Museum collections
Luna Park chess set, 2001 (detail). Peter Kingston, artist and maker; hand-painted acrylic on cast resin. Museum of Sydney collection. Photograph: © Jenni Carter.
The collections of the Historic Houses Trust are distributed across our portfolio of 10 museums, a State House and a research library.
Meroogal, a timber house built in 1885 in the south coast town of Nowra, was home to four generations of women from the same family and contains a collection of furniture, a variety of household items, books and pictures.
Rouse Hill House & Farm retains an original collection of furniture, furnishings, decorative arts, costume, books, pictures and farming equipment associated with the long occupation of the Rouse/Terry family from 1820 until the government acquisition of the property in the 1978.
Rose Seidler House, built between 1948 and 1950 and designed by internationally renowned architect Harry Seidler for his parents, has a furniture collection that forms one of the most important twentieth century post-war design collections in the country. Seidler commissioned furnishings from the leading designers of the day, including Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.
Elizabeth Bay House, built between 1835 and 1839 by the fashionable architect John Verge for the Colonial Secretary, Alexander Macleay and his family, now boasts a fine collection of Australian cedar furniture that reflects the neoclassical tastes of the early 19th century.
Elizabeth Farm, a colonial homestead built in 1793 for the family of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, has a collection of furniture and furnishings been developed to emphasise the period of occupation by the Macarthur family from1793–1850, including reproductions of some original pieces of furniture from the house.
Susannah Place Museum, a terrace of four houses built in 1844 in the heart of The Rocks, tells the stories of the often overlooked everyday lives of working people and the neighbourhood in which they lived. The diversity of 19th and 20th century decorative finishes, wallpapers and floor coverings surviving in the houses tells much about the decoration and furnishing of working class interiors.
Vaucluse House, one of Sydney's great 19th century harbourside estates, was purchased in 1827 by William Charles Wentworth, a gifted lawyer and politician who helped frame the first New South Wales constitution for representative government. The collection includes items owned by the Wentworth family and believed to have been at Vaucluse House between 1827 and 1910.
Hyde Park Barracks, built as a male convict barracks between 1817 and 1819, was the colony's principal convict establishment until the end on transportation in 1848. From 1848 to 1886 the barracks provided lodging for government-assisted female immigrants and an employment office. Today, Hyde Park Barracks Museum uses its rich archaeology collection to unravel stories of its occupants and uses over the past 190 years.
The Justice & Police Museum occupies a building that originally housed the Water Police Court (1856), Water Police Station (1858) and Police Court (1886) and the museum collection includes objects relating to crime, policing and legal history including an extensive archive of police forensic negatives created by the NSW Police Department between 1910 and 1964.
The Museum of Sydney on the site of First Government House has a collection of material culture that is directly relevant to the place, First Government House (1788 –1846) comprising objects known to have been in first Government House during the occupation of the nine Governors or directly associated with the nine Governors (1788 –1846), images that depict the site and its environs 1788 to the present and significant objects associated with the symbolism of the site.
Government House, built between 1837 and 1845 in the Gothic Revival style, is sited within an important historic garden and remains a working state house, hosting a diverse program of vice-regal, Commonwealth government, state government, cultural and community events. The interiors display an exceptional collection of colonial furniture, portraiture and gubernatorial memorabilia by leading Sydney craftsmen and artists.
Meroogal, a timber house built in 1885 in the south coast town of Nowra, was home to four generations of women from the same family and contains a collection of furniture, a variety of household items, books and pictures.
Rouse Hill House & Farm retains an original collection of furniture, furnishings, decorative arts, costume, books, pictures and farming equipment associated with the long occupation of the Rouse/Terry family from 1820 until the government acquisition of the property in the 1978.
Rose Seidler House, built between 1948 and 1950 and designed by internationally renowned architect Harry Seidler for his parents, has a furniture collection that forms one of the most important twentieth century post-war design collections in the country. Seidler commissioned furnishings from the leading designers of the day, including Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.
Elizabeth Bay House, built between 1835 and 1839 by the fashionable architect John Verge for the Colonial Secretary, Alexander Macleay and his family, now boasts a fine collection of Australian cedar furniture that reflects the neoclassical tastes of the early 19th century.
Elizabeth Farm, a colonial homestead built in 1793 for the family of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, has a collection of furniture and furnishings been developed to emphasise the period of occupation by the Macarthur family from1793–1850, including reproductions of some original pieces of furniture from the house.
Susannah Place Museum, a terrace of four houses built in 1844 in the heart of The Rocks, tells the stories of the often overlooked everyday lives of working people and the neighbourhood in which they lived. The diversity of 19th and 20th century decorative finishes, wallpapers and floor coverings surviving in the houses tells much about the decoration and furnishing of working class interiors.
Vaucluse House, one of Sydney's great 19th century harbourside estates, was purchased in 1827 by William Charles Wentworth, a gifted lawyer and politician who helped frame the first New South Wales constitution for representative government. The collection includes items owned by the Wentworth family and believed to have been at Vaucluse House between 1827 and 1910.
Hyde Park Barracks, built as a male convict barracks between 1817 and 1819, was the colony's principal convict establishment until the end on transportation in 1848. From 1848 to 1886 the barracks provided lodging for government-assisted female immigrants and an employment office. Today, Hyde Park Barracks Museum uses its rich archaeology collection to unravel stories of its occupants and uses over the past 190 years.
The Justice & Police Museum occupies a building that originally housed the Water Police Court (1856), Water Police Station (1858) and Police Court (1886) and the museum collection includes objects relating to crime, policing and legal history including an extensive archive of police forensic negatives created by the NSW Police Department between 1910 and 1964.
The Museum of Sydney on the site of First Government House has a collection of material culture that is directly relevant to the place, First Government House (1788 –1846) comprising objects known to have been in first Government House during the occupation of the nine Governors or directly associated with the nine Governors (1788 –1846), images that depict the site and its environs 1788 to the present and significant objects associated with the symbolism of the site.
Government House, built between 1837 and 1845 in the Gothic Revival style, is sited within an important historic garden and remains a working state house, hosting a diverse program of vice-regal, Commonwealth government, state government, cultural and community events. The interiors display an exceptional collection of colonial furniture, portraiture and gubernatorial memorabilia by leading Sydney craftsmen and artists.