What’s on

Copy, Paste, Profit

Discover the dark and tangled tales of Indian design woven through this historic textile collection

An Evening at Vaucluse House

Experience the Wentworths’ picturesque estate and harbourside retreat in a whole new light. Join us for an exclusive and intimate tour through the house after dark

Holding Hatred

Behind the walls where Sydney’s accused, convicted and condemned were charged and sentenced lie objects too disturbing for regular public display

House/Music: Hilary Geddes Quartet

Take a seat at the historic Justice & Police Museum and be transported through improvisation and sound as the Hilary Geddes Quartet play music from the album Redleaf. Hilary Geddes is an Australian guitarist and composer whose work moves between jazz, indie and experimental music

‘Most came because their fare was paid for them’: NSW assisted immigration

Join us for this webinar led by Dr Richard Reid, to get a glimpse of the treasures in the NSW State Archives Collection that illuminate the assisted emigrant journey

Members Hour: Rose Seidler House

Experience Members Hour: Rose Seidler House

Sin City: Sydney Crime Stories

Visit real crime scenes from the past and hear the stories behind the crimes

The Stories of Us: Researching Family History in the NSW State Archives Collection

Join us at the Western Sydney Records Centre to hear from our archivists about finding your own family stories within the NSW State Archives

Contested Ground: What Do We Do Now?

As our cities continue to expand, the past is not left behind – it re-emerges. Beneath construction sites, roads and new developments, traces of earlier lives surface, raising urgent questions not just of discovery, but of responsibility

Firestick

Hear from leading figures who have spent decades at the forefront of news and politics to understand how far we’ve come and how we can truly create more effective change

Leaving Only Memories: the loss of Burdekin House tour

Join us for a guided tour through remnants and photographs of Burdekin House, whose loss helped to galvanise Sydney’s heritage movement

Behind-the-Scenes Tours of the Opera Centre

Go behind the scenes at the Opera Centre in Surry Hills, the creative heart of Opera Australia, on Saturday 12 September as part of the Sydney Open Series

Members: Wentworth Mausoleum Tour

Enjoy a members-only walking tour of the rarely opened Wentworth Mausoleum and learn about William Charles Wentworth’s extravagant 1873 state funeral

Dusk to Darkness at Elizabeth Bay House

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

Various dates

The GUL Collective workshops

Weave, loop and stitch alongside The GUL Collective in this all-abilities textile workshop celebrating creativity across cultures, generations and backgrounds

22 – 25 September 2026

Distillation

This multisensory performance will transport you to the Irish bog landscape through scent. Presented in partnership with Sydney Fringe

NSW Surveyor Field Books: What Every Researcher Needs to Know

Join us for this webinar to learn how to access these fabulous records detailing the landscapes of NSW and explore the information they contain.

Spooky Zines with Lucie Stevens

Celebrate all things spooky by making your own haunted house mini-zine with author Lucie Stevens

Family Kitchen: Saaj-making workshop with Justine Youssef

Join contemporary artist Justine Youssef for a hands-on saaj-making workshop rooted in her practice of reviving ancestral recipes that have been lost through displacement

Shadow Play Workshop with Jumaadi

Craft your own shadow figures with artist Jumaadi. This hands-on family workshop is inspired by the traditional Indonesian art of shadow puppetry

Members Hour: Hyde Park Barracks

Experience Members Hour 2026 at the Hyde Park Barracks

Five Things to Discover in the Photographic Archive of the Government Printing Office

Join this webinar to explore the 20th-century photography of the NSW Government Printing Office. Learn the stories behind these images and how you can access them

The Ned Kelly Papers

Join us for this webinar exploring the life and crimes of Australia’s most notorious bushranger, featuring recently digitised records from the NSW State Archives Collection.

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

Madjeri

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

Leaving Only Memories: The loss of Burdekin House

Our current display showcases objects and artworks related to Burdekin House, a grand colonial mansion that once stood on Macquarie Street but was demolished in 1933, a victim of Sydney’s urban development

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

Healing land, remembering Country

A powerful work by Kuku Yalanji artist Tony Albert

Yura Nura: People & Country

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