Museum of Sydney

A modern museum built over and around the remains of Australia’s first Government House, the Museum of Sydney celebrates the people and events that have shaped the character and soul of this city.

In 1788 Governor Phillip chose this site for his official residence. It quickly became the centre of the colony’s administrative and social life, and an important focus of the first contact between the Gadigal people and the colonisers.

The physical remains of the colony’s first government house and archaeological relics from the colony’s first year of existence can be glimpsed through glass openings in the museum forecourt and foyer. This is the oldest evidence of its kind in Australia.

On the Museum forecourt, there is also Edge of the Trees, a site-specific installation created by artists Fiona Foley and Janet Laurence. This award-winning public art installation evokes the cultural and physical history of the site, before and after 1788: a pivotal turning point in Australian history when contact and invasion/colonisation took place.

Today, through a diverse and changing program of exhibitions and events, the Museum of Sydney interprets the history of this symbolic place and tells the city’s story.