Royal Society of NSW 2025 Visits Program

The University of Sydney: Chau Chak Wing Museum and Fisher Library

Date: Monday, 2 June 2025 from 12.30 – 4.40 pm
Venue:  The Chau Chak Wing Museum, University Place, Camperdown and Fisher Library, Eastern Avenue
Cost:  RSNSW Members, $25; Guests: $30
Registration:  Information to follow. Closes on Friday, 23 February 2025 at 5.00 pm AEST
Enquiries: By email to RSNSW Events

Join us for the first event in the Society’s new Visits Program, where we will explore our multidisciplinary roots and see how they inform today’s methods and challenges. The Royal Society of NSW has been the focal point for important contributions to science in NSW since its inception. There can be no more important site where the foundations of Australian science can be found than the University of Sydney.

Gather at the entrance to the Chau Chak Wing Museum at 12.30 pm, the new home to collections started by Alexander Macleay, including the most important collection of invertebrates. Marvel at Sir Charles Nicholson’s collection of antiquities, forming the Nicholson Museum, which holds the largest collection of antiquities in the southern hemisphere. The University’s extraordinary art collection is the third element in the Museum, we will see some examples here and in the Fisher Library. The Museum’s specialist guide will lead us through the Museum’s highlights today.

Next, we will meet inside the entrance to the University Library at 1.45 pm. The University Librarian, Philip Kent, will host our tour of the Library, including the “Hardy Wilson’s Old Colonial Architecture 1924-2024” exhibition and the Fisher Library Roof Terrace. The University Library houses extraordinary treasures, including rare items that are seldom seen during our regular visits. Julie Sommerfeldt, Manager of Cultural Collections Curation, and her staff will showcase works on anatomy, astronomy, mathematics and physics, music, and even a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible. This visit to the University closes with refreshments courtesy of our host, Philip Kent.

Spaces are limited, so be sure to register early to secure your spot!

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