What’s on
Events
![Cover label Small debts registers [Newcastle Court of Petty Sessions]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/12/4ba709e2a1c2428bb82ee7470b3cd642.jpg)
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

Tour
Sin City: Sydney Crime Stories
Visit real crime scenes from the past and hear the stories behind the crimes
Corner Albert and Phillip streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Sunday 30 March 10.30am–12.30pm

Workshop
Bird Watching with the Sydney Bird Club
Join us for an inclusive bird watching tour that will explore the Vaucluse House Estate and Nielsen Park
Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Sunday 30 March 10.30am–12pm

Various dates
Performance
Sonic Spaces
Sonic Spaces returns for 2025 with an exciting new series of music performances, held in one of the city’s most unique venues
Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
Friday 4 April 6.30pm–7.30pm

Tour
Up Close and Personal
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Susannah Place Collection
Saturday 5 April 10am–12pm

Tour
Heritage Tours of Cockatoo Island’s Powerhouse
In our latest Sydney Open Series event, the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust is opening the doors to Cockatoo Island’s Powerhouse
Saturday 12 April 10am–10.45am

Various dates
Workshop
Mobile making at Meroogal
This drop-in creative mobile-making activity takes inspiration from Tina Matthews’s mobile work currently on display in the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize 2024 exhibition
Corner West and Worrigee streets, Nowra NSW 2541
Saturday 12 April

Special event
Accessible History Kids
Join us for a tactile and sensory workshop where kids will discover what life was like at Elizabeth Farm 200 years ago.
70 Alice Street, Rosehill NSW 2142
Tuesday 15 April 9.30am–10.30am

Special event
History Kids – The Hunt for Clues at Vaucluse House
These school holidays, step into the past and become a history detective at Vaucluse House!
Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Wednesday 16 April 10.30am–11.30am

Workshop
Weaving the Colours of Country
Join us for a creative, hands-on workshop with Gumbaynggirr textile artist Sancia Ridgeway inspired by the exhibition Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 17 April 11am–12pm

Special event
History Kids – The Hunt for Clues at Elizabeth Farm
These school holidays, step into the past and become a history detective at Elizabeth Farm!
70 Alice Street, Rosehill NSW 2142
Thursday 17 April 10.30am–11.30am

Workshop
Spinning Threads of Knowledge
Inspired by the exhibition Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country, Gumbaynggirr textile artist Sancia Ridgeway will teach you how to spin yarn
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 22 April 11am–12pm

Tour
Digging Up the Neighbourhood
Starting at Susannah Place, this walking tour explores some of the fascinating archaeological sites in The Rocks and Millers Point
58–64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000
Wednesday 23 April 10.30am–12.30pm

Tour
Members Hour: Meroogal
Make yourself at home at Meroogal with Members Hour
Corner West and Worrigee streets, Nowra NSW 2541
Thursday 24 April 11am–12pm

Online talk
Soldier Settlement in NSW
This webinar will explore records in the NSW State Archives Collection that tell the stories of these soldier settlers
Thursday 24 April 10.30am–11.30am

Online talk
First Nations Community Access to Archives: Bridging Now to Next
The First Nations Community Access to Archives team at Museums of History NSW will be discussing how improving access to archival material can support the revitalisation and reclamation of First Nations Languages and Cultures
Friday 30 May 10.30am–11.30am

Tour
Members Hour: Justice & Police Museum
Welcome to Members Hour: Justice & Police Museum
Corner Albert and Phillip streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Saturday 31 May 9am–10am

Online talk
Mental Health Patient Records
This webinar will explore the surviving patient records created by government mental health facilities that are held within the State Archives Collection
Friday 27 June 10.30am–11.30am

Tour
Members Hour: Susannah Place
Experience Members Hour at Susannah Place
58–64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000
Monday 30 June 9am–10am
Event series

Sydney Open Series
Building on the Sydney Open program, this series offers talks, workshops, and tours throughout the year, with a focus on history, architecture, design innovation, sustainability, and heritage

HomeGrown Series
Exploring Australian homes, gardens and domestic life past and present through a rich and eclectic mix of workshops, tours and talks held in Museums of History NSW’s beautiful historic houses and gardens

Collections Series
Join our expert curators, archivists, researchers and conservators for talks, tours, viewings and discussions as they highlight some of our most fascinating collection material
Coming soon

Opening April
Exhibition
Hope by Hiromi Tango
Museums of History NSW is delighted to announce a dramatic new art installation by renowned multidisciplinary artist Hiromi Tango, on display at the Hyde Park Barracks from 12 April 2025
Saturday 12 April

Opening April
Featured exhibition
Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country
This exhibition depicts the development of the NSW colony through a selection of historical maps, plans, sketches, artworks and objects
Thursday 17 April
On display

Featured display
Madjeri
Madjeri (pronounced mud-jer-ee) is the Dharawal word for canoe or small floating vessel
![Tapis linoleum : saisons 1893-94 / John Barry, Ostlere & Co. Ltd., fabricants a Kirkcaldy (Ecosse) [trade catalogue]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2025/03/8165e4349beb43d798932be0abf711f6.jpg)
Featured display
Repurposed: Creative reuse in the library collection
Our current library display explores the unique and sometimes surprising ways in which items from the library collection have been repurposed

Permanent display
Alexander Riley, legendary Aboriginal police tracker
The remarkable talents of Aboriginal trackers who worked for NSW Police in the 20th century are featured in a display at the Justice & Police Museum

Permanent display
Healing land, remembering Country
A powerful work by Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert

Permanent display
Yura Nura: People & Country
Yura Nura: People & Country presents contemporary Aboriginal reflections on the history of Sydney and colonisation
Touring exhibitions

Touring exhibition
How cities work
Enter an immersive cityscape full of magical, tactile experiences to discover how the city works. Peek inside buildings, duck underground, and explore the streets to find out what’s going on above your head and beneath your feet

Touring exhibition
On the Move
Grab your ticket and enter an interactive transport world created in collaboration with illustrator James Gulliver Hancock

Touring exhibition
Street Photography
Before the days of Instagram, personal cameras, copyright and privacy laws, street photographers were a familiar part of city streets during the 1930’s to the late 1950’s, inadvertently creating a vast archive of black-and-white, postcard-sized candid images

Touring exhibition
Underworld: Mugshots from the roaring twenties
Welcome to the dark side of the Roaring Twenties. Descend into a seedy underworld where the only rules were never squeal to the police and always, always shoot first