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Susannah Place

      Stories from Susannah Place

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      A House In The Making

      Susannah Place opened as a 'warts and all' house museum in 1993, but it took until 2006 to finally throw all of its door open to visitors. Curator Anna Cossu explains who lived here, what makes this place is important and why it's forever a 'work in progress'.
      Black and white photo of children playing on equipment.

      Childhood at Susannah Place

      Come and play with Anna Cossu at Susannah Place Museum and find out what the kids who lived there got up to in the footpaths, streets and lane ways of the Rocks, Sydney.
      Charlotte, Coco, Chloe, Shelbi and Lani Rae playing hopscotch in Cambridge Street with volunteer Dominic Dwyer looking on

      Four houses, 170 years

      Susannah Place celebrated its 170th anniversary with a free community event held on 14 September 2014 brought together ex-residents, descendants and the public.

      Fragment of Greek American Tribune newspaper, dated 12 July 1946, found under lino in kitchen of terrace number 60, Susannah Place.

      From little things big things grow

      Fragments of a 1946 Greek-American Tribune newspaper, olive seeds in the kitchen hearth and names and dates in Rate Assessment books were the only clues to the existence of a Greek family that lived at 60 Gloucester Street, The Rocks.
      Basement kitchen, 58 Gloucester Street, Susannah Place Museum.

      If these walls could talk: Susannah Place Museum

      Marks on walls, evidence of home improvements and remnants of paint, linoleum and wallpapers offer us a glimpse into the lives of the more than 100 families who called Susannah Place home between 1844 and 1990.
      Colour photo of playground with mural in background.

      King George V Memorial Playground (KGV)

      Built on a narrow strip of land left over from the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction the King George V Memorial Playground (KGV) was built by the Sydney Municipal Council as a part of a scheme to provide playgrounds in crowded inner city suburbs.
      Looking down from above on terraces surrounded by more modern buildings.

      They sawed the furniture in half

      As anyone who has lived in a terrace house knows getting large pieces of furniture upstairs can be a frustratingly hard and sometimes hazardous exercise.
      Large group of people, including children, in laneway in Sydney's Rocks area with terraces, shops, hotels and steps and the Cheap Cash Grocer on the wall of Susannah Place in the background.

      Two up, two down

      Perched on one of the sandstone ledges that gave The Rocks its name, Susannah Place is a typically English row of ‘two up, two down’ terraces. Between 1844 and 1990, over 100 families called these four terrace houses home, living lives inextricably linked to the vibrant world of the Rocks.
      Hand coloured panoramic view from above of foreshores with ferries, quays and warehouses.

      ‘Everyone worked at the waterfront’

      Sydney Harbour was the lifeblood of the thriving working‑class community who once lived in The Rocks, including the residents of the four terrace houses that now make up Susannah Place Museum.