Stories

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

[Sydney from the north shore], Joseph Lycett, 1827.

Hearing the music of early New South Wales

A new website documents an exciting partnership between Museums of History NSW and the University of Sydney in an exploration of Indigenous song and European settler vocal and instrumental music in early colonial NSW

Phyllis Murphy in her East Malvern apartment, Melbourne, c1950
Wallpaper

Beyond the wallpaper: the life and work of Phyllis and John Murphy

A significant donation of more than 3,000 wallpaper samples to the Caroline Simpson Library reflects just one facet of the remarkable careers of Phyllis and John Murphy, partners in life, architecture and heritage conservation

Exterior of the engine room at The Mint at the completion of the adaptive reuse project, the wall stabilised and now protected by the new structure

The Mint project: Sydney’s adaptive reuse triumph

Sydney’s urban landscape is a testament to both the city’s rich history and examples of forward-thinking vision. Among the most compelling examples of this fusion of past and future is the revitalisation of the Mint complex

The refreshed visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Layered histories: refurbishing the visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate

Refreshed and renewed, the refurbished visitor centre at Rouse Hill Estate, on Dharug Country, offers visitors an invitation to explore the property and discover its richly layered history

Letter containing a statement of absolute pardon for Samuel Henry Horn (more often known as  Horne), dated 1830 and signed by Governor Richard Bourke in 1832

Convict turned constable

A recently donated letter, signed by the governor of NSW in 1832, offers a tangible connection to the story of Samuel Horne, a convict who rose to the rank of district chief constable in the NSW Police

The fountains of Machattie Park, Bathurst

Several of the postcards featured in our current library display depict Machattie Park in Bathurst. Postcard collector Vera Bell lived in Bathurst between 1905 and 1908 while her father, John, acted as the police superintendent

Jar of jam / preserve with spoon and rustic bread on wooden board in kitchen at Vaucluse House

History with flavour

Good food and generous hospitality were part of the rhythms of domestic life at Rouse Hill House. A collection of cookbooks and handwritten recipes accumulated over more than a hundred years remains in the house, and provides a taste of the family’s culinary repertoire through times of boom and bust

First Nations stories

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[Sydney from the north shore], Joseph Lycett, 1827.

Hearing the music of early New South Wales

A new website documents an exciting partnership between Museums of History NSW and the University of Sydney in an exploration of Indigenous song and European settler vocal and instrumental music in early colonial NSW

Coomaditchie: The Art of Place marketing photoshoot
First Nations

Do touch

We all know we can’t touch collection objects or artworks displayed in museums. However, the new display Cast in cast out by First Nations artist Dennis Golding at the Museum of Sydney includes a ‘do touch’ element

Pencil drawing of Bathurst 1818, Plans of Government Buildings at Bathurst, Main series of letters received [Colonial Secretary], 1788–1826.

Convict farmer Antonio Roderigo and a ‘dastardly massacre’

A dispute over potatoes farmed by convict-settler Antonio Roderigo was one of many hostile events between colonists and Wiradyuri people that led to the Bathurst War of 1824

Coomaditchie Lagoon
First Nations

Coomaditchie: The Art of Place

The works of the Coomaditchie artists speak of life in and around the settlement of Coomaditchie, its history, ecology and local Dreaming stories

Convicts

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Convict Sydney

Convict Sydney

From a struggling convict encampment to a thriving Pacific seaport, a city takes shape

Convict Barrack Sydney N.S. Wales

Hyde Park Barracks – the convict years

In 1788, the penal colony of New South Wales was established on the Country of the Gadigal people

First Fleet Ships

First Fleet Ships

At the time of the First Fleet’s voyage there were some 12,000 British commercial and naval ships plying the world’s oceans

Convict Sydney, Level 1, Hyde Park Barracks Museum
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

Underworld

Cameron McIntosh Bean (alias Clifford Bennett), Special photograph number 781, 24 March 1922, possibly Central Police Station, Sydney
Underworld

Crime

The Roaring Twenties was a golden era for criminals

C Smith, J Bezzina, W J Williamson, A Feutrill, G Hodder and W Thorson, Special Photograph number 1607, 25 January 1928, Central Police Station, Sydney

Underworld Blog

Descend into Sydney’s seedy underworld with our blog. Discover exclusive stories, never-before-seen images, and behind-the-scenes insights

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Underworld

The Roaring Twenties

The 1920s heralded the brave new world that emerged from the devastation of World War I

Howard Family photographs

Police photographer George Howard

George B Howard was a prominent police photographer in Sydney during the 1920s

Conservation

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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

Kitchen, 60 Gloucester Street, Susannah Place Museum
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

Internal view of the timber shed at Rouse Hill Estate
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

Rose Seidler (left) and Bea Evans seated in the living room, Rose Seidler House

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

Joseph Lycett, 'The residence of John McArthur Esq. near Parramatta, New South Wales'. Aquatint. Published London, John Souter, 1825. Elizabeth Farm collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
Museum stories

A turbulent past

With its deep, shady verandahs and elegant symmetry, Elizabeth Farm is an iconic early colonial bungalow

Black and white image of a sandstone building. A man can be seen in the foreground.
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'

Image of the Meroogal homestead on a sunny day.
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

image of painting showing a dramatic panoramic view of harbour surrounded by natural bushland with Vaucluse estate in the foreground.
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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Elizabeth Farm house - front verandah and carriageway

'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

Large 2 storey building with deep verandahs, steps leading to lower verandah and bushes and driveway in the foreground.
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

Pink racemes of crepe myrtle against the Elizabeth Farm homestead

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

Plants against a sandstone wall in the front garden of The Mint.
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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