Sydney Open Series

Historical Tour of Long’s Lane

Step into Sydney’s storied past with an exclusive behind-the-scenes guided tour of the Long's Lane precinct in The Rocks

Tours of Urban Green Sydney

Join us for a tour of Urban Green, a subterranean farm in Sydney’s city centre

Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden Tours

Join us for a tour of Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden and learn how a disused railway dump was transformed into a public garden oasis

Lahznimmo Architects Tour

Join us on a tour of Powerhouse Castle Hill’s newest architectural accomplishment, Building J

White Bay Power Station Behind the Scenes Tours

Decommissioned in 1984, Sydney’s longest serving power station, at White Bay, will once again energise the city as part of the 2024 Power Up festival

St Mary’s Cathedral Bell Tower Tours

For an exclusive experience, ascend steps to the Cathedral’s Bell Tower and learn how the melodic bells are rung

The Strand Arcade Twilight Tour

Join us for an exclusive guided tour of the Strand Arcade – the last surviving Victorian-era shopping arcade in Sydney

Memory Lane: Walking Tour of Redfern

Join Redfern Elder Aunty Donna Ingram and Golding for a walking tour that will explore the social and political history of Redfern

Tour of Parbury Ruins and Arthur Payne's House

Enjoy a tour of two archaeological sites and uncover some of the rich history of The Rocks

Members heritage tours: White Bay Power Station

Decommissioned in 1984, Sydney’s longest-serving power station at White Bay will once again energise Sydney as part of the 2024 Biennale of Sydney

Sails, Octopuses, and Telescopic Cranes

An evening celebrating the construction of the Sydney Opera House through a talk, panel discussion and virtual reality experience

Seidler Office & Penthouse tour

Harry Seidler's award winning office building and later adjoining penthouse

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

Barry Wollaston: historic buildings in the county of Cumberland (NSW), 1954

This collection consists of 232 photo negatives by architect and photographer Barry Wollaston of buildings in the Sydney region considered by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in the early 1950s to be of architectural and historical value

A pictorial guide to identifying Australian architecture – photo collection

This collection of over 700 black and white photo prints was used to illustrate the book 'A pictorial guide to identifying Australian architecture' by Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, first published in Sydney in 1989

The Alexander Mackintosh Archive: revealing records of a master builder

Forgotten for decades, the archive of building contractor Alexander Mackintosh was rediscovered in a roof space in the 1990s. It includes more than 270 architectural drawings and reveals information about the work of many of Sydney’s leading architects of the early 20th century

The architectural pattern books of Elizabeth Macquarie

The architectural achievements of Governor Macquarie’s era are usually attributed to Macquarie’s architect Francis Greenway. Yet evidence collected during an inquiry into the state of the colony of NSW in the early 1820s includes references to the involvement of the governor’s wife, Elizabeth Macquarie, in matters architectural

Photos from Urban Affairs and Planning

This collection includes both colour and B&W photographs taken between 1945 and 1999, depicting Sydney, its surrounding areas, and regional NSW