Launched last month, the Museums of History New South Wales (MHNSW) provides access to the visions and designs of what could have been for the city of Sydney.
The creation of MHNSW will see the collection held by the NSW State Archives (SARA) and the Sydney Living Museums (SLM) brought together following the creation of the Museums of History NSW Act 2022.
The museum’s collection will tell the stories of origins and the responses of Sydneysiders to proposals for the harbour city from Council, state and federal governments and the private sector throughout the 20th century.
The MHNSW will be responsible for the collection, preservation and access to government archives of objects, materials, places and stories that shape the identity of New South Wales.
Below is a collection of images held by MHNSW. Many include designs and visions for Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Woolloomooloo and the Sydney Opera House.
Hill Thalis' original masterplan for Barangaroo.
McKenzie Pronk's Barangaroo proposal.
Chris Illiot Architecture's green space-centric Barangaroo masterplan.
Harold H. Smith's National Opera House concept.
Jorn Utson's interior drawing for Sydney Opera House.
Architect's Plenderleath and Clark Scotland's Sydney Opera House concept drawings.
A proposal for the redevelopment of Wolloomooloo from 1971.
A concept model for a tower to be built at East Circular Quay following the Ideas Quest of 1992.
Top image: A proposed parking station at Circular Quay.
