What’s on
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
VisitEvents
Talk
Truth-Telling Through Fiction: Anita Heiss in Conversation
Join award-winning writer Dr Anita Heiss in conversation with journalist Nicole Abadee to explore truth-telling in First Nations fiction
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 24 July 6pm–7pm
Online talk
Theatres and Public Halls Files
This webinar will explore the records of theatres and public halls found in the State Archives Collection, and what they can tell you about the history of your local community
Friday 25 July 10.30am–11.30am
Tour
A Winter's Night at Elizabeth Farm
Join us on a unique, informative, behind-the-scenes insight into life in the Macarthur home, at night-time
70 Alice Street, Rosehill NSW 2142
Saturday 26 July 6pm–8pm
Workshop
Food and Memory
Have you ever wanted to record your family recipes and food stories? Do you like to play with words and ideas?
Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Sunday 27 July 10am–12.30pm
Tour
Members Hour: Museum of Sydney
Welcome to Members Hour at the Museum of Sydney with a special tour of the exhibition 'Seeing Sydney, Knowing Country' led by exhibition co-curator Dr Penny Stannard
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Wednesday 30 July 9am–10am
Sydney Open Series
Tour
Central Station Upgrade Architect-led Walking Tour
Join us for an exclusive walkthrough of Sydney’s recently renovated Central Station
Saturday 2 August 10am–11am
Tour
Wentworth Mausoleum walking tour
Join us for a walking tour to the rarely opened Wentworth Mausoleum and learn about William Charles Wentworth’s extravagant 1873 state funeral
Wentworth Road, Vaucluse NSW 2030
Saturday 9 August 10am–11.30am
Tour
Members Hour: Elizabeth Bay House
Ever wondered how the furnishings in our historic houses are created or re-created and maintained? And equally importantly, who are the people behind this work? Meet some of our Soft Furnishings volunteers, led by Museums of History NSW’s Joanna Nicholas
7 Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011
Monday 11 August 9.30am–10.30am
![The home beautiful / by Mark Foys Ltd. [trade catalogue]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2025/06/0827ff70a8964cb29ec6082ca208d66e.jpg)
Talk
From Mail Order to Online Shopping
Join curator Michael Lech for an insightful look into the world of department store and mail order catalogues
The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 12 August 6pm–7.30pm
Tour
Convict Sydney Walking Tour
Join one of our knowledgeable and expert Guides in a tour of Convict Sydney
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Wednesday 13 August 10.30am–12.30pm
Various dates
Performance
The Shark Arm Case
Join us for an immersive theatre experience that takes a deep dive into Sydney’s criminal underworld
Corner Albert and Phillip streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 14 August 6.30pm–7.30pm
Tour
Elizabeth Bay House from dusk to darkness
Join us for an exclusive and intimate tour of this elegant property at night and see the ‘finest house in the colony’ in a whole new light
7 Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011
Friday 22 August 6pm–8pm
Performance
Sonic Spaces
Join us for an intimate series of performances in one of the city’s most unusual spaces, the hammock room at the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Hyde Park Barracks
Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
Friday 22 August 6.30pm–7.15pm
Sydney Open Symposium
Special event
Sydney Open Symposium
Sydney Open Symposium features two keynote sessions and expert-guided tours of the new Sydney Metro Martin Place precinct
Saturday 23 August 10am–2pm
Online talk
Ships, more ships, and still more ships
Featuring files, plans, and our recently digitised content (NRS-21054), this webinar will explore the records of the State Dockyard, Newcastle, held in the State Archives Collection
Friday 29 August 10.30am–11.30am
Talk
In conversation with Joan Ross and Coby Edgar
Join us for a conversation between artist Joan Ross and independent curator and writer Coby Edgar as they delve into Ross’s wide-ranging practice
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Saturday 30 August 2pm–3pm
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 7 September 10.30am–12.30pm
Various dates
Tour
Lane Cove River Crime Walk with Mark Tedeschi AM KC
Join Mark Tedeschi AM KC, barrister, author, photographer and former prosecutor, for a leisurely bushwalk in the Lane Cove National Park to hear about two fascinating historical true crimes
Wednesday 10 September 10am–12pm
History Week event
Special event
Dark Waters: Crime, Smuggling and Shipwrecks in NSW
Join us for a gripping talk about the darker side of NSW’s rivers and harbours to celebrate NSW History Week 2025
161 O'Connell Street, Kingswood NSW 2747
Friday 12 September 10am–12pm
Sydney Open Series
Tour
Luna Park Behind-the-Scenes Tour
On the eve of its 90th birthday in October, join us to explore behind the scenes at Luna Park, a rare example of an intact Art Deco amusement park
Thursday 18 September 5pm–6.45pm
![External view, [East, West, North, South] elevation of Hyde Park Barracks](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2025/06/02ad8395431147dda793c6836dc044ef.jpg)
Tour
Members Hour: Hyde Park Barracks
Experience Members Hour 2025 at the Hyde Park Barracks
Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 25 September 9am–10am
Online talk
Crown Plans – Revisited
Join us for an introduction to the world of NSW Crown plans. Learn how you can start searching for, accessing, and understanding Crown plans and related records in the State Archives Collection
Friday 26 September 10.30am–11.30am
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 8 October 10.30am–12.30pm
Workshop
Visible Mending with Leah Giblin
The sustainable fashion movement might seem like a new trend but at Susannah Place (built in 1844) in The Rocks, the mending of clothes and other household items was a necessary part of life for the working-class residents of this inner-city community
58–64 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney NSW 2000
Sunday 19 October 10.30am–12.30pm
Workshop
Sensory Connections
Join Museums of History NSW curator Dr Jacqui Newling and Bhavna Kalra Shivalkar (The Modern Desi), one of Australia’s foremost culinary herb and spice experts, for a tantalizing workshop at Elizabeth Farm
70 Alice Street, Rosehill NSW 2142
Sunday 23 November 10.30am–12pm
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
On display
Now showing
Featured display
Let’s party like it’s 1815
Let’s party like it’s 1815 by Joan Ross is an eight-minute digital artwork on display at the Museum of Sydney that colourfully critiques the legacy of the colonisation of Australia
Saturday 12 April
Featured display
Eora by Michael Riley
Eora, by the late Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi filmmaker and photographer Michael Riley (1960–2004), is a 20-minute digital film that tells the story of Sydney’s First Nations people – before and after colonisation
Saturday 7 December
Featured display
Madjeri
Madjeri (pronounced mud-jer-ee) is the Dharawal word for canoe or small floating vessel
Saturday 3 August
Featured display
Scientific Splendour: The art of botanical illustration
Our current display explores the development of botanical illustration from the end of the 18th century to the turn of the 20th century. Initially employed to support scientific discourse, botanical illustration evolved as an art form that increasingly prioritised aesthetic style over scientific exactitude
Tuesday 1 July
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
Saturday 1 April
Permanent display
Healing land, remembering Country
A powerful work by Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert
Sunday 30 April
Permanent display
Yura Nura: People & Country
Yura Nura: People & Country presents contemporary Aboriginal reflections on the history of Sydney and colonisation
Saturday 1 April
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