Macleay Museum

In 1874 the Hon. Sir William Macleay, M.L.C., undertook to present to the University of Sydney his collection of Natural History, together with an endowment for the stipend of a Curator, as soon as a suitable building should have been provided for its reception. The conditions attached to this donation were:

1. That the present Curator should be continued in office;

2. That the endowment of £6,000 for the salary of a Curator should be used for this and no other purpose; and

3. That the Museum should be made easily accessible to students of Natural History, and members of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.

Under these conditions the Senate gratefully accepted "Mr. Macleay's gift; and the Parliament made liberal provision for the buildings required. In March 1885 the Committee appointed by Senate to draw up plans for a building to contain the Macleay Museum of Natural History recommended to Senate that the building should be constructed of brick instead of stone; that the site of the new building should be fixed to the north-west of the Great Hall, and that all the materials used in its construction should be fire-proof. The building was designed by George Allen Mansfield and was constructed during the years 1886 to 1887.

In 1886 Macleay had advised Senate that he wished to hand over the collection with a provision of a curator as soon as a building was ready to receive it. Following this in 1888 Sir William Macleay gave the sum of £6,000 to the University and nominated George Masters as Curator. The collections were, with the exception of the department of Entomology, removed to the University in the beginning of 1889 with the regulations for the management of the Museum still under consideration. [University Calendar 1886 (pp 276 & 300), 1889 (p 140)] 

Macleay was a member of Senate for 17 years from 1875 until his death in December 1891. The Museum became home for the oldest natural history collection in Australia.

Modifications to the building occurred in 1915 - Alteration to form classrooms and laboratories, 1915-1918 - Connecting bridge (to Old Geology), 1918 - Concrete floors internally, 1924-1925 - Botany addition, 1945-1958 - Internal subdivision, 1990-1992 - Renovation and addition of research facilities. [In November 2016 the University News announced that the collections of the Macleay Museum along with the Nicholson Museum and the Art Collection would be incorporated into the University’s new Chau Chak Wing Museum. [USyd electronic newsletter News of 22 Nov 2016, https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/11/22/macleay-museum-closes-its-doors-to-make-way-for-new-museum.html  accessed 5/7/2021]

The Chau Chak Wing Museum opened in November 2020. [https://southsydneyherald.com.au/sydneys-newest-museum-opens/ ] and as a consequence the Macleay Museum became known as The Macleay Collections. 

https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2431005 Accessed 5/7/2021

See also: TWE David Papers P11/42