Chau Chak Wing Museum
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What's on here
The Preliminary Cartoon for Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’
Monday, 18:00Free
Unravelling Penelope
Tuesday, 13:00Free
The Uncertain Image
Thursday, 09:00Free
Objects That Carry Us Home
Friday, 13:00Free
Knowledgeable Object Symposium 2026
Wednesday, 09:0020 AUD
Being Collected 2026
Wednesday, 18:00Free
Shakespeare Memorial Lecture with Arthur L. Little Jr
Friday, 18:00Free
2026 Edwin Cuthbert Hall Lecture
Tuesday, 17:15Free
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Why go
- Nearly 30,000 Nicholson artefacts span more than 10,000 years, from the Palaeolithic to the late medieval period.
- The Macleay Collection is Australia’s oldest natural history collection.
- More than 8,000 artworks include Australian painting, with particular strength in Indigenous art.
- Four exhibition levels contain six main galleries.
Opening hours
Today12:00 – 16:00Show all
Don't miss
- Two-wallaby petroglyphLook for the replica of a pre-invasion Aboriginal petroglyph showing two wallabies, originally found in Westleigh.Forecourt
- Welcome to CountryThe foyer displays a Welcome to Country in the Sydney language.Foyer
What's inside
- The museum presents permanent and temporary exhibitions across four floors.
- The Macleay Collection includes cultural material from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Islander communities.
- The art collection includes paintings, sculpture, photography and ceramics.
- European and Asian works sit alongside Australian art holdings.
- Contemporary Australian and Aboriginal art are also areas of focus.
With kids
- Free downloadable school holiday activities to do at home include making an amulet and writing hieroglyphs.
Tips for your visit
- Visitors can attend talks, lectures and events with academics, artists and curators.
Tours and audio guides
- Tours
- The museum offers tours.
Interesting facts5
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20 years
Seventy percent of the displayed objects had not been shown publicly for more than 20 years.
Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia -
Historic photographs document life in Australia and the Pacific from the late 1840s to the 1960s.
Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia -
Scientific instruments document Australian work in chemistry, physics, geophysics, biology and engineering.
Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia -
2023
In 2023, the museum won the UMAC Award for its object-based learning program, the first Australian university to receive it.
Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia -
2021
In 2021, it received the Museums and Galleries National Award and two Museums Australasia design awards.
Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia
Shorts
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Yumi Olgeta Crafting a more inclusive democracy 14th March 2026 Chau …Emelda Mary Davis
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Chau Chak museum | SydneyCynthia Cho
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2022 ACI Excellence Awards - Chau Chak Wing MuseumAmerican Concrete Institute
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The makings of a new Sydney landmark - UTS's Dr Chau Chak Wing Buildi…University of Technology Sydney
History
The Macleay Collection grew from William J. Macleay’s gift to the university. Its early entomology holdings included a collection Alexander Macleay brought from England to Australia. The Nicholson Collection expanded through gifts, endowed donations and public fundraising, and supported excavations at Jericho, Amarna, Bubastis, Pella, Myrtou-Pigadhes and Nea Paphos.
- 1860Sir Charles Nicholson founded the Nicholson Collection with Etruscan, Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities.
- 1865Nicholson gave the university 30 European paintings, tapestries and sculptures, beginning its art collection.
- 1870The Museum of Antiquities held more than 3,000 artefacts and was nicknamed the Nicholsonian Museum.
- 2003The university’s collections were brought together under Sydney University Museums.
- 2015Chau Chak Wing donated $15 million toward construction; the museum bears his name.
Show all
- 2020The Nicholson Museum, Macleay Museum and University Art Gallery combined to form the museum. It officially opened on 18 November.
Sources: Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia · Chau Chak Wing Museum - The University of Sydney · Chau Chak Wing Museum - The University of Sydney · What's on - The University of Sydney · Chau Chak Wing Museum - Wikipedia · Kids and families - The University of Sydney · checked 4 Oct 2026
- Website
- sydney.edu.au/museum/
- Phone
- +61293512812
Questions and answers
What were the Nicholson Collection’s founding cultures?
Etruscan, Greek, Roman and Egyptian.
Who was Chau Chak Wing?
A businessperson and philanthropist born in China.
What did the founding art gift contain?
Thirty European paintings, tapestries and sculptures.
What subject did the museum’s September 2023 conference address?
Truth-telling in university museums and collections.
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