History of the Australian Museum

Bathurst’s letter

The creation of the Australian Museum can be traced back to a letter written in March 1827 by the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Earl Bathurst, to the Governor of New South Wales, Ralph Darling. In the letter, Bathurst committed 200 pounds a year for a "Publick Museum at New South Wales."

Bathurst’s letter came at a time of growing excitement (both in the fledgling New South Wales colony and back in Britain) about Australia’s extraordinary plants and animals. The British colonists had simply never seen such amazing natural treasures, with Surveyor Captain P. P. King remarking that "no country has provided richer than Australia in every branch of natural history". A dedicated museum would be a way to showcase these treasures to scientists and the interested public who lived in or visited Sydney.

Running the early museum

So, two years after Bathurst’s letter in 1829, an English carpenter called William Holmes took on the job of the museum's first custodian, with the official title of 'zoologist'. The carpenter's stint as zoologist didn't last long though, as Holmes was accidentally killed just two years into the job while collecting specimens for display. The ill-fated start to the museum's management continued for a little while, with two former convicts then taking up the helm. Eventually, Dr George Bennett, an English naturalist and medical doctor, became the 'Curator' in 1835, marking the beginning of more distinguished researchers filling the top job.

By the mid‑1830s, colonial officials recognised that the growing museum probably needed more structured oversight than one very busy Curator could provide. So, in 1836, they created the Committee of Superintendence, a board made up of the colony’s most influential men that also oversaw the Botanic Gardens and worked alongside the Curator.

The Museum Act of 1853 transformed this committee into the Board of Trustees, a group that still governs the AM today alongside the CEO and Director. Back then, the Trustees were granted an annual budget of 1000 pounds to manage museum operations and support the Curator. The modern Australian Museum Trust is smaller with 11 members (each appointed for three‑year terms) and thankfully has a bigger budget, but its role remains much the same: steering the AM's direction, safeguarding its future and championing its mission.

Opening to the public

The Australian Museum's first permanent gallery at the new location opened to the public in 1857. This was a key milestone in the AM’s history as it was the first time that anyone could visit, without having to apply or be invited. Sydney responded enthusiastically: in the first week alone, around a quarter of the city’s population came through the doors.

Scientific development

As the museum settled into its permanent home, its scientific work also began to take shape. In the early decades, specimens were often collected simply for display, as the young colony lacked trained naturalists to study them scientifically. But from the 1860s onwards, the AM increasingly embraced formal scientific research under the helm of commanding scientists like Gerard Krefft (appointed Curator in 1861). Staff slowly developed their focus on describing species, publishing findings and building the AM's scientific reputation beyond Australia.

Cultural Collections at the Garden Palace

In 1879, the Australian Museum showcased some of its Cultural Collections at the Garden Palace Ethnological Court for the Sydney International Exhibition. The AM’s display earned the 'First Degree of Merit', highlighting its growing profile in both cultural and scientific research.

After the success of the Exhibition, the AM continued to acquire new cultural objects, and in 1882 sent all of its Cultural Collections to the Garden Palace for the new Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum (now the Powerhouse Museum). Just two months before it was due to open, however, the building was destroyed in the devastating Garden Palace fire of 22 September 1882. The fire was a profound loss: not just for the AM, but above all for the First Nations and Pasifika communities whose cultural objects had been taken by the AM's collectors and sent to the Garden Palace.

Ongoing research has revealed that many of these early cultural items were taken without consent, acquired under pressure or removed from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Pasifika communities without proper authority. This history forms a crucial part of the AM's story, as it shows how the museum's progress as a scientific institution in the 19th century often came at the cost of First Nations and Pasifika communities. Today, the AM strives to address that legacy by repatriating cultural objects and ancestral remains, and to ensure that its current Cultural Collections are managed, cared for and interpreted in partnership with the communities to whom they belong.

The museum during the World Wars

The first half of the 20th century brought enormous upheaval, but work at the Australian Museum carried on (albeit in a slightly different fashion). During both World Wars, the AM and government leaders developed emergency plans to safeguard staff and collections, adapting to the unfolding crises around them.

Valuable collection items were sent to country towns for protection and large exhibition cases were dismantled. Staff were given air-raid drills, shown how to deal with incendiary bombs and even taught how to escape from the building if it collapsed. Many staff members also enlisted in the war effort, leaving the workforce dramatically reduced.

Women at the AM

Even as the wars disrupted daily operations, the AM adapted. One of the most significant developments was the rising involvement of women, who took on an expanding range of roles across science and the arts during this time period. For example, the AM’s first woman scientist joined the team in the 1920s and women like Ethel King and Lillian Medland became integral scientific illustrators in the decades that followed. Their work during this time period helped open the door for generations of women who would go on to shape the Museum’s research, exhibitions and education programs.

Modern exhibitions

During the 20th century, the Australian Museum began shifting from dense, specimen‑heavy displays toward more modern, visitor‑focused ways of presenting its collections. This transformation accelerated in the 1950s with the creation of a dedicated Department of Art and Design. This fancy new department placed trained designers in control of the exhibition development, rather than departmental curators who were more inclined to show off as many specimens as they could.

Under the Department’s watchful eye, major spaces across the AM were reimagined with a focus on clarity, colour and storytelling. The department’s success meant that it soon expanded into a broader Exhibition Department, laying the foundations for the dynamic, design‑led exhibitions the AM is known for today.

Expansion of the site

With the World Wars behind them and a modernised approach to exhibitions, the Australian Museum entered a period of major growth from the 1960s onwards. In 1963, the new Parkes Farmer Wing opened on William Street, almost doubling the floor space. Its windowless modernist façade marked a bold visual break from the original sandstone building. On the inside, it housed the AM’s first purpose‑built science laboratories.

For the first time, the AM also employed an almost entirely tertiary‑qualified science workforce, reflecting a broader shift towards professional, research‑driven practice. The additional laboratories and offices in the new wing allowed the AM to take on more ambitious scientific projects, apply for research grants and rethink how collections were studied and displayed.

Education and outreach

During this period, the Australian Museum also transformed its approach to education, moving from informal activities to a fully developed Education Department with purpose‑built programs in the 1940s. Early initiatives such as the Children’s Room, the Discoverers’ Club and improved teacher materials helped establish the AM as a key learning destination and by the 1980s, education was a central part of its identity.

But not everyone could easily travel to the AM in Sydney. To bridge this gap, museum staff began experimenting with new ways of taking its collections and expertise out to communities across the state. The Museum‑in‑a‑Box program launched in 1965, delivering curated learning kits directly to classrooms, and in the 1970s the travelling Museum Train and Wales Wandervan brought specimens, stories and interactive learning to towns across New South Wales. These education and outreach programs have evolved over time, with the Australian Museum now sending hands-on learning experiences to preschools in regional NSW through the Mini Museum loans program and welcoming eligible students through our doors for free via the A Day at the Museum special access initiative.

Researching and advocating for the environment

One of the most enduring changes from the late 20th century was the Australian Museum’s growing focus on environmental science. This resulted in the creation of a dedicated Department of Environmental Studies in 1968, one of the first of its kind in any museum. This new direction recognised that museums, with their extensive collections and expertise, could play an important role in understanding and protecting the natural world. These changes laid the foundation for the Australian Museum’s ongoing commitment to transforming the conversation around climate change, the environment and wildlife conservation.

First Nations and Pasifika control of collections

In the late 20th century, the Australian Museum also began reshaping how it worked with First Nations and Pasifika communities to care for and interpret its collections. First Nations peoples have lived on this continent since time immemorial, maintaining rich and diverse cultures through language, ceremony, song, dance and storytelling. Covering a third of the earth, the Pacific is also home to vibrant and diverse cultures that speak a quarter of the world’s languages. The AM holds one of the world’s most significant collections representing these cultures, and from the late 20th century it has increasingly sought community involvement in its work.

These efforts began with the inclusion of Aboriginal education officers and dedicated First Nations and Pasifika programming from the 1980s onwards. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, museum staff started consulting with communities to curate exhibitions that shared First Nations and Pasifika cultures with the wider public. Since then, the Australian Museum has increasingly prioritised First Nations and Pasifika control of the collections, with the creation of dedicated roles like the First Nations Director to help drive change and advocate for First Nations’ and Pasifika cultures.