Stories
Our houses, museums and collections are packed to the brim with stories of all kinds

The coolest room in the house
What practical techniques can we learn from historical building design to minimise heat and energy consumption in our homes today?
![View of the Australian Ballet 'The sleeping beauty (detail)' [right] and the Opera Australia 'Mariana Hong in Falstaff (detail) ' and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 'People's choice concert (detail) [left] stairwell banners - The People's House marketing & installation photoshoot](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/11/5fa6b34f18bd4d5b9b469a42a8ae591c.jpg)
Sydney Opera House: inspired design
Kieran Larkin, Senior 3D Designer at Museums of History NSW, talked to us about some of the highlights and challenges of designing the landmark exhibition The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50, on display at the Museum of Sydney until March 2024

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

Watch pockets
Watch pockets hung on the head cloth of a four-post bedstead and originally served in place of bedside tables, which were uncommon in the 19th century

Dressing Joan Sutherland
One of the most spectacular costumes on display in the exhibition The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50 is an extraordinary Renaissance dress designed by Kristian Fredrikson and worn by Dame Joan Sutherland in the part of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia
First Nations stories
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First Nations
How to weave an opera house
Inspired by a stunning shellworked model of the Sydney Opera House by Bidjigal artist Esme Timbery, First Nations curator Tess Allas commissioned a woven model of the iconic building from master weavers Steven Russell and Phyllis Stewart

Cutter and Coota: a children’s play by Bruce Pascoe
Meet author and historian Bruce Pascoe and the main characters from his play Cutter and Coota as they reflect on the play’s themes and the experience of performing at the Hyde Park Barracks

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

Paving the way ... Harold Blair: The first Aboriginal opera singer
A short documentary that offers a glimpse into the life of Harold Blair, a world-renowned tenor, family man and political campaigner who sought social justice and human rights for Australia’s First Nations people
Convicts
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Convict Sydney
Convict Sydney
From a struggling convict encampment to a thriving Pacific seaport, a city takes shape.

Hyde Park Barracks – the convict years
In 1788, the penal colony of New South Wales was established on the Country of the Gadigal people

Convict Sydney
The turning tide
Amidst public outcry, the convict ships stop but the ‘stain’ of Sydney’s convict past is harder to erase

Convict Sydney
Objects
These convict-era objects and archaeological artefacts found at Hyde Park Barracks and The Mint (Rum Hospital) are among the rarest and most personal artefacts to have survived from Australia’s early convict period
Sydney Opera House
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Fort Macquarie, Bennelong Point
Fort Macquarie was constructed between 1817-1821 and demolished in 1901. The Tram Depot was opened in 1902 and pulled down in 1958 to make way for the building of the Sydney Opera House
![Government Printing Office 2 - 08376 - Opera House Committee at Public Works Building [Department of Local Government; interiors; architects; public servants] [GPO original locations or series - 47927] [11/1/1957]](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/06/6c044bb10f784986b9f04aa78dab183a.jpg)
Management of the Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House Trust operates and maintains the Opera House on behalf of the NSW Government

Opening of the Sydney Opera House
The Opera House was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 20 October 1973. This was followed by a two-week festival of events
![Government Printing Office 2 - 49270 - Sydney Opera House [Public Works] [GPO original locations or series - St89262] [Jun-73]](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/06/d6a81135238f446c974d7ed335b7ab99.jpg)
Photographs and oral histories of Sydney Opera House
There are many images of the Sydney Opera House in all stages of construction and use in the State Archives Collection.
Conservation
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Conserving the archive
Supervising conservator Dominique Moussou talks through her work and some of the projects underway in the MHNSW conservation lab

Conservation
Susannah Place conservation project
A behind-the-scenes look at some of the complex work that goes into conserving and preserving the fascinating Susannah Place Museum

Conservation
A strong and simple structure: conserving the woolshed
The second phase of a major conservation project on the woolshed at Rouse Hill Estate has seen the rustic 160-year-old structure strengthened and stabilised

Conserving Harry Seidler’s sofa
A sofa Harry Seidler designed for Rose Seidler House was conserved and reupholstered, and the process revealed some unexpected findings
Stories about our places

Museum stories
A turbulent past
With its deep, shady verandahs and elegant symmetry, Elizabeth Farm is an iconic early colonial bungalow

Museum stories
Gritty business
Immerse yourself in Sydney's chilling criminal past in this unique water-front museum of policing, law and disorder – with its grizzly collection of underworld weapons along with tales of mayhem and lawlessness, aptly described as an educational resource befitting a 'professor in crime'

Museum stories
Make yourself at home
Meroogal became home to four generations of resilient and resourceful women, whose house was their livelihood as well as their home

Museum stories
Not a lovelier site
‘There is not a lovelier site in the known world’, wrote the Sydney-born barrister and novelist John Lang about the Wentworth family’s estate of Vaucluse
3D story telling
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'A most excellent brick house' Elizabeth Farm
Curator Dr Scott Hill explores some of the enduring mysteries buried in the architecture of Australia’s oldest surviving homestead

3D scanning the archaeological dog skeleton
A key component of Museum of Sydney’s interpretation is the archaeological remains of First Government House

Museum stories
A rum deal
When Lachlan Macquarie began his term as governor of NSW in 1810, Sydney was in desperate need of a new hospital
Plant your history
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Plant your history
Beautiful bountiful bamboo
One of the most recognisable plants growing at Museums of History NSW today is bamboo. This colourful plant has a long history in colonial gardens

In the pink at Elizabeth Farm
Amid the late summer bounty in the garden at Elizabeth Farm, the crepe myrtle is the undoubted star of the show

Plant your history
Sumptuous cape bulbs light up late summer gardens
Belladonna Lilies and Crinum Lilies are tough bulbs that never say die and can survive years of neglect

Plant your history
Acanthus - an apt symbol for The Mint
Look at any classical building today, anywhere in the world and chances are you will find an acanthus leaf lurking somewhere
Dodgy, dangerous, disturbing
3D models: a fascinating exploration of some seemingly innocent objects modified for nefarious purposes from the Justice & Police Museum collection
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