Unlocked magazine

1960s psychedelia at Rouse Hill House

In a short experimental period of music making, the talented young John Terry combined radical musical ideas with abstract imagery and the soundscape of Rouse Hill House.

A fisherwoman of Warrane

Daringa’s short but fascinating life reflects the connection of coastal Aboriginal peoples to the water, and the key role played by women in the fishing economy.

A Life In Crime

Curator Nerida Campbell has got the dream job – rummaging through the grit and grime of Sydney’s criminal past to help us to come to terms with the city’s dark side.

A long shadow: convict Sydney and the Hyde Park Barracks

Hailed for its architecture, and now World Heritage listed, the Hyde Park Barracks has much more to tell us about the changing experience of convicts and the growth of a restless colony.

A stitch in time

Tatting, knotting, knitting, pin-tucking, crocheting, pinking, stitching, stuffing, embroidering … needles fly when Sydney Living Museums’ volunteer Soft Furnishings Group (SFG) converges twice a month at Elizabeth Bay House to create, re-create and maintain existing furnishings for our historic places.

A wayward prince

Investigating a possible imposter seen in a striking photo at Rouse Hill House, Dr Scott Hill uncovered a story of scandal. 

Ambition and adventure: the early life of Arthur Phillip

During the bicentenary of Arthur Phillip’s death we looked back at the early life of this intriguing man, who had enjoyed an extraordinary career before he even set foot on a boat bound for Botany Bay.

An environment for living: Rose Seidler House

From the curtains to the coffee table and the cutlery, every object and fitting in the house Harry Seidler designed for his parents was of a functional and flexible design that reflected the modern lifestyle.

Ancient traditions, new insights

Since 2015, a series of new events privileges Aboriginal voices and experiences at SLM sites.

Bringing House Museums to Life

Joanna Nicholas relishes her job as curator of three house museums, working to make sure each one is presented, interpreted and conserved in the best possible way.

Bruce Hambrett 

Cecil Pierpont, the bogus baronet

A prison photograph captures an inveterate fraudster partway through a lifetime of deception – but who was the real Cecil Pierpont?

Collections care in a time of coronavirus

Museum closures earlier this year due to COVID-19 gave Sydney Living Museums staff a valuable opportunity to spend even more time caring for our historic houses and their precious and diverse collections. 

Conserving Australia’s oldest public clock

On its 200th anniversary, Australia’s oldest surviving public clock received some much-needed conservation and care. 

Conserving Harry Seidler’s sofa 

A sofa Harry Seidler designed for Rose Seidler House has recently been conserved and reupholstered, and the process revealed some unexpected findings. 

Conserving the Arcade

The conservation of the Rouse Hill House arcade is an ongoing process of evaluation and cautious intervention.

Dig a little deeper

Fruit seeds, fragile fragments and family history – archaeologist and curator Dr Fiona Starr shares her discoveries.

European designers in Sydney

A new exhibition takes a timely look at European designers in Sydney in the postwar years: their backgrounds, their Australian careers and their legacy.

From the collection: colour cakes and old invoices

Objects provide fascinating insights into the daily lives of the people who lived at our museums. Recent research triggered by the conservation of a spike file from the Rouse Hill House collection has uncovered some interesting information.

From the collection: Richard Browne watercolours

Richard Browne was a Dublin-born convict artist who was transported to NSW in 1811 and spent most of his seven-year sentence at the secondary penal settlement of Newcastle. In 1812–13 he was commissioned to make a series of drawings to illustrate a planned natural history publication.

From the collection: staff favourites 

We invite staff to write about their favourite object from our collections. 

If these walls could talk: Elizabeth Farm

A century after it was built Elizabeth Farm had become a local eyesore – forlorn, tumbling down and neglected. Then along came a plucky and energetic schoolteacher who sized it up as the answer to his family’s long-running housing troubles.

If these walls could talk: Hyde Park Barracks Museum

One of the most significant convict sites in the world, the UNESCO World Heritage listed Hyde Park Barracks was converted into Sydney’s female Immigration Depot in 1848, temporarily housing an estimated 40,000 women during its 38-year history. The barracks holds evidence of these former occupants in its walls, floors and ceilings.

If these walls could talk: Justice & Police Museum

The Justice & Police Museum houses the Water Police Station, Water Police Court and Police Court that once made up one of the city’s busiest legal hubs. Crooks and cops, thugs and judges, locals and drifters – the guilty and the innocent have all left their stories here.

If these walls could talk: Rose Seidler House

… they’d tell us intriguing things about those who have lived in our places. Step inside Rose Seidler House with Curator Joanna Nicolas.

If these walls could talk: Rouse Hill House & Farm

On the evening of 28 April 1899 the first act of a concert held at Rouse Hill House finished with a song performed by the jovial host, Edwin Stephen Rouse (1849–1931).

If these walls could talk: The Mint

Charles Miller, Frederick Sydney Hoptroff, Arthur Kilgour, Edgar Upton, Oliver Whiting, Theophilus (Theo) Bowmaker and John Gilchrist were all employees of the Royal Mint’s Sydney branch.

In conversation with Wendy Whiteley

Wendy Whiteley OAM talks to exhibition curator Veronica Kooyman about the significance of Lavender Bay in her extraordinary life as wife, muse, mother, and creator of a much-loved garden.

Lavender Bay, 1974

In early 1974, Tom Carment moved into a flat in Lavender Bay. The young artist took odd jobs to pay the rent, and found inspiration in his vibrant surroundings.

Legislating for historic places

The recent digitisation of a collection of black and white photographic negatives given to the Historic Houses Trust in 1995 has sparked an exploration of early efforts to protect significant historic buildings through legislation.

Lisa Green

We discuss the rewarding partnership between Sydney Living Museums and Australian House & Garden with the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Lisa Green.

Looking forward to a bold future

In his first 12 months as Executive Director of both Sydney Living Museums and its partner agency, NSW State Archives, Adam Lindsay has overseen remarkable achievements and unprecedented challenges. He sets out his vision for the year ahead, with a particular focus on creative and community partnerships. 

Maria Lock’s 1831 petition

This extraordinary document is of great interest historically – and, as Dr Penny Stannard discovered, it also contains a moving connection to her own family that continues to resonate down the generations.

Marion Mahony Griffin: architect, environmentalist, visionary

Marion Mahony Griffin was a woman ahead of her time. Over five decades she promoted progressive ideas that are as relevant today, 150 years after her birth, as in her own time.

Matching snapshots

The names and stories behind street photographs are often lost with the passing of time, and we were unable to identify many of the people whose images are featured in the Street Photography exhibition. However, we’ve since learnt the moving story behind one image, of two curly-haired children.

Meet our Aboriginal Advisory Committee

A group of Indigenous advisers will guide SLM in realising our new Aboriginal Action Plan.

Meet our members: Dr Lisa Murray & Dr Mark Dunn

For our Autumn edition of Unlocked, we sat down with historians and members Lisa and Mark to chat about their love of history and Sydney Living Museums.

Meet our members: Elinor Wrobel

For our Summer edition of Unlocked 2018, we sat down with art collector, archivist, curator and former nurse, Elinor Wrobel OAM, a longstanding supporter and member of Sydney Living Museums.

Muru Mittigar Education Programs at Rouse Hill House & Farm

A partnership with Aboriginal social enterprise Muru Mittigar is transforming students’ learning experiences.

Preserving our culinary heritage

Autumn is the time when families like the Rouses of Rouse Hill House & Farm preserved the last of the warmer weather’s bounty to enjoy in the months to come.

Reconstructing history

If there is one architect who has shaped the way we think about Sydney, it is Harry Seidler, the visionary responsible for some of our most iconic skyscrapers and modernist houses.

Remembering John Macarthur

September 2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of John Macarthur: wool pioneer, politician, rebel, businessman, family man, and builder of Elizabeth Farm.

Runaway Joe – a dog with many aliases 

In the late 1940s, three swindlers targeted country greyhound races with a ‘ring-in’ scam that netted them a fortune and forced officials to reassess how they verified a dog’s identity. 

Salvaging a future for Sydney’s demolished buildings

​​​​​​​When important historic buildings were demolished in 20th-century Sydney, one way to remember them was by saving, perhaps for re-use, some of their more notable architectural features.

Shrouded House: collection care at Rouse Hill House & Farm

Staff at Sydney Living Museums work tirelessly to ensure that buildings and collections are lovingly cared for, and to secure their longevity.

Snapped! The Ikon Studio street photographer at work

A remarkable acquisition of 5000 street snaps provides a lively and revealing record of one Sydney street in 1950 and offers a rare glimpse through the street photographer’s lens.

Sophie Jennings

In November 2017, we welcomed back Sophie Jennings from GML Heritage, volunteering at Sydney’s premier open-building event for her second year.

Stabilising the stone archway at Vaucluse House

A team of specialists undertook a delicate and complicated operation to rescue a significant 1830s stone archway from an invasive climbing plant.

Stage Royalty comes to Elizabeth Bay House

In the 1930s, Elizabeth Bay House emerged as a glamorous events venue after hosting the wedding reception of two of the most famous celebrities of the day.

Story of country: our beginning

When visiting Sydney Living Museums it can be difficult to see beyond the European colonial narrative of our past and picture these sites before the bricks and mortar were laid. But peeling back the layers of time we find ourselves immersed in a truly different landscape.

Surviving and thriving

The historic gardens at Rouse Hill Estate and Vaucluse House showed remarkable resilience through the heat and bushfires of 2019–20. Tristan Harman, a member of our Horticulture Team, explains his practices and introduces some of the gardens’ star performers

Ten years on

On 31 July 2020, the Hyde Park Barracks and ten other sites that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property will mark their tenth anniversary on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

The colour-filled career of Marion Hall Best

Interior designer Marion Hall Best had a love of colour and an uncanny ability to use it to transform a room. Sydney Living Museums holds the largest collection of Best’s work.

Timeless design

A new collaboration for Sydney Living Museums fuses history with distinctly contemporary design.

To speak the unspoken

For Aboriginal people, the Hyde Park Barracks and the convict system it oversaw represent a very different ‘founding narrative’, one that needs to be told in Aboriginal voices.

Tracing family connections

Using treasured objects from our collections, we chart the unique relationship between Rouse Hill House (c1813) and Meroogal (1885).

Tragedy on Sydney Harbour

Sydney’s worst maritime disaster occurred out of the blue on a sunny spring day in 1927. As well as the tragic loss of life, the accident is memorable for acts of heroism.

Turning the leaves of Australian garden history

The Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection comes into bloom with a beautiful collection of rare Yokohama Nursery Company catalogues.

Unfurling Sydney’s radical past

An intriguing acquisition sheds light on the political turmoil of the 1930s and the bungled opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Vaucluse House: a centenary

A century after the honorary board of trustees voted to form Vaucluse House as a museum, we celebrate their vision and pay tribute to the role Sydney Living Museums has played in preservation, conservation and interpretation.

Welcome to Unlocked

Welcome to the Winter 2014 online edition of the Sydney Living Museums' Gazette: Unlocked.

What lies beneath: conservation works

Two recent conservation projects at Rouse Hill House & Farm and Vaucluse House demonstrate the complex factors to consider when working with heritage buildings.

When masks were compulsory

In a year when COVID-19 devastates the world, it’s timely to reflect on an earlier pandemic that affected every aspect of life, including at our properties. 

‘A most excellent brick house’: Elizabeth Farm

Curator Dr Scott Hill explores some of the enduring mysteries buried in the architecture of Australia’s oldest surviving homestead.

‘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.

‘Truly an enchanted valley’

​​​​​​​A stunning new installation at the Museum of Sydney reimagines the Haven Amphitheatre at Castlecrag, a much-loved place of magic and mystery for Marion Mahony Griffin.