New year, new us
Our year in review 2023
Museums of History NSW officially came into being on 31 December 2022, so we woke up to the new year literally ‘new’.
While planning and preparation had been underway for several years, the new year brought with it a string of firsts and a steady flow of milestones, large and small, as we embraced our role as NSW’s newest cultural institution.
Our new Board held its first meeting on 25 January, bringing a diverse and distinguished mix of experience to the role of guiding our broad strategic direction, underpinned by a new legislative framework laid out in the Museums of History NSW Act 2022. In June, we welcomed CEO Mary Darwell (and farewelled with thanks John Vallance, who had been acting in the role). Soon after, our first strategic plan was endorsed, setting our direction for the coming year and for the development of a range of area-specific strategies across the organisation. Every team has played a role in the huge project of introducing Museums of History NSW to our established audiences and supporters, and inviting new ones to join with us in exploring, celebrating and reflecting on the history of this state and its continuing legacy.
At a glance ...
Strategic framework
Our first strategic plan sets out our vision, values and strategic priorities, and a framework for a more detailed suite of strategies to guide and document our work
Collections
We care for three internationally significant collections, together valued at over A$1 billion: the State Archives Collection, Caroline Simpson Collection and our Museum Collections
Places
We care for 12 sites, each with a human history that stretches back over 60,000 years and recent layers that feature a range of historic buildings and landscapes of unique and enduring significance
Visits
We’ve hosted over 608,000 onsite visits to our museums, reading rooms, exhibitions, events and programs, thousands more to our gardens, and over 2 million online sessions
Learning
We’ve welcomed over 38,350 students and teachers to our onsite curriculum-linked programs, and more than 11,000 have joined online from across the state
Volunteers & supporters
Our volunteers have given more than 16,700 hours of their time and energy to our programs and activities, while our valued donors continue to support our work through annual giving, grants and gifts in kind
Retail & venue hire
Our retail and venue hire activities performed strongly, achieving two-thirds of their 2023–24 revenue targets in the first six months
Government services
Our records management, storage and digitisation services provide support and advice to government agencies across NSW and raise a significant proportion of our income
News highlights from 2023
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Latest News
Life-changing encounters with the past
Visits from teachers who first visited our sites as children themselves have become increasingly common, revealing the lifelong impact of place-based learning
Latest News
Improving First Nations community access to archives
We acknowledge the incredible work local communities are doing to reclaim and revitalise Indigenous languages across NSW
Renewed splendour for the Wentworth Mausoleum
The conservation works to the perimeter fence of the historic Wentworth Mausoleum have been successfully completed
Exhibitions & events
It’s been wonderful to see visitors returning in numbers to our onsite exhibitions, events and programs, as well as taking up an expanding range of opportunities to experience them online ...
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