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

Visit

Events

Anita Heiss
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
Melody Theatre, Riverwood
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
Candle light tour, Elizabeth Farm
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
Jacqui Newling grating ginger on a wooden board, with lemons and sugar loaves, to make ginger beer
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
Painting by Joseph Lycett
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
Wentworth Mausoleum
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
Soft Furnishings Volunteers Group at work in the dining room, Elizabeth Bay House
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]
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
Donor event
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
The library, lit by candle light at Elizabeth Bay House
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
Sonic Spaces event Hyde Park Barracks
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
1 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
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
SS William MacArthur in dock - surveyors test holes
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
Let’s party like it’s 1815 by Joan Ross
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
Detective at foot of Argyle Steps, The Rocks (Sydney), late 1930s. Details unknown.
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
Fig Tree House and wharf, Lane Cove River and foreshore, c1900–10.
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
Sailing ship Hereward on Maroubra beach, Government Printing Office, 1900
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
Luna Park with lights on
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
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
New South Wales. "Map of the Colony of NSW exhibiting the situation & extent of the appropriated lands, including the counties, towns, village reserves, etc., compiled from authentic surveys, etc." "Dedicated to Sir John Barrow, Bart., President of the Royal Geo N.1579
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
Wide shot of two visitors exploring Parbury Ruins during Sydney Open
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
Homemade pincushion with clear plastic bracelet at back made by former Susannah Place resident Ellen Marshall
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
Students in Elizabeth Farm’s colonial kitchen investigating a range of dried spices that would have been available in Sydney during the 1820s
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 Opera House sails with a crane in front and the Sydney Open graphic over the top

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

A brick wall with an old wooden window with bougainvillea growing over it

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

Close-up on a wallpaper laid out ready for digitisation, Museums Discovery Centre

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
Eora by Michael Riley
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
Madjeri
Featured display

Madjeri

Madjeri (pronounced mud-jer-ee) is the Dharawal word for canoe or small floating vessel

Saturday 3 August
Thornton's Temple of flora : with plates faithfully reproduced from the original engravings and the work described by Geoffrey Grigson with bibliographical notes by Handasyde Buchanan.
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
Sergeant Tracker Alexander ‘Alec’ Riley, standing in police uniform
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
Tony Albert, Healing land, remembering Country, 2020. Installation view for Elizabeth Farm (2020).
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

How Cities Work illustration.
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

Girl with superimposed illustration of aeroplane and clouds
Touring exhibition

On the Move

Grab your ticket and enter an interactive transport world created in collaboration with illustrator James Gulliver Hancock

Black and white photo of two women in street
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

Dual mugshot in black and white; man seated and then man standing, with cap on.
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

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