What's On

Surf City exhibition at Museum of Sydney - Saturday 24 September to Sunday 18 March 2012

Surf City tracks Sydney’s dynamic surf scene through the 50s, 60s and 70s: spanning an amazing period of social upheaval, post war optimism, teen angst, rock and roll, prosperity, drugs and shifting cultural frontiers. It features Sydney's surfing hubs, hot spots and cultures along with the movers and shapers who stirred the pot during these vivid and volatile years. It'll also show you what surf-crazed Sydneysiders wore, watched, made, rode, heard and read and even reveal how surfing changed Sydney. The exhibition contains boards, movies, photos, magazines, music, clothes, everyday surf wares and treasures. At the Museum of Sydney from September 2011.

Websites: Museum of Sydney Surf City

ASIO files exhibition at Police & Justice Museum - to Sunday 29 April 2012

ASIO was set up in 1949 to combat a Soviet spy ring operating in Australia, a serious threat to national security. ASIO has been quietly following, recording and photographing persons of interest for more than 60 years. During the 1950s and 60s its focus shifted to target groups and individuals it considered subversive, including the Communist Party of Australia, various feminist groups and those involved in the anti-apartheid movement. The resultant files are dark biographies documenting a secret history of Sydney where spies lurked among unsuspecting citizens.

ASIO files explores the recently declassified dossiers of people whose every move was once closely watched by Australia's foremost intelligence agency. Previously secret intelligence files, photographs and films are on display for the first time along with unique surveillance tools used by ASIO agents. Documentary footage shows the very personal reactions of some of these persons of interest as they explain firsthand how their idealism and beliefs were misconstrued by ASIO as something far more sinister.

Website: Justice & Police Museum