Search our website and collections

Go direct to State Archives online indexesGo direct to State Archives catalogue

A lighter shade of drab

In this video, as specialist painter Adam John Christian Seur goes about his work, curator Gary Crockett explains the origin of drab - a dull, strangely coloured paint used on the timberwork of Hyde Park Barracks.

Music by Cameron Elliot.

Published on 
Gary Crockett

Gary Crockett

Former curator

It was the dog-eared world of Rouse Hill House, back in 1991, that inspired Gary Crockett to become a curator. Gary produced exhibitions on convict, immigration and legal history at the Hyde Park Barracks, studied spatial history at the Museum of Sydney, collaborated with artists and tenants at Susannah Place, architects and engineers at Elizabeth Farm, designers at Rose Seidler House, curated Surf City, an ode to Sydney surf culture, along with a string of video, audioguide and interactive museum projects.

Related

Conservation

Conservation in action: Vaucluse House ancillary buildings remediation

Museums of History NSW (MHNSW) is currently undertaking essential conservation works on the 1830s former store, laundry and water tank at Vaucluse House

Exterior of the engine room at The Mint at the completion of the adaptive reuse project, the wall stabilised and now protected by the new structure

The Mint project: Sydney’s adaptive reuse triumph

Sydney’s urban landscape is a testament to both the city’s rich history and examples of forward-thinking vision. Among the most compelling examples of this fusion of past and future is the revitalisation of the Mint complex

The exterior of the service wing of the main house and the arcade

Rouse Hill conservation works 2024–25

After detailed condition inspections of the state heritage–listed Rouse Hill Estate, MHNSW’s Capital Works and Heritage teams have begun a large-scale conservation project that will sensitively address a range of identified issues at the site

Government Printing Office; NRS 4481, Glass negatives. NRS-4481-4-44-[AF00194836] Immigration Barracks Sydney, August 1871 [Department of Public Works]
Conservation

Conservation in action: Hyde Park Barracks northern range refurbishment works

In collaboration with experienced heritage consultants and traditional tradespeople, MHNSW is undertaking conservation works to the northern range buildings