Come face to face with the physical evidence from two of the state's most infamous murders; the Pyjama Girl Murder (1934) and the Graeme Thorne Kidnapping (1960). See the zinc-lined bath where the Pyjama Girl’s body was submerged in formalin for 10 years.

Interested in the gentlemen thieves and bloodthirsty desperadoes from our bushranging past? Ponder the tactics, actions, and justifications of these men beside their weapons, portraits, and personal possessions. You can also examine the fascinating death masks created to preserve their facial features.

Sydney’s dark history also comes to light through the confronting mug shots and gritty crime scene photographs in the museum’s unique negative archive. The Archive Gallery presents powerful photography captured by a variety of 20th century forensic cameramen. The archive, produced by the NSW police and prisons departments between 1912-1964, holds 130,000 images; among them, offender portraits, crashes, murders, fires, street scenes, and domestic interiors.