Permanent display
Closing soon
Maps of the Pacific (2021–2022)
13 Nov 2021 — 25 Apr 2022 at State Library of New South Wales Building
· New South Wales
Maps of the Pacific is an exhibition held at the State Library of New South Wales, showcasing a compelling selection of maps charting the vast Pacific region. Drawing on the Library's extensive holdings, the display traces centuries of exploration, navigation, and cartographic imagination — from early European encounters with the Pacific to modern representations of its islands, peoples, and waters.
The exhibition invites visitors to consider how maps are never merely neutral documents, but reflect the knowledge, ambitions, and perspectives of their makers. Whether depicting trade routes, colonial boundaries, or indigenous geographies, each map tells a story about how the Pacific has been seen, claimed, and understood across time.
The exhibition invites visitors to consider how maps are never merely neutral documents, but reflect the knowledge, ambitions, and perspectives of their makers. Whether depicting trade routes, colonial boundaries, or indigenous geographies, each map tells a story about how the Pacific has been seen, claimed, and understood across time.
About the venue
State Library of New South Wales Building
· New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales building at 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney; work began in 1906; large extension on Macquarie Street added in 1988
