Museum of Sydney

The Museum of Sydney is a fascinating and beautifully curated space that offers a unique perspective on the city’s layered history. Nestled right in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, it’s an easy and rewarding stop if you’re exploring the city on foot. From the moment you walk in, there’s a calm, reflective atmosphere that invites you to slow down and really take in the stories being told. What I loved most about the museum was how it weaves together Indigenous and colonial histories in a thoughtful and respectful way. The exhibitions offer an honest look at the early days of Sydney, including the complex and often difficult narratives of first contact. The museum is built on the site of Australia’s first Government House, and that physical connection to place adds a powerful layer to the experience. The foundation remains are visible within the museum, grounding the whole space in real history. The exhibits are not overwhelming in size, but they are rich in content. Interactive displays, historical artifacts, multimedia, and art installations all work together to tell a more complete story of Sydney's past and present. It’s not just about the early days of the colony—it’s also about culture, identity, resilience, and change over time. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, happy to answer questions and offer insight. There’s also a great little gift shop with books and locally made items, and the surrounding area is worth a wander too—close to Circular Quay, the Botanic Gardens, and other cultural landmarks. If you’re interested in understanding more about the roots of Sydney—beyond the postcard images of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge—this museum is absolutely worth a visit. It’s thought-provoking, beautifully presented, and quietly powerful. I highly recommend making time for it on your trip.

We had a great visit before our flights out of Sydney. The volunteers were really helpful and we checked out several of the exhibits. Love the old building and the history there. To our surprise they had a Flores Hobbit skeleton which was a highlight for us since we didn’t get to make it to the cave when we visited Flores a few months back. Such a treat!

A small window into the colonial past with paintings and models of the first fleet and who was on board. Paintings need to be hung better as some are too high to view. Currently showing, too, is a truly great 8 minute digital artwork by Joan Ross that is a beautiful but poignant critique of the legacy of colonialism. Worth a visit fir this alone.

Great place to get to know the history of Sydney and the early days of the colonial period. It’s heavy and sad to be honest. There are very few physical artifacts in it. Most of the materials they have is digital. But it is still a good way to show the history though. If you have got 2-hour free time, have a look.

It's not as big as I thought it should be. One hour is enough to walk around the museum. It's good to visit the museum to gain knowledge on Sydney and Australia history. Opposite the museum used to be the old government house. There is a gift shop and a cafe in the building.

We are so lucky to meet Isabella (Izzy) twice, both at Hyde Park Barracks and at Museum of Sydney:) She is super friendly and knows a lot about the history and culture of the sites!

Love that entry is free! The exhibitions were centred around Australia's colonial and indigenous history - and I loved it! Although it's quite small for a museum, it's worth it to atleast have a look. Very peaceful and sensory friendly once you're inside aswell.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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).

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

A fantastic little museum for tourists looking to learn about the evolution of Sydney. And only $10!

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.

This museum was pretty good. The temporary exhibits are awesome. Demolished Sydney is really cool though.