Visit Us
Discover the Stories of the Hawkesbury
Welcome to Hawkesbury Regional Museum – a place where the past, present and future of the Hawkesbury come together. Through our collections, exhibitions, events and learning programs, we share the rich and diverse stories of this region and its people.
Hawkesbury Regional Museum is located in Windsor, on Dharug Country, beside the Hawkesbury River / Dyarubbin. Our site includes:
- A purpose-built museum with permanent and rotating exhibitions
- Howe House, a heritage-listed Georgian home (available for pre-booked group tours only)
- And Ngarra Ngurang, an Aboriginal teaching garden sharing Dharug knowledge of local plants used for food, tools, resources, and medicine
Admission is free, and all are welcome.
Admissions and Bookings
- General entry to the Museum is free, no bookings are required
- Fees may apply for tours, programs, and special events
- Bookings required for tours, school visits, programs, and events
For enquiries, contact our Museum & Gallery Programs Officer, on sara.wienand@hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au
Getting Here
Main entrance: Baker Street, Windsor
Also accessible via Thompson Square (follow the path behind the Macquarie Arms Hotel)
Train: Windsor Station is the nearest stop (20-minute walk)
Bus: Kable Street, opposite Union Lane is the nearest stop (3-minute walk)
2-hour parking next to the Museum on Baker Street
Click here for more information
Hawkesbury Regional Museum’s History
Hawkesbury Regional Museum acknowledges the Dharug people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our museum is based and pays respects to Elders both past and present. Dharug people have cared for this Country for countless generations and, despite the past and present impacts of colonisation, continue to hold deep connections to the land and waterways of the Hawkesbury region. Archaeological investigations of the Hawkesbury Regional Museum grounds have uncovered thousands of skilfully crafted stone tools, dating between 5,000 and 30,000 years old, highlighting some of the long history of Dharug knowledge-sharing and cultural practice tied to this site.
Windsor’s colonial legacy, being the third-oldest British settlement (1794) on the Australian mainland, can also be seen in the Hawkesbury Regional Museum’s surroundings. The museum backs onto Thompson Square, the oldest surviving public square in Australia, established by Governor Macquarie in 1811. The Square’s surrounding Georgian buildings, including Howe House,reflect our layered history.
Howe House, now part of the Hawkesbury Regional Museum grounds, was built in the 1820s for John Howe (1774–1852). Howe worked in Windsor as an auctioneer, contractor, chief constable and coroner but is best known as an explorer who, along with his expedition party (including several Aboriginal guides), mapped a trafficable route between the Hawkesbury and the Hunter River. Many years later, in 1962, the house became the original location of the museum, then operated by Hawkesbury Historical Society.
By 2001, the museum collection had grown significantly, and Hawkesbury City Council decided to construct a new museum building on Baker Street. Hawkesbury Regional Museum opened in 2008, with Council taking over the care and display of the previous Hawkesbury Historical Society collection. Howe House has since been refurbished and is now open for pre-booked tours. In 2025, the Hawkesbury Regional Museum precinct expanded even further, with the addition of an Aboriginal Endemic Garden.
We invite you to explore our storied past further at the Hawkesbury Regional Museum.
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