Museums of History NSW — Attraction in Sydney

This review relates to an Sydney Living Museums event. We've been to a few now and recently went on the History Pub Tour around The Rocks (Sat 18th June). To be frank this was woeful. We were expecting a hell of a lot more for the price hit at $60 a ticket. The advertisement is extremely misleading! A number of issues. The mic/portable amp weren't checked prior to the tour. The lead and input needed to be cleaned, the lead much shorter (it was metres in length) and the amp crackled loudly and was inaudible for most of it as it either wasn't working through connection, was turned too low to hear anything or the presenter was talking too far from the mic to hear anything. Charles is reasonably knowledgeable but we did around 6 pubs and information on some was actually quite little which begs the question of why not include more pubs/locations? They could quite easily include a dozen+ pubs for this in the area. There wasn't even a handout detailing a street map, locations of pubs and brief info! It was all over in around an hour. Walking time equated for well over more than half of the time! We also thought we'd be going inside potentially all of the pubs available to see something of interest and/or be shown something but this only occurred at the last pub which obviously was the most interesting....not sure if they've asked others and been refused by the pubs but that would of made for a better experience and something they could clearly organise esp for the price. As would the inclusion of a beverage at the locations where it could be done. This clearly hasn't had the planning it should have had to make it better and a more engaging event. Some other Living Museums events have been good but this is just seriously pathetic. They have seriously misled and ripped off customers! Problems/issues: poorly planned, very few actual pubs for a 'pub tour', way over priced and you pay $60 to walk for half an hour! Strongly recommend NOT doing this!!! Formal complaint lodged for full refund if that gives...

Museums of History NSW is changing the way our past is understood and our future will be experienced.

This new ‘home’ for the history of NSW brings together the historic houses, museums and collections previously in the care of Sydney Living Museums with the vast archives and records in the NSW State Archives Collection. Dedicated to engaging people in our past, Museums of History NSW provides greater access to these assets and to a broad range of stories about our social, cultural and political histories and identities.

Museums of History NSW cares for 13 of the most important historic houses, museums, sites and their collections. MHNSW’s sites and properties include Hyde Park Barracks, Museum of Sydney, Justice & Police Museum, Susannah Place Museum, Elizabeth Bay House, Vaucluse House, Rose Seidler House, Elizabeth Farm, Rouse Hill Estate, Meroogal, The Mint, Caroline Simpson Library and the Western Sydney Records Centre which is home to our State Archives Collection.

As custodians and storytellers, we are committed to preserving and presenting NSW’s unique history. Our places and collections comprise some of the most significant historical material in the country. With this as our foundation, we bring history to life through diverse voices and viewpoints, supporting audiences of all backgrounds to gain fresh perspectives and understandings of their past, present and future.

Central to this commitment is focusing a clear and accurate lens on the past that enables a truthful exploration of the continuing, lived impact of colonisation on First Nations communities and their connections to culture and Country. With truth telling and respect at the core of our approach, we aim to build on our shared histories, across our shared landscapes, and heal together for a united future.

Putting history before us, not behind us, we strive to keep the history of NSW relevant, empowering and new.

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This was probably the worst museum I have ever visited. Yet because there was obviously effort involved in its curation, it doesn’t deserve a one star experience. The staff were also friendly.

There were a few issues:

There is NO WRITTEN INFORMATION whatsoever, all information is relayed through the headset. I don’t know why somehow chose this format? There is no real reason why not to have written information, unless it was ‘trying to be unique’. Frankly speaking it doesn’t work. Whenever you walk to a different room it updates the audio based on your location, half the time it’s mid-sentence in one room when it cuts out as you move around. Often the wrong audio would be playing.

You are forced to listen to the things it chooses for you, I.e. you cannot choose what elements to focus on. In a regular museum you can go into more depth in the things you find interesting, here that just isn’t possible.

Secondly the actual exhibitions were, in my opinion, ‘tacky’. There was gimmicky aspects to it that didn’t really communicate much. Again, written explanations would have added depth to the exhibits.

I was thankful it was free. If you like headsets then this might be an ok thing to do to pass time, but for me, it frustrated me and I had to leave after...