Powerhouse Parramatta opens to 26,000 bookings, and the premier whose party fought it says “we were wrong”

Western Sydney has its flagship museum. Premier Chris Minns and Arts Minister John Graham officially opened Powerhouse Parramatta on Saturday 7 November, ending a project almost 15 years in the making that has cost about $915 million.

It is now the largest museum in New South Wales: about 18,000 square metres of exhibition and public space holding roughly 3,000 objects across five opening exhibitions, more than 1,600 of them from the Powerhouse collection. Crowds and queues formed at all five on opening day, with the longest line for the timed-entry children’s show.

What is actually inside?

The five opening exhibitions range from rockets to retail:

• Task Eternal looks at space and flight.
• The Mall traces the history of the shopping centre and its place in Western Sydney’s industry and everyday life.
• The Dark is an immersive, interactive adventure for children.
• Overflow documents First Nations water country.
• The Turning is an evolving installation by British artist Es Devlin.

The museum says the exhibitions were developed with 85 partners. Interim chief executive Abbie Galvin said that without people and communities “there’s no museum”.

When can you go, and what does it cost?

General entry is free and the museum is open seven days. During the opening festival it stays open until 9pm from Thursday to Sunday, and from 10am to 5pm Monday to Wednesday. Under-16s get into every exhibition free; some exhibitions carry an adult ticket.

The opening festival runs over three weeks and four weekends to 29 November, with 179 events covering First Nations culture, science and technology, design, music, film and food. Most are free.

Why did a museum become a political fight?

Because it started as a plan to close one. In 2015 the Baird Coalition government proposed moving the Powerhouse from Ultimo, in inner Sydney, to Parramatta and shutting the original site. Museum, heritage and community groups campaigned against it, and in July 2020 the government dropped the closure, keeping Ultimo as part of a two-site Powerhouse. Fights over flood risk on the riverside site and the heritage Willow Grove building followed the project through planning.

Labor attacked the plan from opposition. On opening day Minns credited Baird for beginning it and said of his party’s stance: “We were wrong.” He called the museum “great for Western Sydney” and singled out free entry as one of its best features.

The Liberals and Nationals, in a joint statement, claimed the credit, saying Western Sydney had waited for its fair share and that Labor would have prevented the museum from being built had it won the 2015 or 2019 elections.

What does the building add to Parramatta?

Designed by Moreau Kusunoki and Genton and built by Lendlease, the building is wrapped in a lattice of about 1,300 steel pieces and topped out at 75 metres in May 2025. It is the first public building in Australia to receive six green stars under the Green Building Council of Australia’s new rating system. Its outdoor space is open 24 hours and links the Parramatta River to Phillip Street, giving the CBD a new public route to the water.

Why does it matter beyond Sydney?

Western Sydney is home to roughly one in ten Australians, yet the state’s major museums and galleries have long been concentrated in and around the Sydney CBD. Powerhouse Parramatta is the first institution of this scale built for that population, in the middle of it. Whether it keeps drawing crowds after the free festival ends, and once school holidays and summer heat arrive, will decide whether the long argument was worth it.

What happens to Ultimo?

The Ultimo Powerhouse closed in February 2024 for a $300 million restoration and rebuild of its 1988 wing, a project that has faced its own controversies and cost rises. It is expected to reopen in late 2028 or early 2029.