Dating from 1857, Australian Museum, located in an imposing neo-classical stone building, encompasses the natural histories of Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region. Its diverse collections range from invertebrate and vertebrate zoology to mineralogy, paleontology and anthropology. While the dinosaurs perhaps attract most interest, visitors are lured back by the varied, temporary exhibition program. The shop is well stocked and there is a restaurant and cafe. This is a good place to take the family on a wet Sunday afternoon.
Housed in an elegant Georgian building designed by the convict architect Francis Greenway, the Hyde Parks Barracks Museum is a destination not to be missed while visiting Sydney. The building was completed in 1819 and served as accommodation for convicts until 1848. After its closure, the building was transformed into an immigration station for women, and then into an asylum for women until 1886. Today, the beautifully designed building houses a museum that teaches visitors about the lives of the convicted men and boys who lived in the building, as well as about Australia’s convict system as a whole. In 2010, the Hyde Park Barracks building was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Occupying a superb site overlooking Darling Harbour, the seven core exhibitions displayed here represent the diversity of Australian maritime heritage covering such subjects as the Aboriginal presence, navigators, passengers, commerce and leisure. It is also possible to inspect HMAS Vampire and Onslow. A Welcome Wall pays tribute to more than six million people who have crossed the world to settle in Australia.
Located on the site of Australia's first Government House, the Museum of Sydney looks back into the past of Sydney. The building itself was demolished in 1846 but in 1983, archaeologists unearthed the original footings. The Museum's interpretation is highly imaginative and offers the visitor a journey of discovery through Sydney from 1788. This is achieved by a mixture of static displays, state of the art technology and an acclaimed temporary exhibition program. The shop and café are also very stylish.
Opened in 1922, Sydney Jewish Museum has two permanent exhibitions; The Holocaust: perhaps not suitable for young children and Culture & Continuity, Australian Jewish history from 1788 to today. There are interactive displays, sculptures and a hand-written Torah. Visitors can learn a lot about the Jewish culture and history at this museum.
The Rocks assumed an unsavory aspect soon after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Yet it also became home to countless, working class families, many of whose men folk worked on the wharves, and developed a strong community network. Almost inexplicably, a row of four terraces dating from 1844 has survived in Susannah Place. The transition to museum complex relied very heavily upon oral history research among former residents and is remarkable because the buildings have been stabilized but not restored.
Nicholson Museum was initially a private collection belonging to Sir Charles Nicholson who later converted it into a museum. Spread across three large rooms, it is the home of artifacts from Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and the Middle East, that were painstakingly collected by Charles during his visits there. The collections are divided based on the region and period of origin like Classical, Near Eastern, Egyptian, Cypriot and European. You can see the pottery, sculptures, artifacts, bronze and terracotta statues and figurines, axes and tools that were in use more than 1000 years ago. Visit and feel those magnificent times here at the Nicholson Museum.