I Put The Stars On The Ground highlights First Nations custodianship to Sky Country and illustrates the site’s evolution into a public educational space and museum.
The exhibition honours the rich knowledge of First Nations Astronomy, navigation and seasonal patterns shared for millennia through art, songs, stories and ceremonies. It features a selection of works and star maps by Gail Mabo, ceramic pieces illustrating Waŋupini (cloud) stories by Bulthirrirri Wunuŋmurra and Songlines of Our Universe, an original soundscape by William Barton and Veronique Serret.
The newly restored Residential Wing at Sydney Observatory also houses Powerhouse collection objects and curated images depicting domestic life and scientific work on Observatory Hill across 100 years, from 1870–1907 when NSW Government Astronomer Henry Chamberlain Russell and his family lived at Observatory Hill, to 1941–1974, when Sydney Observatory Director Harley Wood and his family resided at the Observatory.
