Download the museums brochure:

North Sydney Museum Trail (1001KB)

To visit these local museums, details below

• Don Bank Museum
• St Thomas Rest Park
• Sexton's Cottage Museum
• Mary MacKillop Place Museum

Don Bank Museum

Don Bank is the oldest wooden house in North Sydney.

Don Bank heritage brochure (632KB)

It is located at 6 Napier Street, North Sydney NSW 2060.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 1854, said it was:

A pretty marine villa with commanding views of Port Jackson.

Don Bank is a remarkable mid-19th century timber slab cottage that survives with its remnant Victorian garden amidst North Sydney’s bustle and high-rise office buildings. It is on the NSW State Heritage Register, and was saved from the bulldozer by community support and opened as a museum in 1981. The displays in the museum focus on the history of the house, and its former occupants.

• admission is free
• open Wed 12-3pm, February to mid-December (closed public holidays)
• ten minutes walk from North Sydney Railway Station
• or by bus one stop up Pacific Hwy.

For Hire / Events

Don Bank hire brochure (6MB)

This unique historical space is available for hire by community groups and is perfect for art groups, music and film societies or play reading.

Facilities

Courtyard, tables and folding /plastic chairs, wheelchair-accessible gender-neutral toilet, TV and DVD player, loading dock, modern kitchen, flexible room/seating arrangements

Rates

Rates differ between Not-for-profit/community groups (first session free), or Commercial Organisations (discount for regular hirers), see the information brochure above.

For bookings, contact Stanton Library on 9936 8400, library@northsydney.nsw.gov.au 

Live Poets at Don Bank meets 4th Wed of month (Feb to Dec), 7.30-10.30pm

More event information

https://www.facebook.com/livepoetsdonbank

Australian Fairy Tale Society meets 1st Sat of month, 1.30-4.30pm (members $7 non-members $10).

https://australianfairytalesociety.org/

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Sexton's Cottage Museum

Sexton's Cottage, within St Thomas Rest Park, was once used for laying out bodies prior to burial. It was restored and turned into a museum in 1984.

In 2017 it underwent major renovations. It now has resources for researching the history of the cemetery as well as those who are buried there. New museum displays include a striking reproduction mourning dress, plus mourning jewellery.

Admission: free

Hours: Thursdays 1-4pm, Feb-Dec (closed public holidays)

Address: 250 West St, Crows Nest

Phone: 9936 8400

St Thomas Rest Park

"Life and death on the north side."

Dedicated in 1848, St Thomas' Cemetery was the first burial ground on the North Shore. It was converted to a Rest Park in the 1970s. The Park contains interpretative signage for self-guided walks. Take a walking tour to some of the significant graves with these guides:

St Thomas Rest Park walking guide (2MB)

St Thomas Rest Park - Sailors, soldiers and civil servants (408KB)

View an A-Z index of burials: go to the Australian Cemeteries website

Search the St Thomas Cemetery: Headstones index

Mary MacKillop Place Museum

Since opening in 1995, Mary MacKillop Place Museum has been engaging visitors with an interactive display that recreates the story of Australia's first Saint, Mary MacKillop and the co-founder of the order of the Sisters of St Joseph, Fr Julian Tenison-Woods.