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Collections

Tour

Holding Hatred

Behind the walls where Sydney’s accused, convicted and condemned were charged and sentenced lie objects too disturbing for regular public display

Thursday 27 August 2pm–3pm
Tour

Copy, Paste, Profit

Discover the dark and tangled tales of Indian design woven through this historic textile collection

Thursday 20 August 3.30pm–4.30pm
Woodgraining tools, rollers, stamps, combs

Caroline Simpson Library Collection

Houses | Interiors | Gardens

Burdekin House, Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney Mint, Old Sydney 1933-35 / [Thomas J Lawlor, photographer] [photograph album]
Featured display

Leaving Only Memories: The loss of Burdekin House

Our current display showcases objects and artworks related to Burdekin House, a grand colonial mansion that once stood on Macquarie Street but was demolished in 1933, a victim of Sydney’s urban development

Tuesday 7 July

‘Confused heaps’ and ‘systematic order’: Keeping records in 19th-century NSW

This webinar examines how records and the work of their keepers was organised and explore the material world of those ‘charged with the arrangement and care of Records’.

Diana Luxton Messara: public interior designer

The Diana Luxton Messara archive, generously donated by the designer herself, contains drawings, plans, textile designs, photographs, correspondence, publications, sample boards and personal papers spanning more than five decades.

Proceedings [Judge Advocate's Bench]

On the Bench: Records of the Lower Courts of NSW

This webinar explores the bench books held in the NSW State Archives Collection. These wonderful volumes record the minutes of proceedings of various Benches of Magistrates as well as later Courts of Petty Sessions.

J. Ratner & Co. Pty Ltd., furniture manufacturers, Newtown (NSW): Furniture design drawings, photographs, order book, Ratner family architectural plans [archive]

Original designs for furnishings

Furniture, furnishing textiles, wallpaper, leadlight windows, stained glass and painted decoration designs

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

Fatshaudi commissioned works

We commissioned a range of musicians to create new compositions for Dream Feast in response to sheet music held in the Caroline Simpson Library Collection. One of the musicians, Fatshaudi (Brisbane-based producer Rachael Ryan), shares her experience