Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museum of
Sydney 8
Cnr Bridge & Phillip Sts. Map 1 B3.
Tel 9251 5988.
History of Sydney
Outside the museum, a paving
pattern outlines the site of first
Government House. Original
foundations, lost under street
level for many years, can be
seen here through a window.
Inside the entrance a viewing
floor reveals more foundations.
A segment of wall has been
reconstructed using sandstone
excavated during archaeologi-
cal exploration of the site.
The Colony display on
Level 2 focuses on Sydney
during the critical decade of
the 1840s when convict
transportation ended, the
town officially became a city
and suffered an economic
depression. There is also a set
of scale models of the 11 First
Fleet ships. The Museum
presents stories
of the Fleet's
journey, arrival,
first contacts with
Indigenous
people and the
survival challenges
faced by those
on board.On
Level 3, 20th
century Sydney
is explored with
panoramic images
of the developing city
providing a vivid backdrop.
The Museum of Sydney
has a regular changing
exhibition program.
@
Circular Quay
routes.
#
9:30am-5pm daily.
¢
Good Fri, 25 Dec.
&
-
0
8
6
7
www . hht.net.au/museums
Situated at the base of Gover-
nor Phillip Tower, the Museum
of Sydney is on the site of the
first Government House, the
home, office and seat of
authority for the first nine
governors of NSW from 1788
until its demolition in 1846.
The design assimilates a
valuable archaeological site
into a modern office block.
The museum itself traces the
city's turbulent history, from
the 1788 arrival of the British
colonists until the present day.
The Viewing Cube, Level 3, over-
looking the piazza to Circular Quay
from a contemporary perspec-
tive. In the square at the front
of the complex, the acclaimed
Edge of the Trees sculpture, a
collection of 29 sandstone,
steel and wooden pillars, sym-
bolizes the first
contact between
the Aboriginal
peoples and Euro-
peans. Haunting
voices in the Eora
tongue fill the
space. Inscribed
in the wood are
signatures of the
First Fleeters and
names of botanical
species in both the
indigenous language and
Latin. Incisions made in the
pillars are filled with organic
materials such as ash, feathers,
bone, shells and human hair.
Indigenous Peoples
The museum sits on Cadigal
land. A new gallery explores
the culture, history, continuity
and place of Sydney's original
Aboriginal inhabitants, and the
“turning point” of colonization/
invasion. Collectors' chests
hold items of daily use such
as flint and ochre, each piece
painstakingly catalogued and
evocatively interpreted.
There are two audio-visual
exhibits which explore the
history of indigenous peoples
The Trade Wall display
on Level 2
Edge of the Trees sculptural installation by Janet Laurence and Fiona Foley (1995)
 
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