It all begins with an idea
The idea to combine captivating maritime stories, treasured historical vessels within a vibrant location in Sydney Harbour is the unique concept of Museum of Sydney Harbour.
Museum of Sydney Harbour brings together Sydney Harbour heritage, cultural collections and a unique site at Berrys Bay.
Storytelling in a Unique Location
Sydney Harbour overflows with stories, engaging and relevant that bring heritage to life.
“It was a significant harbour even before the moment the first colonial settlement was established ashore. During the 19th Century commerce depended primarily on ships and the cargoes they carried. In its essential shape, as a marketplace for money and ideas, as a major population centre and receiving port for new people, in all its leadership functions, Sydney is a city built from the sea”
Berrys Bay in Sydney Harbour was always a special place, long important to Australian indigenous peoples for thousands of years, then Colonial mariners, shipbuilders and other industries, and now the local community.
Berrys Bay has also long been significant to Sydney Heritage Fleet (SHF). Steam Yacht Lady Hopetoun, the SHF’s flagship, was built in Berrys Bay in 1902.
The General S.S.S. Company's steamship Croesus, undergoing repairs at Berrys Bay, circa 1854. National Library of Australia
Lady Hopetoun, Goat Island, 1902. City of Sydney
Beyond a Static Museum
“A museum site which creates a new visitor destination for Sydney, that places our historic vessels in context, that deals with heritage and contemporary Port issues, and focusses the pride and knowledge we have in this great harbour, will excite”
The Museum of Sydney Harbour concept is a unique opportunity to provide a permanent home for Sydney Heritage Fleet, combining heritage preservation with cultural tourism and providing harbourside community access, facilities and activities; in a place with an authentic cultural identity.
The uniqueness of the Museum of Sydney Harbour concept is that the SHF’s historic fleet of operational vessels allow Museum of Sydney Harbour to go beyond a static museum and, from its Berrys Bay ‘portal’, to share Sydney Harbour, literally, with its visitors – on the water. And by marking points of interest around the harbour as MOSH outposts, the museum becomes truly the Museum of Sydney Harbour.
If you have any questions please email: info@museumofsydneyharbour.org