View of inside of The Corner Shop
From the wealthy opulent life style of Vaucluse House, our next visit was Susannah Place Museum.   In the heart of the Rocks, Sydney’s oldest neighborhood, these homes were built by Irish immigrants in 1844.   Hundreds of poor working class folk lived in these tiny homes.

The tour starts at the Corner Shop which in itself is fascinating. It has been recreated from oral history and the curators created, successfully I think, what a typical Corner Shop must have been like. It is here where we met our guide who introduced us to the four homes that have been preserved.

Our guide was even able to give us the names of the four families who lived here. The interior of each home has been created to portray how working class families lived between the years 1844 to 1990.

In each modest home I felt like a guest. We were invited to sit on the settee normally in the parlour, perused photographs, shown around the home including the toilet and laundry outside.

Stories of each family were shared and pictures in my mind became vivid and real.

 

View of Susannah Placee Museum from the road
View of basement kitchen in one of the homes at Susannah Place Museum
This was my favourite museum in Sydney – it is most certainly a “living museum” and any visitor will be transported back in time to the early days of Sydney.

2 Comments

  1. Diana Studer

    similar sort of feeling to the Tenement House in Glasgow.

    • Cheryl King

      I’ve never been to Scotland, but considering a train trip with my sister to Edinburgh. Going to google Tenement House now. Thank you for visiting, I visit your blog often. Loves the post on the 2014 Postberg flowers.