Museum of Sydney
Explore the character, cultures and soul of the city
Built over and around the remains of Sydney’s First Government House, the Museum of Sydney is a special place. Join us on Gadigal Country for a changing program of exhibitions, events and conversations that explore the character, cultures and soul of this city, and celebrate the diversity, strength and resilience of its First Nations custodians.
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![[First Government House, Sydney] / watercolour drawing by John Eyre](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/11/8b76679c68c649dbb0ab45cfb954e5fb.jpg)
First encounters
The Museum of Sydney is built on and around a site that links us to the very beginnings of modern Australia
Museum of Sydney
Gadigal Country
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000- Cafe
- Wheelchair accessible
Exhibitions & displays
Coomaditchie: The Art of Place
Experience community life by the ocean through the works of First Nations artists in Coomaditchie: The Art of Place at the Museum of Sydney. These loving and lyrical artworks, which include paintings, ceramics and screen-prints, speak of life in and around the settlement of Coomaditchie, its history, ecology and local Dreaming stories
Ngaya (I am)
‘A cut-and-paste, punked-up look at my Country’ is how Peter Waples-Crowe describes his video installation, a self-portrait of the artist as a queer Ngarigo person from the Snowy Mountains region of south-eastern NSW
Cast in cast out
An evocative artwork by Sydney-based Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist Dennis Golding
Madjeri
Madjeri (pronounced mud-jer-ee) is the Dharawal word for canoe or small floating vessel
Edge of Trees
This site-specific piece commissioned for the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney at its opening in 1995 was created by artists Fiona Foley and Janet Laurence
Yura Nura: People & Country
Yura Nura: People & Country presents contemporary Aboriginal reflections on the history of Sydney and colonisation
First Fleet Ships
This display explores the journey, arrival and first contacts of this fleet’s largely unwilling human cargo
Stories
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Excavating Australia’s first Government House
Did you know that when you walk into the Museum of Sydney, you’re walking over the remains of one of the most significant buildings in Australia’s history?
First encounters
The Museum of Sydney is built on and around a site that links us to the very beginnings of modern Australia
Discover Paradise on Earth
Whether you’re a lover of design, architecture and art, or simply seeking an oasis in the CBD, this new exhibition invites you to reflect on the extraordinary story of architect Marion Mahony Griffin
Life at Government House in the Macquarie era
Historian Jane Kelso describes a busy schedule of social gatherings and official events at Sydney's Government House during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie
Learning programs
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Garuwanga Gurad (stories that belong to Country)
During this program at Museum of Sydney, on the site of first Government House, students have a unique opportunity to explore links between Indigenous and European histories, cultures and perspectives in the expanding Sydney colony of the 1800
Whose Place?
During this thought-provoking and engaging program, students learn that this place was an important site of contact between British and Aboriginal people
