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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

Recipe booklet: Fowler's Method: of bottling fruits and vegetables, Fowlers Vacola, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 1952
Talk

An Appetite for History

Cookbooks and manuscript recipes from the 1830s to the 1970s

Wednesday 12 March 6pm–7.30pm
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

Woodgraining tools, rollers, stamps, combs

Caroline Simpson Collection

Home and garden design, history and life

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

Alexander Mackintosh Archive : architectural plans and specifications, 1901-ca.1921: Waterhouse & Lake : architectural plans and specifications, 1909-1924 / B.J. Waterhouse & J.W. Lake [architectural drawing]

The Alexander Mackintosh Archive: revealing records of a master builder

Forgotten for decades, the archive of building contractor Alexander Mackintosh was rediscovered in a roof space in the 1990s. It includes more than 270 architectural drawings and reveals information about the work of many of Sydney’s leading architects of the early 20th century

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

Small Debts Registers

This webinar will explore 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

Friday 28 March 10.30am–11.30am
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 from the north shore], Joseph Lycett, 1827.

Hearing the music of early New South Wales

A new website documents an exciting partnership between Museums of History NSW and the University of Sydney in an exploration of Indigenous song and European settler vocal and instrumental music in early colonial NSW