Rouse Hill Estate

Boy playing with LEGO.
Permanent display

Rouse Hill Estate in LEGO® Bricks

Featuring amazing models of the iconic Rouse Hill House, outbuildings, stable and barns constructed from LEGO® bricks

Sunday 1 January
The refreshed visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Layered histories: refurbishing the visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Refreshed and renewed, the refurbished visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate, on Dharug Country, offers visitors an invitation to explore the property and discover its richly layered history

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

Rouse Hill conservation works October 2024 – May 2025

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

Two men pushing a heavy object on a wooden trolley
Latest News

Conservation works at Rouse Hill Estate

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

Jar of jam / preserve with spoon and rustic bread on wooden board in kitchen at Vaucluse House

History with flavour

Good food and generous hospitality were part of the rhythms of domestic life at Rouse Hill House. A collection of cookbooks and handwritten recipes accumulated over more than a hundred years remains in the house, and provides a taste of the family’s culinary repertoire through times of boom and bust

Rouse Hill Estate - Rouse Hill House front elevation and carriageway

Rouse Hill Estate: a preservationist approach

Six generations of one family occupied Rouse Hill House from its construction until the late 1990s when it opened as a museum. Each generation added another layer of belongings, improvements and memories

Chenille curtain sunburst design

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

Tents in bush setting.

When masks were compulsory

When thinking about the impact of COVID-19, it’s timely to reflect on an earlier pandemic that affected every aspect of life, including at our places

Keeping cool

Shading the face, fanning a fire into a blaze or cooling food, shooing away insects, conveying social status, even passing discreet romantic messages - the use of the fan goes far beyond the creation of a breeze