Highlights
Nestled over Australia’s first Government House, this cozy museum celebrates Sydney's vibrant history and diverse culture with captivating exhibits, all for free.
Cnr Bridge St &, Phillip St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia Get directions
Open (Until 5:00 PM)
"Edge of the Trees (Sculptural Installation) This sculpture was commissioned for the Museum of Sydney and developed by an indigenous and non-indigenous artist working together: Fiona Foley and Janet Laurence. The name of the sculpture comes from an essay by historian Rhys Jones, 1985: "…the 'discoverer' struggling through the surf were met on the beaches by other people looking at them from the edge of the trees. Thus the same landscape perceived by the newcomers as alien, hostile, or having no coherent form, was to the indigenous people their home, a familiar place, the inspiration of dreams.” This piece is worth examining closer. Take your time. Look. Touch. And listen. On the plaque nearby it is described as: "A place to enter, explore, contest anew; perhaps reconciliation?" http://www.hht.net.au/discover/highlights/collection_items/edge_of_trees"
Sydney's Best Museums and Cultural Attractions
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Mar 16, 2022
"The Museum of Sydney, opened in 1995, occupies the site of the first Government House. It later became the official residence of Governor Phillip, the epicenter of political and ceremonial life in the colony of New South Wales for 57 years. Now, a contemporary building wraps around its fragile remains, in the heart of the CBD. It's a compact introduction to Sydney’s history and culture. Permanent displays explore the Aboriginal experience of colonization, kid-friendly models of the 11 British boats that arrived in 1788, and individuals who influenced the city throughout the years. Temporary, Sydney-centric exhibitions cover everything from surfing to local fashion, design, and modernist architecture." - Sophie Davies
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Mar 23, 2018
Kristine Kropff
Google
Wonderfully interesting museum about on a historical site! It had a fascinating exhibit while I was visited about Coomaditchie as well as a fantastic video about the botany illustrations by Sydney Parkinson called “Beauty, Rich and Rare.”
Lockie Hunter
Google
Another exquisite, free museum including a First Nations hub and a First Nations speaker series.
A nice collection of permanent and visiting exhibitions in this small museum, which you could easily tour in a couple of hours. Permanent exhibitions include the first fleet ship replicas and Edge or Trees sculpture.
We were completely enchanted by the joy and vibrancy of the visiting exhibit
Coomaditchie: The Art of Place. (See photos).
A small but worthwhile gift shop as well as a cute café are also on site.
Harold Lubo
Google
A small museum detailing the history of how Sydney came to be. Despite its size, it was able to illustrate how what used to be a small colony evolved to be the metropolis we know today. It also helps that the museum itself is on the site of one of the first important buildings in the city.
Oh, and entrance is still free as of writing. The staff were very lovely and assistive, so don’t hesitate to ask anything.
Hanry Woo
Google
Even though I’m not an Australian local, I find this museum to be highly informative about Sydney's origins and the early interactions between Indigenous people and immigrants. It’s an excellent place for the younger generation to learn about the history of their predecessors. The museum is clean, comfortable, and pleasant to visit. While it feels small for a museum, it’s still a worthwhile and valuable experience.
Nerine Cummins
Google
Located on Cnr of Bridge Street and Phillip Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 🇦🇺.
This museum is free to the public except for the special exhibitions they hold. We went to the Opera House exhibition when it was on. Well worth it. What a wonderful exhibition celebrating our Australian Icon, the Sydney Opera House! Full of posters and costumes from many different performances over the last 50 years. Not to mention, the fantastic figures of the Opera House. I am so happy that I got to see this exhibition before it finished. The museum is quite small compared to other museums but still well worth a visit. I would definitely recommend. It’s a short stroll from Circular Quay but it’s uphill and quite steep. There’s excellent toilet 🚻 facilities including disabled ones and there’s lifts available for wheelchairs 🦼 and people with mobility issues. Thumbs Up! 👍👍👍👍
Mobile Phone
Google
Excellent museum acknowledging the darker history of the beginnings of colonial Sydney, depicting the first fleet and its interaction with first nation people. We loved it.
Firoz Alam
Google
Absolutely a great place to visit and learning the history and culture of it all ! Built over and around the remains of Sydney’s First Government House, the Museum of Sydney is a special place.
Experience science, culture and nature in the heart of Sydney at the Australian Museum. Open from 10am to 5pm daily, discover the extraordinary permanent exhibitions on display with free entry to the museum.
Roxanne Lek
Google
The museum is free except their special exhibits. This place is amazing for kids.
Even my 10month old enjoys it here with their birds display and dinosaurs.
They have plenty of cafe in there for parents to rest as well as a kids play and learn area too.
Jacob D.
Yelp
I was disappointed as the 2nd level was closed off due to renovations, but at least admission is free (appears all city museums are free of charge). Watched 3 shorts on the history of Sydney, which was interesting.
Gene W.
Yelp
Nice brief snapshot of the early history of Europeans colonization of Australia. Plus plenty of details about Sydney's biggest pride & joy: Opera House. Both eye opening & sad facts about convicts, first nation's people, etc.
Good way to kill an hour or two in a very modern informative space.....and best of all, it's free.
Tiffany M.
Yelp
Great free activity. There's a Sydney opera house exhibit with a detailed Lego replica. I learned a lot about the first fleet and they had detailed miniatures of each ship. It was a really informative experience.
Melinda M.
Yelp
Quite a small museum.... the lower level was all about the history of Sydney. Lots to read, and nothing really for kids. The upper level was all about the Opera House. This part was a bit more interesting for the kiddos, with a Lego sculpture showing the inside of the Opera House, as well as an interactive musical room where they could dance and conduct with their bodies. All in all, not something we'll go back to for a long time, but definitely worth a visit, especially because it's free.
David S.
Yelp
This is just another one of those 'city museums', namely those museums that basically give you a complete run down of the city where you happen to be at the time. Actually, it is reasonably large, and somewhat informative, though honestly, there is probably not much here than I wouldn't be able to find out on wikipedia. Okay, they do have a number of interactive exhibits (which you don't have on wikipedia), but I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to come back here.
Jen L.
Yelp
This museum wasn't really all that. Yes it's in a historic location and has some cool stuff but...
HOWEVER it's bumped up to 4 stars because the current exhibit on mugshots was amazing. There's even a mugshot bey! He's on the outside of the building. Reading about the criminals from the 1920s was fascinating and I loved that the shots were nonstandard and included their whole outfits.
Get to the museum before mid August 2018 to check it out!
Frank W.
Yelp
This is a fine little museum. It tells the story of the city, and it is located on the site of the first government house. At $10 US and about an hour worth of education, I rate it as excellent. It would not be a value if priced higher and it isn't likely to sustain interest beyond a short visit; probably not for children.
Rivalry with Melbourne is discussed and abuse of aborigines. There is a bit on the original penal colony and kangaroos being misnamed; there isn't much on different ethnic communities. A theatre shows short documentaries on a loop.
When I visited, they had an exhibit on architectural modernism developed by WWII refugees. That would appeal to any design buff.
A casual but sophisticated restaurant, not formally affiliated, is adjacent. A quick tour followed by a glass of wine is highly recommended.
Lindsay C.
Yelp
We'd come here specifically to see the Towers of Tomorrow Lego exhibition but we were early for our allocated timeslot so we took a look around the museum while we were waiting.
I wouldn't call this museum a must-see but there were varied and interesting exhibits - the architecture section caught my eye (unsurprisingly given the exhibition I was here to see), with diagrams of the Opera House, models of some buildings and the Harbour Bridge.
Towers of Tomorrow featured models of notable skyscrapers from around the world, plus play areas for you to be creative and construct your own models - all good fun.
There's currently another Lego exhibition which looks great - Sydney Harbour Icons - on until the end of July.
Peter T.
Yelp
I especially wanted to visit the demolished Sydney exhibition. I wasn't as impressed with the depth of the exhibition as there were a number of historical buildings and theatres not even mentioned. I suppose there may space issues but then there was no warning of this shortcoming.
Paul J.
Yelp
This Museum is very nice! Smaller than the other museums but made up for it with the exhibits. This museum was really informative about the history of Sydney and some of its greatest landmarks. The government house built in 1788 is still preserved as part of this museum! Very cool! The viewing cube offers a very nice view of the government house and great spot for catching a few snaps of the city skyline! Overall this was worth the trip. If you are a history nut definitely carve some time and check this place out!
Joshua N.
Yelp
Great little museum about some of Sydney's history. It's very professional looking and obviously well-maintained. There's a cool scale model display of the First Fleet ships that brought the first European settlers to Australia. There's a nifty theater playing old-timey news reels about things like the construction of the Harbour Bridge and the Great Depression. There's a lot of info on the site that the museum was built on, which is the location of the home of the first few governors of New South Wales (spoiler alert: the original house was demolished in 1846).
The exhibit on surfing culture was just ok, but the display about the counter culture jammers was definitely pretty cool. I also liked the aboriginal section.
It's a small museum, so even if you're OCD like me and you have to read every word of every display, it shouldn't take you longer than 2 hours to go through the whole thing. Also, they readily accepted my Canadian student card and let me in for the $5 concession price (regular price is $10).
Petrea B.
Yelp
Went there to go to Lego exhibition. $45 for family of four. Exhibition was in a very small room/space and definitely not worth $45 for a family. You were allocated 1 hour time slot it took us 10 min max to view the displays then the rest of the time was filled in with kids sitting at tables playing with Lego. Definitely not worth the $45 wouldn't recommend it for this price.
Jo K.
Yelp
The stunning wave sculpture out the front made entirely from twigs and branches is described by the artist, Peter Collins as 'a wave that escapes the ocean, dressed up in sticks and went to shore looking for blood.' Call me over-sensitive, but the resonances really got to me.
The Museum is built on the site of the first Government House in Sydney and encapsulates, to me, the often disjointed position of cultures and histories living side by side. Near a temporary exhibition on surfing (which smells like beeswax and testosterone) is 'Gadigal Place', a representation of the history of some of the local Aboriginal populations, 50-90% of which were wiped out by smallpox 15 months after the arrival of the first colonists. While the prominent placement of Aboriginal perspectives is fantastic, there's little connection between them and the exhibits on white colonial history. They sit a bit uncomfortably, which I guess is emblematic. In the 'Storylines' Gallery, there's video installations which attempt a discussion between past and present, and across cultural and gender divides, with mixed results.
You can see Jorn Utzon's amazing 3D modelling of the Opera House's roof, Elizabeth Macquarie's violoncello and a display of trade goods that came in an out of the colony. There's a temporary exhbition by artists Robyn Stacey of photography of items from the Historic Houses trust arranged as 17th still lives. Beautiful.
Sitting up in the 'lookout' upstairs, watching people walk past the wave was almost mournful.
adam w.
Yelp
Having a friend in town is a great thing - you get to show them those places that only locals know about and you also get to visit those places you've long forgotten, some of the tourist spots that you often take for granted. So when I stumbled across the Museum of Sydney as I was walking back from Circular Quay with a friend from Melbourne, I thought it was a great way to show her the awesome gift shop and see what exhibition was on.
The museum of Sydney is one of those places usually forgotten off people's list of museums and galleries to visit, its tucked away in the city and doesn't get alot of press for big exhibitions or shows. The gift shop is great for presents (like the micro sized designer chairs such as the panton and eames chair) and designer goods as well as Australiana gifts and books, but the museum itself can be a great way to spend an hour or two if you get lucky with the right exhibition. The day I visited was great, they had a photographic exhibition on called 52, showcasing 52 suburbs of sydney. A great way to introduce an out of towner to the city and also a great way for locals to reminisce and admire the familiar views of some of the Sydney suburbs. Museum entry is $10 (including entry to the permanent collections and exhibitions) and cloaking of backpacks and large bags is compulsory, but is also complimentary.
If you're at the rocks or circular Quay, or just about town twiddling your thumbs, pop by you might catch a great exhibition and an artistic escape from the sydney madness.
Kim A.
Yelp
A smaller museum but very well done. Loads of information, well laid out, and had an interesting exhibit on ginger meggs!! We got the pass for the 4 museums for $18 which we felt was reasonable!
Caitlin C.
Yelp
I always try to make a point of visiting the museum dedicated to the history of the city I am staying in. Sydney's museum is pretty cool. It's easy to get to by foot, easy on the eyes once you're there and I personally learned a lot from the exhibits. I didn't really know much about Sydney's history so for foreigners it's a good stop off. Definitely worth a look!
Jesenia D.
Yelp
I wish I could give the MOS a four and a half because it is a unique, almost boutique-like museum. It's easy to navigate and visit within a few hours and gives a really interesting insight into Sydney, past and present. The architecture of the space itself is a big drawcard for me as are the ever-changing exhibitions on the upper levels. The staff are great with children, and have some little activities for kids to do in some areas. I find, even on weekends, it never gets crowded, so it's enjoyable to watch out for kids when we visit as a family.
Daniel R.
Yelp
Nice layout and design! Be sure to ask about the discounted tickets if you want to also go to the Justice & Police Museum just down the road.
M G.
Yelp
A fantastic little museum for tourists looking to learn about the evolution of Sydney. And only $10!
Ben G.
Yelp
The Museum of Sydney is a small museum located behind the site of the country's earliest government house. Inside are 2 undersized floors housing 2 temporary exhibition rooms, a theatre and a permanent display. With a fairly expensive entry fee I would take a look at the museum's website to find out what is being shown in the temporary exhibition rooms before visiting. As they make up a significant portion of the gallery and the exhibits are not always directly related to the city's history. If you are particularly interested in Sydney's colonial past and its growth to a modern city you are probably just as well served by the lesser known but free The Rocks Discovery Museum which covers this same history but in more detail.
William S.
Yelp
This museum was pretty good. The temporary exhibits are awesome. Demolished Sydney is really cool though.