What’s on
Events
Talk
Winter Solstice at Elizabeth Bay House
Wrap up warm and arrive at the elegant Elizabeth Bay House before dawn to experience a magnificent display as the sun rises over the horizon
7 Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011
Saturday 21 June 6.30am–8.30am
Talk
In conversation: Community Policing, Policing a Community
On the anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (24 June 1978), join us for this special Collections Series event
Corner Albert and Phillip streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 24 June 6pm–7.30pm
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
Workshop
Weaving the Colours of Country
In NAIDOC Week 2025, join us for a creative, intergenerational workshop with Gumbaynggirr textile artist Sancia Ridgeway
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 8 July 11am–3pm
9 & 16 July
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
Wednesday 9 July 10.30am–11.30am
Workshop
Spinning Threads of Knowledge
In NAIDOC Week this year, join Gumbaynggirr textile artist Sancia Ridgeway for an intergenerational workshop where you’ll learn how to spin yarn
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 10 July 11am–3pm
10 & 17 July
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
Thursday 10 July 10.30am–11.30am
Festival
NAIDOC Week 2025
NAIDOC Week (6–13 July) is a time to celebrate First Nations cultures, history and achievements
356 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155
Sunday 13 July 10am–3pm
Workshop
Collage workshops for kids
Join the Sydney Collage Society for a hands-on workshop inspired by Joan Ross’s immersive digital artwork 'Let’s party like it’s 1815'
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000
Tuesday 15 July 10.30am–12pm
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 July 9.30am–10.30am
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 16 July 10.30am–12.30pm
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
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
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
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
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
![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 at the Hyde Park Barracks
Queens Square, Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000
Thursday 25 September 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
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
![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
Tuesday 11 March
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