Stories
Our houses, museums and collections are packed to the brim with stories of all kinds
Robbery under arms: the Eveleigh Heist, 1914
On 10 June 1914 the Eveleigh Heist - robbery of the payroll took place. It was a daylight robbery of the payroll at the Eveleigh Workshops
Furnishing textiles in Australia: 1850-1920
The Caroline Simpson Library holds numerous examples of textile furnishings provenanced to NSW homes dating back to the 1850s
Come in spinner!
Gambling in Australia is regulated by the state and some types of gambling are illegal. The game Two-up, with its catch cry of ‘Come in Spinner!’, is legal only on Anzac Day and only in some states
Underworld
Gangs
The lure of easy money from the illicit alcohol, drug and gambling trades encouraged the formation of new crime gangs
Inside the creative mind of Beastman
We spoke to Beastman about his art and how he created the vibrant, abstract patterns for PlayScapes
Designed with intent: colonial vs modernist chairs
This selection of furniture juxtaposes the old with the new: early 19th-century colonial seating and modernist styles made over a hundred years later
The colour-filled career of Marion Hall Best
Interior designer Marion Hall Best had a love of colour and an uncanny ability to use it to transform a room. Museums of History NSW holds the largest collection of Best’s work
A manuscript cookbook from Meroogal
Cooking was an integral part of the rhythm of life for the family at Meroogal, near Nowra on the south coast of New South Wales
Up in smoke: clay tobacco pipes
From the earliest days of the colony, Sydney-siders smoked them, broke them, and discarded them into drains, rubbish piles, work sites and hidden cracks and crevices of buildings
Conservation
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Conserving the archive
Supervising conservator Dominique Moussou talks through her work and some of the projects underway in the MHNSW conservation lab
Susannah Place conservation project
A behind-the-scenes look at some of the complex work that goes into conserving and preserving the fascinating Susannah Place Museum
A strong and simple structure: conserving the woolshed
The second phase of a major conservation project on the woolshed at Rouse Hill Estate has seen the rustic 160-year-old structure strengthened and stabilised
Conserving Harry Seidler’s sofa
A sofa Harry Seidler designed for Rose Seidler House was conserved and reupholstered, and the process revealed some unexpected findings
3D story telling
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'A most excellent brick house' Elizabeth Farm
Curator Dr Scott Hill explores some of the enduring mysteries buried in the architecture of Australia’s oldest surviving homestead
Dodgy, dangerous, disturbing
3D models: a fascinating exploration of some seemingly innocent objects modified for nefarious purposes from the Justice & Police Museum collection
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
Hyde Park Barracks: a keeper of lost things
Uncover and explore some of the items found inside the barracks
Convicts
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Convict Sydney
Back to business
From 1822, with the British government keen to cut costs and encourage pastoral expansion, part three sees the removal of convicts from town.
Convict Sydney
Convict case study - John Knatchbull
This case study shows what types of records can be found in the State Archives collection
Convict Sydney
For the civic good
With the Napoleonic Wars over in 1815 and Britain crowded with returned soldiers, poverty and crime, part two finds the colony swamped with incoming convicts.
Why were convicts transported to Australia?
Until 1782, English convicts were transported to America, however that all changed after 1783
Stories about our places
A new way of living
Once word spread about the newly built Rose Seidler House in 1950, it was the ‘most talked about house in Sydney’. Seventy years on, it's impossible to deny the strength and daring of Seidler's vision
Museum
A rum deal
When Lachlan Macquarie began his term as governor of NSW in 1810, Sydney was in desperate need of a new hospital
Museum
A turbulent past
With its deep, shady verandahs and elegant symmetry, Elizabeth Farm is an iconic early colonial bungalow
Museum
Make yourself at home
Meroogal became home to four generations of resilient and resourceful women, whose house was their livelihood as well as their home