Exhibitions Timeline
A complete list of every exhibition held here at the Museum.
| Year | Exhibition |
|---|---|
| 1879 | Garden Palace Exhibition |
| 1905 | Sponges from a zoological and Commercial Point of View |
| 1905 | Bower-building Birds of Australia |
| 1905 | Nest Building Fishes |
| 1905 | Pearls and Pearl Shells |
| 1905 | Mosquitoes |
| 1905 | Meteorites |
| 1906 | Low Forms of Aquatic Life |
| 1906 | Birds of Paradise |
| 1906 | Oysters and Oyster Culture |
| 1906 | Gems and Precious Stones |
| 1910 | Extinct Animals |
| 1921 | Hawaiian Family Group |
| 1922 | Boatswain Bird Group, Lord Howe Island |
| 1923 | Coral PoolGroup, Lord Howe Island |
| 1923 | Admiralty Islets Bird Group |
| 1924 | Grey-headed Fruit Bat |
| 1924 | Reconstruction of a Papuan House or Ravi |
| 1926 | Queensland Lungfish |
| 1926 | Ptarmigan |
| 1926 | Aboriginal Group |
| 1927 | Skulls and Skull Casts |
| 1932 | Bushland, Fishers and Fauna |
| 1933 | Bird of Paradise exhibition |
| 1936 | Limestone Caves |
| 1937 | Fluorescent Minerals |
| 1937 | Platypus Group |
| 1937 | Lyrebird Group |
| 1940 | Story of Man |
| 1940 | Life History of the Dragon-Fly and Ants' Guests |
| 1941 | Ant Lion and the Life History of the Caddis Fly |
| 1941 | Exhibition of Aboriginal Artefacts |
| 1944 | Life Histroy of the Tapeworm |
| 1945-1946 | Relief Map of the Central Coast Region of NSW |
| 1945-1946 | Evolution of the Horse |
| 1948 | Fossil Reptilian Footprints |
| 1950 | Vickery Stamp Collection |
| 1950 | Evolution of Man |
| 1951 | Black Cockatoo Group |
| 1953 | Invertebrate Gallery |
| 1953 | Prawns and Prawning |
| 1956 | Corals of the South-west Pacific |
| 1956 | Age and Animals |
| 1956 | Bluebottle Group |
| 1956 | Mountain Parrot Group |
| 1956 | Crabs and their Relatives from Local Harbour Waters |
| 1956 | Relics from 'S.S. Dunbar' |
| 1956 | Eggs of the Ribbon-tailed Bird of Paradise - Cammerosaurus |
| 1958 | Evolution of Flight |
| 1958 | Aboriginal Relics |
| 1958 | Rare Pigeons |
| 1958 | Earthworms |
| 1958 | Introduction to Minerals |
| 1960 | Vertebrate Tree |
| 1960 | These are Invertebrates (Invertebrate Tree) |
| 1960 | Dangerous Marine Animals |
| 1960 | Charles Darwin |
| 1960 | Corroboree Frogs |
| 1960 | Classification of Fishes |
| 1960 | Neanderthal Man |
| 1961 | Whales and Whaling |
| 1961 | Vampire Bats |
| 1962 | Deepwater Volute Shells from Eastern Australia |
| 1962 | Mammal Maritime Exhibition |
| 1963 | Shells of the Open Sea |
| 1963 | Shells of the Sea Shore |
| 1963 | Shells of Coral Reefs |
| 1964 | Rocky Sea Shore |
| 1964 | Australian Stone Implements |
| 1965 | Conservation |
| 1965 | Canadian Wildlife |
| Opened 1966 | Hall of Fossils |
| 1966 | Cook Relics |
| 1967 | Antarctic |
| Opened 1967 | Antarctic, Pacific and New Guinea Gallery |
| Opened 1968 | Melanesian Gallery |
| 1970 | Cook, Banks and Australia |
| 1968 | Wildlife Photographs |
| 1969 | It all Began in Eden |
| 1970 | Moon Rock |
| 1971 | Australian Bird Index - Parrot Photographs |
| 1971 | Recent Anthrpological Acquisitions display |
| 1971 | NASA Moon Landing |
| 1971 | Antarctic Fish Fossils |
| 1972 | Pierre Bonnard paintings |
| 1972 | Melanesia |
| Opened 1973 | Aboriginal Gallery |
| 1973 | Indonesia Today |
| 1974 | Cambodian Sculpture |
| Opened 1974 | Marine Hall |
| 1974 | Contemporary Indonesian Wall Hangings |
| Opened 1974 | Hall of Life |
| 1974 | Hall of Life Art Competition |
| 1974 | Art of Oceania |
| 1975 | A Peculiar Primate |
| 1975 | Banksian Folio |
| 1976 | American Glass Sculpture |
| 1975 | Craft and Jade |
| 1976 | A Better Way to Live |
| 1976 | Contemporary American Ceramics |
| 1976 | American Bicentenial Celebration |
| 1976 | South Seas |
| Opened 1976 | Mineral Gallery |
| 1976 | Life in India and the Himalayas |
| 1976 | Sringar |
| 1976 | Halley's Comet display |
| Opened 1976 | Arid Zone Gallery |
| 1976 | Conservation of Australian Fauna |
| 1977 | Arid Australia |
| 1977 | History of the Museum: 150th anniversary |
| 1977 | Sydney International Exhibition of Photography (S.I.E.P) |
| 1977 | Indian exhibition |
| 1978 | Aboriginal Arts Course |
| 1978 | China exhibit |
| 1978 | Balinese Paintings |
| 1978 | Butterflies |
| 1977-1978 | Renewing the Dreaming |
| 1978 | Bark Paintings |
| 1978 | Sydney Museum Train |
| Opened 1979 | Marine Invertebrate Gallery |
| 1979 | Man and the Marine Environment |
| 1979 | Child in Aboriginal Society |
| 1979 | Message from the Mountain |
| 1979 | Fourth Part of the World |
| 1979-1980 | Lion Rugs from Fars |
| 1979 | Heathlands |
| 1979 | Venemous Australian Wildlife |
| 1979 | Treasures of the Museum |
| 1979 | Emblems of the State |
| 1979 | African Art |
| 1979 | Musical Instruments |
| 1980 | Fossils and Dinosaurs |
| 1980 | Awareness |
| 1980 | Man, a Peculiar Primate |
| 1980 | Tangata (Mankind) |
| Opened 1981 | Invertebrates of the Sea |
| Opened 1981 | Mammals in Australia |
| 1981 | Mammals in Australia Travelling Exhibition |
| Opened 1982 | Birds in Australia |
| 1978-1979 | Oenpelli Bark Painting |
| 1981 | Australian Fossil Flora |
| 1981 | Treasures of the Australian Museum |
| 1981 | Life in the Sea |
| Opened 1982 | Abelam: a people of Papua New Guinea |
| 1982 | Skeletons |
| 1982 | Aboriginal Australia |
| 1982 | Massim Tribal Art |
| 1982 | Women Artists |
| 1982 | Mineral Sales |
| Opened 1983 | Skeleton Gallery |
| 1983 | Dinosaurs from China |
| 1983 | Exhibition for National Aborigines Week |
| 1983 | W. Baldwin Spencer Photographs |
| 1983 | What on Earth |
| 1983-1984 | Baldwin Spencer Photographic exhibition |
| Opened 1984 | Aboriginal Australia |
| Opened 1985 | Insect Gallery |
| 1984 | Rare and Curious |
| 1984 | Bushfires - In a Different Light |
| 1984 | Rare Stamps |
| 1984-1985 | Frank Hurley in Papua |
| 1985 | Terrestrial Invertebrates |
| 1985 | Fossil Gallery |
| 1985 | Indonesia and the Pacific |
| 1985 | Galapagos, Born of the Sea |
| 1985 | Marine Worms |
| 1985 | Pressed on Paper |
| 1985 | Indonesian Regional Culture |
| 1985 | Robes of Power |
| 1985 | Sydney Urban Environment |
| 1985 | Renewable Engergy |
| 1985 | Restricted Wildlife |
| 1985 | Aboriginies in Sydney |
| Opened 1986 | Planet of Minerals |
| 1986 | Spectacular Vernacular |
| 1986 | Cosmic Contact - Halley's Comet |
| 1986 | Year of Peace exhibition |
| 1986 | African Sanctus |
| 1986 | Insects |
| 1986 | Indonesian Regional Culture |
| 1987 | W.I.R.E.S Art Show 1987 |
| 1987 | 20th Century Dinosaurs |
| 1987 | Characters in a Crystal Landscape |
| 1987 | African and Aboriginal Art |
| 1987 | Discovery Room |
| 1988 | Dreamtime to Dust: Australia's fragile environment |
| Opened 1988 | Tracks Throught Time: the story of human evolution |
| Opened 1988 | Rituals of the Human Life Cycle |
| 1988 | Pieces of Paradise: Pacific art through many eyes |
| 1988 | First Impressions: British impressions of Australia 1770-1840 |
| 1988 | W.I.R.E.S Art Show |
| 1988 | Distance In Between |
| 1989 | Ancient Macedonia |
| 1989 | Taonga Maori: treasures of the New Zealand Maori people |
| 1989-1990 | What on Earth? |
| 1990 | Woven Image: contemporary Art from Arnhem Land |
| 1990 | Prohibited: the wildlife trade |
| 1990 | Dinosaurs Alive |
| 1990 | Opalissed Fossil Pleiosaur |
| 1990 | Environment Expo '90 |
| 1990-1991 | Discovery Space |
| 1990 | Skeletons - Framework for Survival |
| 1990 | Monsters of the Deep |
| 1990 | Power of Love: six centuries of diamond betrothal rings |
| 1991 | William Liu - Pathfinder 1893-1983 |
| 1991 | Some Memories for the Twentieth Century |
| 1990-1991 | Traditional Arts of the Sahara and Region |
| 1990-1991 | Maori Festival in Sydney |
| 1991 | Story of Sydney |
| 1991 | Luk Luk Gen (Look Look Again!) |
| 1991 | W.I.R.E.S Art Show |
| 1991-1992 | Pol Art |
| 1992 | Living Mask |
| 1991-1992 | Face to Face |
| 1991-1992 | Issues in Print - Aboriginal Posters |
| 1991-1992 | Greek Australians in Their Own Image |
| 1991-1992 | Raven's Survival: Eskimo spirit and subsistance in the far north |
| 1991-1992 | Now You See Them |
| 1991-1992 | Sydney's Kids |
| 1991-1992 | Street Science |
| 1992 | Future of Australia's Dreaming |
| 1992 | Water Challenge |
| 1992 | W.I.R.E.S Art Show |
| 1992 | Boci-Boci Tarka |
| 1992-1993 | Mabo |
| 1992-1993 | Earthworm Environmental Awards |
| 1992-1993 | Gargantuans from the Garden |
| 1992-1993 | Our Place: Australian People, Australian Identity |
| 1992-1993 | Work - It - Out |
| 1992-1993 | Roots in Denmark |
| 1992-1993 | Ozone: the burning issue |
| 1992-1993 | Cat Attitude: the real issue with feral cats |
| 1992-1993 | Battered Fish: Australia's fisheries in crisis |
| 1993 | Beyond the Java Sea |
| 1993 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1992-1993 | Wasteland to Wetland: Homebush Bay |
| 1992-1993 | Oil Spills: the way clear |
| 1993 | W.I.R.E.S Art Show |
| 1993-1994 | Shark! |
| 1993-1994 | Mitey Science |
| 1993-1994 | Sciencescape |
| 1993-1994 | Malaysian Children's Art Exhibition (Malasyian Arts Festival) |
| 1994 | Discoveries |
| 1993-1994 | Great Russian Dinosaurs |
| 1993 | Black Art |
| 1994 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1993-1994 | Between Two Worlds |
| 1993-1994 | Earthworm Environmental Awards |
| 1994 | Youth Identikit |
| 1994 | Art of the Himalayas |
| 1993-1994 | Lukluk bek Long Taim Bipo |
| 1993-1994 | GATT the fax |
| 1993-1994 | Wetlands |
| 1994 | Prejudice and Pride - Gay and Lesbian Communities |
| 1994-1995 | Search and Discover |
| 1994-1995 | Rediscovering Pompeii |
| 1994 | Guadare, Ascoltare and Giocare |
| 1994 | Treasures of Africa |
| 1995 | Environment |
| 1995 | Perspectives on Drought |
| 1994-1995 | Women's Views: art, science and the environment |
| 1994-1995 | Great Australian Treasure Hunt |
| 1994-1995 | Our Families |
| 1994-1995 | Rabaul |
| 1994-1995 | Drought |
| 1994-1995 | Pulp Friction |
| 1994-1995 | Promised Land |
| 1995 | Croatian Australians, Australian Croatians |
| Opened 1995 | More than Dinosaurs: evolution of life |
| 1995 | Opal |
| 1995 | Why We had to Leave: stories from recently arrived refugees |
| 1995 | My Face My Place: private voices, public images |
| 1995 | Earthworms |
| 1995 | Images of Power: spiritual dimentions of Balinese life |
| 1995 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1995-1996 | Bordered Lives |
| 1996 | Far Fetched |
| 1996-1997 | Frogs |
| 1995-1996 | ICI Zoom-In |
| 1996 | Rainbow, Sugarbag, Moon |
| 1996 | Photographs from Australia's Heritage Commission |
| 1996 | Rom - Its about Friendship |
| 1995-1996 | Australia Street Archive |
| 1995 | Samba de Samba |
| 1996 | My Tibet |
| 1996 | View from the Hill |
| Opened 1996 | Albert Chapman Mineral Collection |
| 1996-1997 | Awakenings: Australia-Pacific spirits |
| 1996-1997 | Drawn from the Heart |
| 1996-1997 | Sex, It's Only Natural |
| 1996-1997 | Images of Wisdom: through Australian-Palestinian eyes |
| 1996-1997 | Landscapes and Lives |
| 1996-1997 | Inside Out: process, progress, change |
| 1996-1997 | Face to Face (Indigenous Teenagers) |
| 1996-1997 | Gifts for a God (Captain Cook's Cloak) |
| 1996-1997 | Toekang Potret |
| 1996-1997 | Ogadot |
| 1996-1997 | Fascination Science |
| 1996-1997 | Earthworm Environmental Awards |
| 1997 | Gargantuans from the Garden - the Return |
| 1996 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1997 | The Long Paddock: Lives and Landscapes |
| 1997 | Museum-on-the-road |
| 1998-1999 | Food for Thought |
| 1997-1998 | Images of the Sea |
| 1997 | Museum-in-a-box |
| 1997 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1997-1998 | Spiders! |
| 1996-1997 | Indigenous Australians: Australias first people |
| 1997 | Night Skies: the art of deep space |
| 1997 | Kaleidoscope of Life |
| 1997 | Djalkiri Wangka |
| 1997 | Punkulture |
| 1997 | Carnivale |
| 1997 | Shadows in the Dust |
| 1997 | Painting the Land Story |
| 1997 | Olympic Arts Festival |
| 1997 | Festival of the Dreaming |
| 1998 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 1998 | Eureka |
| 1997-1998 | Forbidden love, Bold Passions |
| 1997-1998 | Bogcheh |
| 1997-1998 | Retracing the Inbetween |
| 1998 | Barddi'wanga: from the string |
| 1997-1998 | Thirst: reflections on water in Australia |
| 1998 | Stolen Lives: documenting Aboriginal separation and survival |
| 1998 | Life and Death Under the Pharoahs |
| 1998 | Argonauts: graceful sailors in boats of shell |
| 1998-1999 | Terrorsaurs |
| 1998-1999 | Topographies: landscapes of the imagination |
| 1998-1999 | Images of Mambesak |
| 1998-1999 | Twang: a fusion of sounds from around the world |
| 1998-1999 | Peepshow Kinetica |
| 1998-1999 | Black Beauty |
| 1998-1999 | Savage Island Hiapo |
| 1998-1999 | Images from the Sea |
| 1998-1999 | Face to Face |
| 1998-1999 | Kids' Island |
| 1998-1999 | Eye to Eye: Observations by FE Williams, Anthropologist in Papua 1922-1943 |
| 2000 | Body Art |
| 1999 | The Art of Eric Carle |
| 1999-2000 | Ancient Lives: Greeks, Romans and Etruscans |
| Opened 1999 | Biodiversity: life supporting life |
| 1999-2000 | Living Colour |
| 2000 | BHP Wildscience |
| 1999-2000 | Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) |
| 1999 | Tuba Rai Metin: firmly gripping the Earth |
| 1999-2000 | Picture Sydney: landmarks for a new generation |
| 2000 | Sea of Hands |
| 2000 | Back to the Walls: tribal murals and aerosol walls from India and Australia |
| 2000 | Sospen Graun: Pottery from Papua New Guinea |
| 2000 | Power of Hair |
| 1999-2000 | Mapping Our Countries |
| 1999-2000 | Menthen-Queue Here |
| 1999 | Kitset Cultures |
| 1999-2000 | Ngayulu-latju Palyantja |
| 1999-2000 | Living Colour |
| 2000 | Bats |
| 2000 | National Opal Collection |
| 1999 | Captive Lives: looking for Tambo and his companions |
| 2000-2001 | Transitions: indigenous Australian artwork |
| 2000-2001 | Sharing our Earth Tapestry |
| 2000-2001 | Australia's Lost Kingdoms |
| 2001 | Mystery of the Thylacine |
| 2001 | Sharing Our Earth Tapestry |
| 2000 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2001-2002 | Landmarks for the 21st Century |
| 2001-2002 | Body Art 2 |
| 2001-2002 | New Traditions: contemporary art of Vanuatu |
| 2001-2002 | A Worm's Eye View - the Wilbur Worm National Environmental Art Competition |
| 2001-2002 | Mission Earthling |
| 2001 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2001-2002 | Super Croc. |
| 2001-2002 | Catching... the Harbour |
| 2001-2002 | Sisters of Charity 1838-2001 |
| 2001-2002 | Kids Earth Program - tapestry |
| 2002-2003 | Yumi Yet Bougainville: this is us |
| 2002 | Images from Science |
| 2002-2003 | Yilpinji: love, magic and ceremony |
| 2002-2003 | Levee Bank and Beyond |
| 2002-2003 | Sense of Place |
| 2002-2003 | Yikwani: contemporary Tiwi ceramics |
| 2002 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2002-2003 | Beyond the Reef |
| 2002-2003 | Two Emperors: China's ancient origins |
| 2002-2003 | Chinese Dinosaurs |
| 2003-2004 | Science in the City exposition |
| 2003 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2003-2004 | Up Close and Spineless |
| 2003 | Death: the last taboo |
| 2004 | John Gould - 200 Years of Achievement |
| 2004 | Waterhole |
| 2003 | Mukatinji Ngari |
| 2004 | Chicka Dixon: the struggle in black and white |
| 2004 | Gordon Syrons: private clubs and politics |
| 2004 | Michael Riley: a series of photographs |
| 2003-2004 | Uncovered: treasures of the Australian Museum |
| 2003-2004 | Gold and Sacrifice: treasures of ancient Peru |
| 2004-2005 | It's a Dog's Life: animals in the public service |
| 2004-2005 | Life Beyond the Tomb |
| 2004-2005 | Scientific Illustrations |
| 2004 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2004 | Belonging |
| 2004 | Vestirse como Dioses - Dressed Like Gods |
| 2004 | Snapshots through Deep Time |
| 2004-2005 | Butterfly Effect |
| 2005 | Science in the City exposition |
| 2005 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2005 | Whodunit? Mystery at Menagerie Park |
| 2005 | Trail of the Mummy |
| 2005 | Mysterious Bog People |
| 2005-2006 | TORTURE: inquisition, capital punishment |
| 2006 | How to Make a Monster: The Art of Animatronics |
| 2006 | Pearls: opulence and obsession |
| 2005 | Supercroc |
| 2006 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2006 | Science in the City |
| 2006 | Dinosaur Unearthed |
| 2006-2007 | Eaten Alive |
| 2006 | Pacific Patterns |
| 2006 | Ko Tawa |
| 2006 | Six Strands: woven vessels from the collection |
| 2007 | Colliding Worlds: first contact in the western desert, 1930-1984 |
| 2007 | Australia Through the National Geographic Lens |
| 2007 | African Impressions |
| 2007 | On Track: contemporary Aboriginal art from Western Australia |
| 2007 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2007 | Science in the Bush |
| 2007-2008 | Face to Face |
| Opened 2008 | Surviving Australia |
| Opened 2008 | Dinosaurs |
| 2008 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2008-2009 | Frank Hurley: journeys into Papua |
| 2008-2009 | Papunya Painting: out of the desert |
| 2009 | When Mammoths Roamed |
| 2009 | Climate Change: our future, our choice |
| 2009 | Menagerie: contemporary indigenous sculpture |
| 2009 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2009 | Egyptian Treasures: art of the pharoahs |
| 2009-2010 | Amazing Backyard Adventures |
| 2010 | Yiloga! Tiwi Footy |
| 2010 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2010 | Alive! |
| 2011 | 50 Years of Gold |
| 2011 | Fashion Less Waste |
| 2011 | Rituals of Seduction: birds of paradise |
| 2011 | Beauty from Nature: art of the Scott sisters |
| 2011-2012 | Wildlife Photographer of the Year |
| 2011-2012 | Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route |
| 2012 | Deep Oceans |
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