History

In 1951, a hoard of 3,500 glass plate negatives from the nineteenth century was discovered in a garden shed in Chatswood.

In nineteenth century England, the sentence for a variety of crimes was transportation to Australia, a harsh punishment with many convicts never seeing their homeland again.

With its convict beginnings, it’s hardly surprising that New South Wales has produced more than its fair share of villains.

The stories and songs of the bushrangers shine a light on Australia’s early attitude to crime, family, race and justice.

Buried deep down in the cool darkness of the Library’s framed picture store hangs a beautiful portrait of the young Mrs F O’Brien. It was painted in mid-1841 by naval surgeon-turned artist Maurice Felton from a death mask.

Australia played an important role in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

In 1951 one of Australia’s most significant collections of nineteenth-century photographs was found in a garden shed in Chatswood, Sydney.