Odds & Sods at the State Library NSW, Sydney

I am starting to wonder if the State Library NSW is not some sort of Earthly Paradise for hoarders?

Blurring the lines between being a library and morphing into a museum, the Objects Gallery is another showcase of the weird and wonderful, and not a book in sight.

Come with me on a short stroll along display cases that capture all that is rare and run-of-the-mill from Australia’s early days.

What is the Objects Gallery?

• The Objects Gallery is not a gallery as such, but three very large, long display cases in a side passageway.
• It is a collection of over 1,000 completely random items, all seemingly unrelated and, at the same time, providing an interesting snapshot of points in time in Australian history.
• “Many of these objects came with manuscript collections of writers, artists, surveyors, politicians, community organisations and businesses. Others came from Sir William Dixson (1870–1952), who gave his extensive collection to the Library, both during his lifetime and as a bequest in 1952.” Source.

• The display ranges from the morbid (famous Australian poet and author Henry Lawson’s death mask) to the mundane e.g. a selection of bricks!
• The display covers a vast stretch of time from the earliest convict times in colonial Australia to the modern day. This includes:
  • 1725: a Dutch gin bottle.
  • 1772: a glass tumbler used on the HMS Resolution by Captain James Cook.
  • 1790: a sheathing nail from the HMS Bounty.
  • 1991: a wooden clock in the shape of Norfolk Island crafted by descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers, and made from Norfolk Island pine.

• You could spend hours reading all the small item labels or you could download the app for a digital guide to the Gallery.
• There are also large paper guides that you can refer to as you peer through the glass cases. Thankfully the paper guides have slightly longer descriptions than the printed labels to give the items a tad more context.

Where Is It?

• 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney – just on the edge of the CBD.
• The Objects Gallery is located in the Mitchell Building on the Ground Floor.

When to Visit?

• The Library is open seven days per week from 9am-8pm, with slightly shorter opening hours on weekends.
• The objects in the Gallery change periodically.

Why Visit?

• Why not? It’s free and adds a whole other level of diversity to your visit to the State Library NSW.
• To see a whole range of weird stuff.
• To make you wonder how these things have survived all this time and why weren’t they tossed out when someone was cleaning out the back of the drawers or cupboard shelves?
• To get little glimpses into the life and times of early Australians.

How to Get There?

• The easiest way to get to the State Library NSW is on foot.
• Alternatively, catch a taxi or bus, or the closest train station is at Martin Place.

Who is it for?

• This display will appeal to lovers of the quirky. It is such a random collection, it will get the neurons firing in brains that just love odd stuff.
• School students will find it interesting and relevant to their studies, and a group of high school girls were given the Royal tour at the same time as I was peering into the glass cabinets. Yes, I did try to eavesdrop a little. 😊

General Comments:

• As mentioned previously, this is only a small exhibition and it punches above its weight when it comes to the fascination-factor.
• It’s like a passage through time on a wall, although I’m not sure it was entirely chronological.
• I enjoyed the miscellaneous nature of the exhibition and how basic elements of our daily lives were placed adjacent to etching plates of famous Australian artists like Norman Lindsay.

• The longer I spend in the State Library NSW, the more I am dying to get into its archives and storage areas. I am also wondering about its Collection policy. How does it decide what to accept when approached by a potential donor?
• I have this picture in my mind of a person cleaning out an old relative’s house and having to sort all that stuff. It dawns on them that, if they are clever, they can just pack it up and palm it all off to the Library.
• I bet like beauty, historical value is in the eye of the beholder.

And there is A LOT to behold in the State Library NSW.

If you are anything like me, your brain is starting to get a bit full from all this cultural input and you will be pleased to know I only have one more exhibition at the Library to share with you. And then, we can get walking again!

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2026! May it be filled with your favourite kind of adventure, even if that is from the comfort of your lounge and with a glass/mug in hand.

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