7 Weird and Wonderful Sydney Museums
Museums! Seen one, you’ve seen ’em all, right? Well, no, actually. Sydney sports some grand old history houses chock full of cray, from necrophilia to dollarydoos. Chuck on some penny loafers and get cruising around these wild and wonderful temples to the good, the bad, and the downright historical.
SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM (148 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst)
Visit on a Sunday and sit at the feet of Holocaust survivor Lotte Weiss as she recounts the harrowing tale of survival amidst the death and hopelessness of the Auschwitz concentration camp. With a gentle demeanour, wry humour, and prison camp numbers still tattooed on her forearm, a chat with Lotte is guaranteed to leave you wiser, softer, and more reflective than when you arrived. Bring tissues. Seriously.
SUSANNAH PLACE MUSEUM (64 Gloucester St, The Rocks)
You know when your grandparents told you times were tough in their day? Turns out they weren’t lying if they grew up in slum-like Sydney in the 1800 and 1900s. This museum consists of four original terrace houses complete with wobbly floors and doors that tilt at odd angles, tiny rooms with gas meters that you fed money into for heat and light, stark outdoor bathrooms and laundries, and some seriously grim bedrooms with flypaper to catch marauding insects. Over 100 families have lived here. This is a place where even the stories have stories. Especially during the bubonic plague outbreak in 1900. Cripes.
NICHOLSON MUSEUM (University of Sydney, Camperdown)
This is the closest you’ll ever get to being Indiana Jones. This place was established in 1860 and is home to the largest collection of antiquities in Australia, with over 30,000 artifacts from ancient Mediterranean empires and the near East that tell the stories — infamous, brutal, fascinating stories *cough* necrophilia *cough* — of once-great civilisations now turned to dust. Bonus: it’s free, and located inside the magnificent sandstone bulwarks of Sydney University AKA Hogwarts.
JUSTICE & POLICE MUSEUM (8 Philip St, Sydney)
Do you watch CSI and have a mad-on for shanks and home-made pistols? You gotta hit this bad boy up. It’s housed in an old police station and documents the length and breadth of Australian crime, from bush ranging to white settlement. There are photos of actual crime scenes (spoiler alert: you will see dead bodies), plus mug shots of the baddest crims in the country and even a stuffed police dog.
HYDE PARK BARRACKS MUSEUM (Macquarie St, Sydney)
Swing in the hammocks and get a feel for what life was like in the colony. Hint: it wasn’t all beer and skittles. From the slow creak of the leather to the doleful Irish brogue of a convict telling his sad story, this place is both beautiful and eerie. Three floors of action include a free audio tour, displays of artifacts discovered beneath the floorboards, and computerised maps that compare Ye Oldey Timey Sydney with the current day. Keep an eye out for the mummified rats.
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (2 Murray St, Darling Harbour)
Get bizzay inside a submarine. Seriously, a real life submarine is docked in the the Harbour and you can poke around inside it. And right next to it? The HMAS Vampire, a giant destroyer with the coolest name in the Navy. From control rooms and radars to bunks and big guns, the power of these vessels is pants-wettingly impressive. The museum proper is immense, and filled with history and insider knowledge of maritime warfare, from the early days to the present. Plus there’s a ship made of beer cans because Straya.
MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN CURRENCY NOTES (65 Martin Place, Sydney)
Fascinated by Australian dollarydoos? This is your little slice of monetary nirvana, a (free!) museum where everything currency-related is on display for the budding and veteran plutomaniac alike. There’s audio, there’s video, there’s historical, cultural and economic context. Pop on your monocle and get ready to flood your brain with fiscal endorphins.
