Collections

More Than a Name: NSW Naturalisation Records

This webinar showcases the various naturalisation records held, including original applications for naturalisation, and advises what you may be able to discover about your immigrant ancestors in the collection

Crown Plans revisited

Learn how you can start searching for, accessing, and understanding Crown plans and related records in the State Archives Collection

Ships, more ships, and still more ships

Featuring files, plans, and digitised content (NRS-21054), this webinar recording explores the records of the State Dockyard, Newcastle, held in the State Archives Collection

Theatres and Public Halls Files

This webinar explores 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

Murphy Wallpaper Collection

The recent donation to the Caroline Simpson Library of thousands of wallpapers in the John and Phyllis Murphy Collection means that Museums of History NSW now has the largest holding of historical wallpapers in Australia

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

Not so black and white

Digitising photos from Rouse Hill Estate

Making Home: Collections on Tour

MHNSW was proud to present Making Home: A Short History of Houses, Interiors and Gardens in NSW in 2025

New transfer of Parramatta and Rydalmere hospital records

The State Archives Collection has just received an important set of mental health records from Western Sydney Local Health District. The transfer is particularly exciting as we thought that these records were lost!

Love in the Library – Members Hour at the Caroline Simpson Library

In February, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Collections Discovery Assistant Mel Flyte shared with our members expressions of love discovered in the Caroline Simpson Library

‘A creature of incredible taste’: Winnafreda, Countess of Portarlington

Australian by birth, Winnafreda Portarlington was one of the most glamorous and well-connected women in British society in the first half of the 20th century. Find out more about this fascinating woman, her social connections, and her collections

Wallpaper printing rollers: from machine printing to 3D capture

In December 2022, Phyllis Murphy AM generously donated to the Caroline Simpson Library more than 3,000 wallpaper samples. While the bulk of the donation consists of wallpaper rolls, lengths and sample books, it also includes two printing rollers

House photo albums

These specially produced photograph albums (some in published form and others consisting of photographs pasted into an album) comprise images of one or more domestic dwellings and depict exteriors, interiors and gardens in NSW mostly from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries

Richard Stringer’s architectural photographs, 1968–2003

This portfolio contains 55 photo prints taken by architectural photographer Richard Stringer, dating from 1968 to 2003, documenting significant Australian domestic buildings

Flat out access: unfolding the parchment pardon of Samuel Henry Horne

The conservators at the Western Sydney Records Centre treat items from across Museums of History NSW collections. A recent example is the 1832 absolute pardon of convict Samuel Henry Horne

Little footsteps, big futures: honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day

In this article, Beth Thornber, Access Advisor on the First Nations Community Access to Archives project, reflects on the significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day through examining the role of young First Nations people in language preservation and revitalisation

The Spa subsidised school

A curious index card unlocks information about a unique subsidised school, whose history has been preserved within the State Archives Collection

Grief in the archives: a Blak reflection on Sorry Day

In this article, Dylan Hoskins, Project Assistant on the First Nations Community Access to Archives project, reflects on the significance of National Sorry Day through his lived experience as an Aboriginal person