Elizabeth Bay House

Nyssa Milligan, singer, Historical Performance Unit, Sydney Conservatorium of Music

A musical tour back in time

Soprano Nyssa Milligan describes the experience of performing at Elizabeth Bay House in the recent collaboration between Museums of History NSW and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Matching wool colours using a late 19th-century pattern and unfinished Berlin wool work sample from the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection

A stitch in time

Tatting, knotting, knitting, pin-tucking, crocheting, pinking, stitching, stuffing, embroidering … needles fly at Elizabeth Bay House

Oil portrait of Mary Elizabeth Pye (1827-1910), painted c 1845

Collections care in a time of coronavirus

Museum closures earlier this year due to COVID-19 gave Museums of History NSW staff a valuable opportunity to spend even more time caring for our historic houses and their precious and diverse collections.

South elevation, Elizabeth Bay House
Latest News

Conservation in action: Elizabeth Bay House external joinery work

Museums of History NSW is undertaking external joinery conservation works to the front facade thanks to the funds generously donated by our supporters during the 2022 Annual Appeal

Strings, Litchfield Binckes square piano in the morning room, Elizabeth Bay House

Here and there: concert playlist

Experience a concert at Elizabeth Bay House showcasing a magical evening contrasting two different musical worlds

Vibrant pencil and watercolour image with animal eyes and swirling patterns.

King's Cross: bohemian life In Sydney

Artists, intellectuals, writers, radicals, revellers and misfits made Sydney's King's Cross home from the early years of the 20th century well into the 1970s

A very formal Victorian family sitting down to breakfast in a 19th century dining room with the females sitting back watching the important male figure quietly reading a newspaper. There are pictures on the wall and elaborate furniture in the room.

Morning (and evening) devotions

This evocative study of Victorian family life, entitled Family Devotions, is part of the Elizabeth Bay House collection

Dome in the saloon, Elizabeth Bay House

Sound Heritage Sydney: Making Music in Historic Places

On the 28th of March 2017, an international forum of invited experts spent a day at Elizabeth Bay House sharing their knowledge about music making in historic houses

EBH Volunteers shoot

Stitching for our house museums

For almost 15 years, a dedicated group of volunteers has gathered to sew, crochet, knit, embroider and stuff historically authentic soft furnishings for our houses