Collections

30 August, 10.30am

'Equitable Relief': Equity Court records in the State Archives Collection

This webinar will explore records of the Equity Division of the Supreme Court, how to find them, and what they can tell you

8 September, 11am

Making History from a House: The story of Vaucluse House as a museum

Join research curator, Dr Paige Gleeson, in exploring the history of Australia’s first publicly owned house museum, Vaucluse House

History Week 2024: Marking Moments

Join us for History Week 2024 - talk, tour of the Western Sydney Records Centre, and special viewing of State archives

27 September, 10:30am

Tracing NSW Gaol Inmates: Researching criminal offenders in the State Archives Collection

This webinar will show you how to use the State Archives collection to trace your ancestors through the NSW prison system, uncovering their crimes and incarcerations

First Nations Community Access to Archives

Join the First Nations Community Access to Archives project team in deep listening to learn about the journey of storytelling, truth-telling and language revitalisation

Oyster culture leases files

The government started to encourage oyster fisheries from 1868 and later introduced oyster leases. This webinar focuses on our series of NRS-1302 Oyster cultures leases files, which tell the stories of the people who held these leases between 1920 and 1978

Colonial Secretary's minutes, 1826-1927

A deep dive into the minutes, highlighting how these documents that dealt with Government policy, detailed plans and proposals also captured the lives of individual people, and how to find them

Using the inquest index

Now with surviving inquest papers from 1916-1939 and April–December 1963 (Glebe Coroners Court), this webinar shows you how to use the inquest index and explore the new additions

Creating Imagined Interiors

Join industry experts at the Caroline Simpson Library as they discuss different approaches to creating interiors for house museums and film and television productions

Unlocking Past Lives

Join Matthew Stephens, research librarian at the Caroline Simpson Library, as he uses the library’s specialist collection to explore the contexts of a selection of historic family photographs

Phyllis Shillito and her colour curriculum 1945–1979

This event focused on the colour curriculum of pioneering Sydney-based colour designer and educator Phyllis Shillito (1895–1980) of the 1940s to the 1970s

The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet

Hear the story of Rose de Freycinet, the first woman to write an account of a global circumnavigation, with Suzanne Falkiner

Significance matters

As part of an ongoing partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW, our Curatorial and Digital teams have been hard at work making a suite of vocational videos that explore the importance of assessing and communicating the significance of museum collections

Jenolan Caves in the State Archives Collection

We are donning our speleological hard hats and highlighting digitised material relating to Jenolan Caves held in the State Archives Collection

The Syrens of Sydney: a bespoke donor experience

On a perfect autumn afternoon in late May, donors were immersed in the musical world of the Wentworths and their contemporaries at the 'Syrens of Sydney' concert held at Vaucluse House

Volunteers document Liverpool State Hospital records

It's National Volunteer Week and we're highlighting the important work our volunteers do in helping to make the Collection more accessible. Our Collections Volunteers have successfully listed over 57,000 patient admission cards from Liverpool Hospital covering 1884 to 1959

The Wasmuth Portfolio

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wasmuth Portfolio, is regarded as one of the most influential architectural treatises of the 20th century

Rose redacted

How Rose de Freycinet was erased from the official narrative of the 'Uranie' voyage

The Astor, 1923–2023

Upon completion in 1923, The Astor in Sydney's Macquarie Stree twas the largest reinforced concrete building in Australia, the tallest residential block, and this country’s first company title residences

City of Gods, my early experience and toy boat

Inspired by a watercolour of the ruins of the temple of Vishnu, refugee curator in residence Jagath Dheerasekara writes about Devinuvara as a site of pilgrimage, colonisation and uprising

Westward, Ho! The Great Western railway arrives

While the railway had arrived at Penrith in 1862 the Blue Mountains, once again, seemed like an impassable obstacle

Westward, Ho! Blue Mountains - towns along the highway

A visit to the Lower, Mid and Upper Blue Mountains

Westward, Ho! A trip over the Blue Mountains

European expansion westward from Emu Plains to Bathurst

Celebrating federation

The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed on 1 January 1901. The Federation Pavilion in Sydney’s Centennial Park was the focus of the inauguration ceremonies and a five mile procession through the decorated streets of Sydney was greeted by large crowds