Visit us
At our houses, museums, gardens or reading rooms
Find out more
Museums
Elizabeth Bay House
Elizabeth Farm
Hyde Park Barracks
Justice & Police Museum
Meroogal
Museum of Sydney
Rose Seidler House
Rouse Hill Estate
Susannah Place
The Mint
Vaucluse House
Reading rooms
Caroline Simpson Library
State Archives Reading Room
Become a member
For exclusive Member events and experiences plus a range of year round benefits
More
Become a member
For exclusive Member events and experiences plus a range of year round benefits
More
What's on
Exhibitions, events, activations, celebrations and more
All events
What's coming up?
This week
This month
Choose a category
Exhibitions
Displays
Special events
Talks
Tours
Webinars & online talks
The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50
Celebrating five decades of extraordinary performances and unforgettable moments at the Sydney Opera House
More
The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50
Celebrating five decades of extraordinary performances and unforgettable moments at the Sydney Opera House
More
Collections
Dive deep or just browse among our diverse and inspiring collections
View the collections
State Archives Collection
About
How to use
Subjects A-Z
Ask an Archivist
Visit the Reading Room
State Archives catalogue
Caroline Simpson Collection
About
How to use
Ask a Librarian
Visit the Library
Caroline Simpson catalogues
Talks & webinars
Museum Collections
About
How to use
Ask a Curator
Objects catalogue
Collections on Tour
We're on the road again, sharing our stories with the people of regional NSW
Read on
Collections on Tour
We're on the road again, sharing our stories with the people of regional NSW
Read on
Learning
Explore the past and imagine the future through immersive and interactive programs and resources, onsite and online
Find out more
Learn with us
Onsite programs
Virtual excursions
Learning resources
Learning
Discover past lives, events and stories in the places where they actually unfolded
More
Learning
Discover past lives, events and stories in the places where they actually unfolded
More
First Nations Hub
A dedicated space for First Nations community, cultures and history
Find out more
Read and reflect
First Nations Hub
First Nations stories
First Nations Speaker Series
Harold Blair, trailblazer
Wulli Wulli tenor Harold Blair AM was Australia’s first professionally trained Aboriginal opera singer. An honour he had to fight for.
Read on
Harold Blair, trailblazer
Wulli Wulli tenor Harold Blair AM was Australia’s first professionally trained Aboriginal opera singer. An honour he had to fight for.
Read on
Get involved
Our supporters are a central part of our story and our success
Find out more
Find out more
Donate
Internships
Members get more
Members login
Partner with us
Volunteer
Work experience
Stitching for our house museums
For almost 15 years, a dedicated group of volunteers has gathered to sew, crochet, knit, embroider and stuff historically authentic soft furnishings for our houses
Read on
Stitching for our house museums
For almost 15 years, a dedicated group of volunteers has gathered to sew, crochet, knit, embroider and stuff historically authentic soft furnishings for our houses
Read on
Stories
There’s no limit to the stories our houses, museums and collections can tell
Browse our stories
Popular topics
Architecture & design
Collections
Conservation
Convicts
First Nations
Music
Photography
Regional NSW
Sydney Opera House
Women's stories
A new way of living
Once word spread about the newly built Rose Seidler House in 1950, it was the ‘most talked about house in Sydney’
Read more
A new way of living
Once word spread about the newly built Rose Seidler House in 1950, it was the ‘most talked about house in Sydney’
Read more
Venue hire
From magnificent colonial style buildings to iconic modern designed spaces, we have a venue ready for you
More
Find your event space
Our venues
Weddings & celebrations
Film & photography
Corporate
Be inspired
Unique and spectacular spaces for your next event or occasion
More
Be inspired
Unique and spectacular spaces for your next event or occasion
More
Government services
Information and resources for managing, storing and transferring government records 
More
Government Records Repository
Manage your records with GRR
GRRWeb
Agency Services
State Archives Agency services
Service portal
Visit the State Records NSW website

Search our website and collections

Go direct to State Archives online indexes Go direct to State Archives catalogue

Regional NSW

Thanks to the support and involvement of our regional communities, audiences, peers and partners, our work and remit stretch across the state.

Our governing legislation, the Museums of History NSW Act 2022, charges us with responsibility for increasing statewide access to our collections, museums and historic sites, and to the stories that shape the social, cultural and political histories and identity of NSW.

This page highlights some of the many activities, resources and projects developed with, for or about our regional and remote audiences.

Regional framework

With the establishment of Museums of History NSW on 31 December 2022, a Regional Coordination Framework was prepared to ensure that audiences in regional NSW have access to MHNSW’s rich and diverse collections, sites and resources onsite, online and on tour. These include the vast and globally significant State Archives Collection of over 14 million items, which MHNSW holds in trust for the people of NSW. This framework details how we ensure that regional and rural audiences are key in the planning and delivery of our statutory and strategic objectives.

A view from the back of a crowd standing on the main street listening a speaker

Regional Archives Centres

A network of Regional Archives Centres provides access to state archives of regional significance and to copies of key state archives

News

Objects from a collection sit next to archival storage boxes

Storage on a Shoestring: collections care videos launched

Our Collections Care and Digital teams have been hard at work making make a suite of vocational videos for volunteers and staff working in museums across the state

Cover label Small debts registers [Newcastle Court of Petty Sessions]

Archives for Everyone: community digitisation and indexing partnerships

We are looking to partner with groups or societies with an interest in history and in making the State Archives Collection more accessible

A film crew set up outside a heritage building

Museums & Galleries of NSW

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Museums & Galleries of NSW to support its Storyplace Roadshow project

Regional NSW

On tour

Look out for our exciting program of collection tours and travelling exhibitions

A federation style house under construction

Collections on Tour 2024

Museums of History NSW is on the road again, sharing our stories with the people of regional NSW

Touring exhibition

Captured: Portraits of Crime, 1870 – 1930

Now on tour

Touring

Girl with superimposed illustration of aeroplane and clouds

Touring exhibition

On the Move

Now on tour

Touring

Touring exhibition

How cities work

Now on tour

Touring

Webinars and resources

Many of our programs or resources can be streamed or accessed online

Sophie Reid, Producer – Learning Programs; Carlin de Montfort, curator; and Naomi Manning, Producer – Learning Programs, stand in front of a series of cameras as they present a virtual excursion. They are standing behind a table of historical objects in the Meet the Convicts room on the top floor of the Hyde Park Barracks.

Virtual excursions

Our interactive virtual excursions connect your class live with a museum educator and focus on specific curriculum content, concepts and skills. We currently offer virtual excursions for Stages 1 to 4

17 May, 10.30am

Online talk

Unlocking Past Lives

Join Mathew Stephens, research librarian at the Caroline Simpson Library, as he uses the library’s specialist collection to explore the contexts of a selection of historic family photographs.