Photo collections
Our collections include thousands of photographic images ranging from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting the rich and diverse life in New South Wales. These images are available in various original formats, such as glass plates, lantern slides, 35mm negatives, color transparencies, and prints.
Caroline Simpson Collection
Street photography stories
During the mid-20th century, commercial street photographers were a familiar sight on Sydney’s streets, capturing everyday people as they strode by or stopped to pose
Ikon Studio
During the public call out for our Street Photography exhibition an extraordinarily rare collection of street photography negatives came to light. The Ikon Studio negatives provide a fascinating visual narrative of the street photographer at work
Snapped! The Ikon Studio street photographer at work
A remarkable acquisition of 5000 street snaps provides a lively and revealing record of one Sydney street in 1950 and offers a rare glimpse through the street photographer’s lens
The street snapshot craze
Picture this: you and a friend are walking down a city footpath amid the lunchtime crowd. Suddenly a smiling man in a suit and tie with camera in hand steps forward and offers you a card. It reads: Your photograph has just been taken
City of a million faces
The passing of years has given many street photographs greater significance than may have been anticipated when they were taken
Alan Spearman Evans Collection
The Alan Spearman Evans Collection comprises over 2000 photographic images of houses, house interiors, garden landscapes and industrial workplaces in NSW
State Archives Collection
Electricity Commission
These photos record the power generation and transmission assets of the organisation and document the working conditions and social events of its employees
Gaol inmates & prisoners photos index 1870-1930
Search over 52,000 mugshots from NSW prisons. Alongside the photos are details such as name, aliases, native place, year of birth, details of arrival in the colony, occupation, physical description, marks or special features, where and when tried, offence, and sentence
Maritime Services Board
A sample of the 4000+ digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board
Government Printing Office Glass Negatives
From the late 19th century into the 20th century, photography played a significant role at the Government Printing Office, leading to a rich and varied collection of images depicting life in New South Wales
Sydney Harbour Bridge
This photo series captures the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from turning the first sod to completion, including the official opening and its initial use by the public
Photos from the railways
With around 30,000 photos from various series, you can delve into a visual history of the railways, the workers, and the stunning landscapes of Sydney and New South Wales
NSW Correspondence School
These photos show the NSW State Correspondence School, Blackfriars. It began in early 1916 for children living in remote and country areas
‘Most up-to-date Sydney panoramic views‘ 1915
This 22 page pamphlet produced in 1915 includes panoramic prints of Sydney's buildings, parks, harbour, zoo and streets
Dacey Garden Suburb
Daceyville, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was built in 1912 to offer affordable housing for working-class families. This photo series shows the development of the suburb
Purging pestilence – plague!
The Bubonic Plague hit Sydney in January 1900. Spreading from the waterfront, the rats carried the plague throughout the city. Within eight months 303 cases were reported and 103 people were dead
Lantern slides shown at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition
Part of this collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Many of the slides are of typical country scenes such as saw mills, dairy farms, mining, and timber felling and hauling
Photos of nurses at Sydney baby clinics
These photos are believed to have been taken in 1914, with the opening of the first baby clinics
Waagner-Biro Stage Machinery (Sydney Opera House)
Photos of stage equipment constructed by Waagner-Biro Akitiengesellschaft, the company contracted to install Sydney Opera House stage equipment
Photos of soldier settlements
These photos show returned soldiers clearing the land, constructing houses, and carrying out farming activities on soldier settlements established following World War 1
More from the State Archives Collection
Eveleigh Workshops during the 1917 railway strike
On 2 August 1917 the General Strike began. It started in the Randwick Rail Workshops & Eveleigh Carriage Workshops & quickly spread to other industries until about 100,000 workers were on strike
Central Railway Station: through the Lens
Highlighting the transformation of Central Railway Station from its opening in 1855 to 1921 when the clocktower was completed
![Class photo - Cooks Hill Public School, Class K [Kindergarten], 1951](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/09/8fe8b0f371b44a0ba1618192cba73fc8.jpg)
Memories: a researcher finds their school photo in the collection
We love to hear your stories when you or your family appear in the archives. This story is from Kathleen, who was one of the little girls in this Kindergarten photo from Cooks Hill in 1951
The Great White Fleet, 1908
On 20 August 1908 a round the world peace mission by the American fleet arrived in Port Jackson and marked the start of Fleet Week, a week-long celebration of events, parades and parties
Celebrating federation
The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed on 1 January 1901. The Federation Pavilion in Sydney’s Centennial Park was the focus of the inauguration ceremonies and a five mile procession through the decorated streets of Sydney was greeted by large crowds
Justice and Police Museum
The Collection: NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive
The Justice & Police Museum cares for an eclectic collection of material relating to Sydney’s criminal and policing history
Underworld
NSW Police ‘Specials’
People in the Specials photographs were yet to have their day in court. The lack of signs that the person was in custody, such as handcuffs, meant the images could be shown to a witness during a criminal investigation without prejudicing the person against the suspect
Underworld Blog
Descend into Sydney’s seedy underworld with our blog. Discover exclusive stories, never-before-seen images, and behind-the-scenes insights
Watch the photo webinars
![PR866 Old govt [Government] surveyor, Devonshire St. [Street] reproduction](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/08/b7e333d02b764bcc9466f1f11ae2ed71.jpg)
Downloading images from the State Archives catalogue
How to find and download images from our catalogue
Gaol photographs
We have indexed and digitised this collection of photographs of men, women and children who were incarcerated in the NSW prison system c1870–c1930
Maritime Services Board images
Dive into the Maritime Services Board images and see how you can find them
Photographs in the State Archives Collection
An introduction to the NSW State Archives photographic collection
Public Works photographs: an unsung treasure
The amazing quality and variety of the photographs taken by the Public Works Department is a testament to the photographers. This webinar explores these images in depth
Railway photographs NRS-17420
An introduction to our rich collection of NSW railway photos, including locomotives, carriages, gate houses, railway refreshment rooms, staff and stations
News
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Latest News
Jenolan Caves in the State Archives Collection
We are donning our speleological hard hats and highlighting digitised material relating to Jenolan Caves held in the State Archives Collection
Latest News
A recent acquisition uncovers rare tintype photographs
Tintypes are photographs printed on thin sheets of metal, rather than card. MHNSW doesn’t hold many in our collections, so this discovery is an exciting one