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Collections

Jacqui Newling grating ginger on a wooden board, with lemons and sugar loaves, to make ginger beer
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
Sailing ship Hereward on Maroubra beach, Government Printing Office, 1900
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
Homemade pincushion with clear plastic bracelet at back made by former Susannah Place resident Ellen Marshall
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
Melody Theatre, Riverwood
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]

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

Government Printing Office 1 - 30889 - Batlow Soldier Settlement - a married settlers home

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]
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
Woodgraining tools, rollers, stamps, combs

Caroline Simpson Collection

Home and garden design, history and life

Thornton's Temple of flora : with plates faithfully reproduced from the original engravings and the work described by Geoffrey Grigson with bibliographical notes by Handasyde Buchanan.
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