Collections

Workshop
Food and Memory
Have you ever wanted to record your family recipes and food stories? Do you like to play with words and ideas?
Sunday 27 July 10am–12.30pm

History Week event
Special event
Dark Waters: Crime, Smuggling and Shipwrecks in NSW
Join us for a gripping talk about the darker side of NSW’s rivers and harbours to celebrate NSW History Week 2025
Friday 12 September 10am–12pm

Workshop
Visible Mending with Leah Giblin
The sustainable fashion movement might seem like a new trend but at Susannah Place (built in 1844) in The Rocks, the mending of clothes and other household items was a necessary part of life for the working-class residents of this inner-city community
Sunday 19 October 10.30am–12.30pm

Online talk
Theatres and Public Halls Files
This webinar will explore 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
Friday 25 July 10.30am–11.30am
![Cover label Small debts registers [Newcastle Court of Petty Sessions]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2025/07/6183847564c64b47b31875a5ed8bb4b2.jpg)
Small Debts Registers
This webinar explores the newly indexed and digitised Small Debt Registers held in the NSW State Archives Collection, and how they can highlight the history of NSW local communities

Soldier Settlement in NSW
This webinar explores records in the NSW State Archives Collection that tell the stories of soldier settlers. Learn more about the individuals who participated in the scheme, and how you can research these men and women in our collection
![The home beautiful / by Mark Foys Ltd. [trade catalogue]](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2025/06/0827ff70a8964cb29ec6082ca208d66e.jpg)
Talk
From Mail Order to Online Shopping
Join curator Michael Lech for an insightful look into the world of department store and mail order catalogues
Tuesday 12 August 6pm–7.30pm

Featured display
Scientific Splendour: The art of botanical illustration
Our current display explores the development of botanical illustration from the end of the 18th century to the turn of the 20th century. Initially employed to support scientific discourse, botanical illustration evolved as an art form that increasingly prioritised aesthetic style over scientific exactitude
Tuesday 1 July