Liverpool has always been a city that leads the way – and a new exhibition at Liverpool Regional Museum is set to prove it.
Fit for the Purpose: Building Liverpool, beyond the colony launches 26 September 2025 and runs free from 30 September 2025 – 13 March 2026, celebrating Liverpool's remarkable beginning as one of Australia's first European settlements.
When Governor Lachlan Macquarie declared Liverpool "fit for the purpose" as a "township" in 1810, he set the stage for a place that would become the colony's inland port – a vital hub where wheat, wool and timber were shipped down the Georges River to Botany Bay.
It was also the site of the first land grant to an Aboriginal woman, Maria Lock in 1831 – a historic first that continues to resonate today.
More than 200 years later, Liverpool is still driving growth, trade and opportunity. Soon it will be the gateway to the world as the home of NSW's first 24-hour international airport, linking Sydney's south-west directly to the global stage.
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun said the exhibition shines a spotlight on the beginnings of a city that has never stopped building for the future.
"Liverpool has always been at the centre of economic life in New South Wales. We've been a powerhouse for over 200 years, and with the Western Sydney International Airport on our doorstep, our future is brighter than ever," Mayor Mannoun said.
Curated by Liverpool Regional Museum, Fit for the Purpose brings together the city's extraordinary past with its exciting future as a hub for industry, innovation and diversity.
Exhibition Details
- Launch event: 26 September 2025
- Dates: 30 September 2025 – 13 March 2026
- Where: Liverpool Regional Museum 462 Hume Highway,
Cnr Congressional Dr, Liverpool NSW 2170
- Cost: Free
Early Liverpool
1900 photo of the Old Liverpool Hospital (1822-1851), that is now the greatly expanded South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE. Designed by Macquarie's convict architect Francis Greenway
The City of Liverpool and District Historical Society Collection
Liverpool Public School Class of 1937
Jim Hall album, Liverpool City Council Heritage Collection
Liverpool in 1824
Views in Australia, Liverpool, New South Wales 1824, aquatint print, Joseph Lycett (c.1775-1828)
Pearce Learoyd Collection, Liverpool City Council Heritage Collection
