The NSW State Archives Collection documents the daily work of the NSW Government and its agencies from 1788 to today. This vast collection records history as it happens, providing valuable and at times life-changing evidence of events and decisions that have shaped, and continue to shape, our history, communities and lives.

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Old books stored upright on shelving

About the State Archives Collection

The NSW State Archives Collection documents the daily work of the NSW Government and its agencies from 1788 to today

Old books both upright and laying flat on shelving

How to use the State Archives Collection

The largest collection of records relating to the history of NSW and the lives of its people

Black and white photo of clerks working at desks in an office, surrounded by large ledgers and pigeon holes and paperwork.

Ask an Archivist

We’re here to help you access and use our collection

NSW State Archives - Western Sydney Records Centre, 161 O'Connell Street, Kingswood, Sydney Open 2022

Plan your visit

State Archives Reading Room, Kingswood

Stories

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A women holds a large book open while she threads the pages together.

Conserving the archive

Supervising conservator Dominique Moussou talks through her work and some of the projects underway in the MHNSW conservation lab

A photo looking down a long row of shelving

Virtual Tour of the Western Sydney Records Centre

Take a virtual tour exploring the home of some of NSW’s most significant architectural and design collections

Composite image of a selection of 4 walpapers

Mr Fox's wallpapers

The digitisation of NSW school files at NSW State Archives has resulted in an unusual discovery: 19th-century wallpaper samples