Museums of History NSW

Museums of History NSW

Museums of History NSW logo
The Mint – Headquarters of MHNSW
Agency overview
Formed	2022
Preceding agency	Sydney Living Museums
Jurisdiction	New South Wales
Headquarters	The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney, Australia
Employees	354 (2024)[1]
Annual budget	A$73.6 million[2]
Minister responsible	John Graham, Minister for the Arts
Agency executives	Bob Carr, Chair[3] Loretta Di Mento, Deputy Chair[3] Annette Pitman, Chief Executive Officer[3] Scott Ellis, Chief Operating Officer[3] Martyn Killion, Director, Collections and Executive Director, State Records NSW[3] Danielle Toga, Director, Corporate Services[3] Ben Alexander, Director, Commercial Services[3] Kathryn Natoli, Director, Strategy & External Relations[3] Rebecca Bushby, Director, Programming, Production & Audience[3]
Parent department	Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade
Parent agency	Create NSW
Child agencies	State Records NSW Government Records Repository
Key documents	Museums of History NSW Act 2022 State Records Act 1998
Website	mhnsw.au

Museums of History NSW is a statutory body of the government of New South Wales that is responsible for historic sites, state collections and archives in New South Wales, Australia. In 2023, the former State Archives and Records Authority was merged with Sydney Living Museums (formerly known as Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales) to form MHNSW. The sites include various houses, gardens, parklands and urban spaces. In 2011, its sites attracted over two million visitors each year.[4]

History

Further information: NSW State Archives Collection

The Historic Houses Trust was established under the Historic Houses Trust Act 1980[5] and originally charged with the running of Elizabeth Bay House and Vaucluse House. Since then, the Trust had expanded to care for 12 houses, gardens and museums in New South Wales. The Trust also cares for over 48,000 catalogued objects across all of the sites. In 2013, the Historic Houses Trust launched its new identity as Sydney Living Museums to refresh and unify its diverse range of properties and highlight its role and relevance for current and future generations.[4] In 2023,[a] Sydney Living Museums merged with the State Archives and Records Authority to form Museums of History NSW.[7]

Sites

Museums of History NSW currently manages the following properties:

Property	Image	Acquired/ assumed management	Date opened	Status
Elizabeth Bay House, Onslow Avenue, Elizabeth Bay		1980	1980	Museum
Elizabeth Farm, Alice Street, Rose Hill		1984	1984	Museum
Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie Street, Sydney		1990	1991	Museum
Justice & Police Museum, Circular Quay, Sydney		1990	1991	Museum
Meroogal, Cnr West & Worrigee Streets, Nowra		1985	1988	Museum
Museum of Sydney, Corner Philip & Bridge Streets, Sydney		1990	1995	Museum
Rouse Hill Estate, Rouse Hill		1987	1999	Museum
Rose Seidler House, Clissold Road, Wahroonga		1988	1991	Museum
Susannah Place, The Rocks, Sydney		1990	1993	Museum
The Mint, Macquarie Street, Sydney		1998	1998 and 2004	Offices and the Caroline Simpson Library
Vaucluse House, Wentworth Road, Vaucluse		1980	1980	Museum

See also

• National Trust of Australia (New South Wales)

External links

• Media related to Sydney Living Museums at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• State Records Act 1998 (NSW) s 27

Notes

1. Most of the provisions of the Museums of History NSW Act 2022[6] came into force on 31 December 2022

References

1. Museums of History NSW 2023–24 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Museums of History NSW. 17 October 2024. p. 70. ISSN 2981-944X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
2. "Agency Financial Statements" (PDF). NSW Budget 2024–25 Budget Paper. No. 2. p. 8  – 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
3. "Our people". mhnsw.au. Museums of History NSW. 2024. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
4. "About us". Sydney Living Museums. Government of New South Wales. 10 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
5. Historic Houses Act 1980 (NSW) s 5
6. Museums of History NSW Act 2022 (NSW) s 2
7. Fairley, Gina (22 November 2022). "Taking Sydney out of the picture – rebrand gets it right". ArtsHub AU. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.