Museums of History New South Wales

West elevation (front) of Hyde Park Barracks, from across Queens Square

Visit us

There’s plenty happening every day at our museums, historic houses and gardens, with entry free for all!

Student carrying convict bricks in the courtyard at Hyde Park Barracks

Learning

Explore our curriculum-linked programs, excursions and resources for stages 1 to 6. Inquire or book now

A Curriculum Program Deliverer showing students Leg irons in the Learning Space at Hyde Park Barracks

Annual Giving: engaging with history

This financial year, our Annual Giving program gives you the opportunity to enrich the lives of children across NSW and beyond through the power of education

Museum visitors browse a display

Come and Discover

Find out how you can access diverse experiences through a unique calendar of events

Explore the collections

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Stories

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Watercolour of a group of people landing ashore

Rose redacted

How Rose de Freycinet was erased from the official narrative of the 'Uranie' voyage

Onlookers seated on the monumental steps for the  Opera House’s opening ceremony. October 20th 1973.

‘The people’s house’: what’s in a name?

The ‘Sydney Opera House’, the ‘Opera House’, or simply ‘the House’ – we know it by many names. But why is this Australian icon also called ‘the people’s house’? Exhibition curator Dr Scott Hill explores the story behind a name

Watercolour illustration of an urban setting

After the first Government House

Remarkably, the site of the first Government House remained largely undeveloped for more than 140 years before the Museum of Sydney was built, despite numerous schemes for this valuable piece of CBD land

Horticulturalist Stephen Goldsworthy planting seedlings in the kitchen garden
Conservation

Vaucluse House kitchen garden

The Vaucluse House kitchen garden recently underwent a significant rejuvenation project to preserve the site and allow it to continue to be used as a valuable educational resource

First Nations Hub

A space and place to celebrate and engage with First Nations cultures, knowledge and perspectives

Welcome
Three women sit on a sandstone fence in front of a building
Latest News

Welcome new members of the First Nations Community Access to Archives team

The First Nations Community Access to the Archives team welcomes three First Nations staff to the Collections space

A man sits at a desk and looks at an album of pictures through a magnifying glass
Latest News

A recent acquisition uncovers rare tintype photographs

Tintypes are photographs printed on thin sheets of metal, rather than card. MHNSW doesn’t hold many in our collections, so this discovery is an exciting one

PR866 Old govt [Government] surveyor, Devonshire St. [Street] reproduction
Latest News

State Archives Collection: Customer satisfaction survey 2024

We welcome your input in this year's survey to help evaluate our services

Internship Opportunity
Latest News

Collections Care: Collection Management

Gain valuable collection management experience including object handling, cataloguing, stocktaking procedures, and use of collection databases

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