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

Black and white photograph of two adults and three children walking in a line holding hands in urban setting. This view is up Martin Place toward Macquarie Street, Sydney.

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

Candid street photograph of pedestrians taken in Martin Place, Sydney, by an unknown Ikon Studio photographer during 1950.

Ikon Studio: photo galleries

Browse a selection of images from the Ikon Studio collection shot between May and December 1950 in Martin Place, Sydney

Black and white street photograph of pedestrians

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

Sylvia Evans reading in her bedroom at Alwyn, Arncliffe, around 1927 / Alan Evans

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

Cropped photo of family group.

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

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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

State Archives Collection

Muswellbrook Power Station Carl Street Apprentices For 1982 Annual Report

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 photograph of A. G. Scott, alias Captain Moonlight

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

'Lady Hopetoun' docked at Commissioners Steps in front of the Sydney Harbour Trust building

Maritime Services Board

A sample of the 4000+ digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board

Naval cadets from N.S.S. 'Sobraon' receiving swimming instruction

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 construction. Preparing iron bark track timbers, 4 Oct 1931

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

Interior archway of concourse in Central Railway Station, 1906

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

Children collecting mail at the letterbox

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

Elizabeth and Market Streets, Sydney 1915

‘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

A birds-eye view of Dacey Garden suburb as it will appear when completed

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

Onlookers stand behind barriers watching the streets being cleaned with fire hoses. Policemen stand on the road in front of the crowds

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

A Sundowner, Riverina District, c.1908

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

Nurse weighing baby at Bourke Street Baby Clinic, 1914

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

Oban Soldiers' Settlement Estate, carting posts

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

A large group of men stand in front of a train carriage at the Eveleigh Workshops in 1917

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

First train leaving the new Sydney Central Station, 1906

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

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

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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

A crowd of people in a rotunda decorated with streamers

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

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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

Black and white image of man. The words
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

Cameron McIntosh Bean (alias Clifford Bennett), Special photograph number 781, 24 March 1922, possibly Central Police Station, Sydney
Underworld

Crime

The Roaring Twenties was a golden era for criminals

C Smith, J Bezzina, W J Williamson, A Feutrill, G Hodder and W Thorson, Special Photograph number 1607, 25 January 1928, Central Police Station, Sydney

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

Mugshot of Lottie May Little, 1917

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

Black and white photo showing wharf, horses and drays, Cowper Wharf Road

Maritime Services Board images

Dive into the Maritime Services Board images and see how you can find them

Man in hard hard diving helmet and suit stands at a ladder on a punt. Two men are ready to assist behind him

Photographs in the State Archives Collection

An introduction to the NSW State Archives photographic collection

Children playing outside with see saw and ride on elephant

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

View of limestone cave
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

A man sits at a desk and looks at an album of pictures through a magnifying glass
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