson Library captures a rare view of the long-demolished southern range of the Hyde Park Barracks

Sydney Opera House - Red Book
Latest News

Envisioning the ‘Sydney National Opera House’: A different ‘Red Book’

A variant version of the ‘Red Book’ – with additional plans dated May 1958 – has recently been generously donated to Museums of History NSW by Mr Mark Matheson

Stay updated

Keep up to date with all our Collections news, archives, acquisitions & events. Select 'Collections' when subscribing to receive our monthly e-newsletter

Subscribe to Collections eNews

Stories from our collections

Browse all
Thornton's Temple of flora : with plates faithfully reproduced from the original engravings and the work described by Geoffrey Grigson with bibliographical notes by Handasyde Buchanan.

‘A creature of incredible taste’: Winnafreda, Countess of Portarlington

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

Wallpaper roller undergoing 3D capture using photogrammetry
Wallpaper

Wallpaper printing rollers: from machine printing to 3D capture

In December 2022, Phyllis Murphy AM generously donated to the Caroline Simpson Library more than 3,000 wallpaper samples. While the bulk of the donation consists of wallpaper rolls, lengths and sample books, it also includes two printing rollers

Our beautiful homes, N.S.W. Series 2.

House photo albums

These specially produced photograph albums (some in published form and others consisting of photographs pasted into an album) comprise images of one or more domestic dwellings and depict exteriors, interiors and gardens in NSW mostly from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries

Drawing room and entry hall, Fenton, Edgecliff, 1976

Richard Stringer’s architectural photographs, 1968–2003

This portfolio contains 55 photo prints taken by architectural photographer Richard Stringer, dating from 1968 to 2003, documenting significant Australian domestic buildings

The Spa subsidised school

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

Government and General Order regarding the 'civilisation of the Aborigines', 10 December 1814
First Nations

Grief in the archives: a Blak reflection on Sorry Day

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

An immersive solution to preserving the past

An important part of Collections Care work at the Western Sydney Records Centre is to conserve records that have been requested by readers and assessed as requiring repair

NRS 12061 [12/8749.1] 62/1515pt1, p334
First Nations

Advocacy, allyship and the rise and fall of the Aborigines Protection Board

In the lead-up to 26 January, the State Archives Collection provides opportunities to explore and reflect on past examples of advocacy and allyship in the fight for First Nations rights

Collections conservation

Browse all

An immersive solution to preserving the past

An important part of Collections Care work at the Western Sydney Records Centre is to conserve records that have been requested by readers and assessed as requiring repair

A women holds a large book open while she threads the pages together.

Conserving the archive

Supervising conservator Dominique Moussou talks through her work and some of the projects underway in the MHNSW conservation lab

Sandstone headstone lying horizontal against dark background

Historic houses in 3D

A project to capture 3D scans of MHNSW properties will greatly assist conservation work and create exciting new interpretation opportunities far into the future

Get involved

Browse all
Donor event

Come and Discover

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

Volunteers and Staff in the courtyard at the Volunteer's Morning tea event, The Mint

Volunteer

Volunteers provide invaluable support to Museums of History NSW across a range of roles

Members photoshoot at Rouse Hill Estate

Members get more

Membership unlocks the past, present and future at Museums of History NSW