26 Oct 2017Working together in the Kimberley WA Museum Curators Michelle Broun and Stephen Kinnane and Community Engagement Officer Barbara Paulson attended last month’s Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC) Festival at the invitation of KALACC’s Board of Directors. The trip followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the WA Museum and KALACC. The MOU outlines a commitment for the two organisations to work together to engage with Aboriginal peoples from the Kimberley and identify ways local stories could be shared in the New Museum.Read more News Erika Jellis
23 Oct 2017Strong cultural connections and a multimillion dollar partnership A multimillion-dollar partnership agreement has been signed between Tianqi Lithium Australia and the Foundation for the WA Museum. The $5 million agreement is a significant contribution to the Foundation’s endowment program, Discovery Fund, and has secured Tianqi Lithium Australia with naming rights for the Connections gallery in the New Museum for WA.Read more News Erika Jellis
20 Oct 2017Awesome fragile ocean homes Just near Coral Bay, in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, in the crystal-clear waters of Ningaloo Marine Park is one of the world’s most amazing reefs. More than 500 species of brightly coloured fish make their home in coral reef ‘cities’. Because they are so close to shore, they are at risk from human activity.Read more News Erika Jellis
16 Oct 2017Traditional shell-stringing exhibition coming to Museum of the Great SouthernThe Museum of the Great Southern is proud to host a national touring exhibition about shell-stringing; one of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community’s culturally significant and closely guarded traditions. kanalaritja: An Unbroken String from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) features a variety of beautiful, delicate and rare shell necklaces, created by Tasmanian Aboriginal Ancestors in the 1800s, acclaimed makers of today, as well as a new wave of stringers.Read more News Sharna Craig
27 Sep 2017Exhibitions taking shape Exhibition designers Thylacine Design and Freeman Ryan Design are working closely with our team to develop the New Museum exhibitions. Since their appointment earlier this year (see Innovative exhibition teams to design WA's stories) the design concepts for each gallery space are emerging.Read more News Erika Jellis
25 Aug 2017Western Australian Museum fieldwork aims to make first live observation of rare snail Western Australian Museum scientists are in Geraldton looking for a land snail so rare it is presumed extinct. Bothriembryon whitleyi, commonly known as Whitley’s Tapered Snail, has never been observed live but shells collected recently indicate live specimens may exist. They were collected in the Geraldton area earlier this year and indicate living populations are likely. WA Museum Technical Officer of Molluscs Corey Whisson said a field assessment of the species is needed, and winter is the best time to undertake one.Read more News Sharna Craig
31 Jul 2017Incredible museum exhibitions to open this spring! Dinosaurs, Pompeii and Heath Ledger headline a spectacular suite of exhibitions to be presented by the Western Australian Museum this spring at a range of venues.Read more News Flora Perrella
26 Jul 2017Astrofest exhibition returns to Museum of Geraldton as part of National Science WeekA stunningly beautiful astrophotography exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Geraldton from 28 July – 10 September 2017. Since its inception in 2009, Astrofest has become one of the largest science events in Western Australia, and is the only astronomy event of its kind and scale in Australia. The festival is an Astronomy WA event and is coordinated by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. A highlight of the festival is the astrophotography exhibition, which is curated by Dr John Goldsmith of Celestial Visions.Read more News Sharna Craig
3 Jul 2017Art and fossils combine to reveal now extinct bilbies and bandicoots Beautifully detailed artwork depicting bilbies and bandicoots that inhabited Australia millions of years ago will go on display this week at the Western Australian Museum’s Discovery Zone, in the State Library of Western Australia.Read more News Flora Perrella
30 Jun 2017Western Australian Museum wins two IPAA AwardsThe Western Australian Museum and its partners have won two prestigious achievement awards presented by the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), for excellence in outstanding collaborations that delivered extraordinary cultural experiences around significant Western Australian stories.Read more News Flora Perrella
28 Jun 2017Nature photography exhibition to show at the Museum of the GoldfieldsThe finalists’ and winners’ entries for the 2016 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition will go on display at the Museum of the Goldfields this weekend. A remarkable image of an orange-eyed tree frog (Litoria chloris) won the competition. Piercing Headache by Matthew McIntosh of Queensland captures the male frog being bitten by bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Museum of the Goldfields Regional Manager Zoe Scott said she hopes the exhibition’s visitors will be inspired by the beauty and intricacy of our natural world.Read more News Sharna Craig
15 Jun 2017Innovative exhibition teams to design WA’s stories Freeman Ryan Design (FRD) and Thylacine Design and Project Management awarded exhibition design contracts Australian exhibition design teams will work with WA Museum staff to develop engaging exhibitions and visitor experiences Exhibition design program developed in parallel with new building Western Australia’s extraordinary landscapes, environment and the stories of its people will be translatRead more News New Museum Project
31 May 2017New exhibition at the Museum of Geraldton reveals Western Australia 50 years on from the 1967 ReferendumIt has been 50 years since the 1967 Referendum where Australians overwhelming voted to amend the constitution, allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the census, and to be subject to Commonwealth laws rather than an array of state laws. Voters recorded the largest “yes” vote – 90.77% – in any Australian referendum. However, on a percentage basis, Western Australia cast the lowest “yes” vote at 80.9%.Read more News Sharna Craig
31 May 2017New exhibition at the Museum of the Great Southern reveals Western Australia 50 years on from the 1967 ReferendumIt has been 50 years since the 1967 Referendum where Australians overwhelming voted to amend the constitution, allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the census, and to be subject to Commonwealth laws rather than an array of state laws. Voters recorded the largest “yes” vote – 90.77% – in any Australian referendum. The “yes” result for Albany, in the division of Forrest, was 84.65%. This was higher than the State result of 80.9% and the 10th highest subdivision nation-wide.Read more News Sharna Craig
31 May 2017New exhibition at the Museum of the Goldfields reveals Western Australia 50 years on from the 1967 ReferendumIt has been 50 years since the 1967 Referendum where Australians overwhelming voted to amend the constitution, allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the census, and to be subject to Commonwealth laws rather than an array of state laws. Voters recorded the largest “yes” vote – 90.77% – in any Australian referendum. However, Kalgoorlie had the highest divisional “no” vote in the country with 28.1%, and only 71.9% voting “yes”.Read more News Sharna Craig
30 May 2017New exhibition at the WA Maritime Museum reveals Western Australia 50 years on from the 1967 ReferendumIt has been 50 years since the 1967 Referendum where Australians overwhelming voted to amend the constitution, allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted in the census, and to be subject to Commonwealth laws rather than an array of state laws. Voters recorded the largest “yes” vote – 90.77% – in any Australian referendum. Fremantle had one of Western Australia’s highest “yes” votes at 81.8%.Read more News Sharna Craig
26 May 2017An ancient culture kept alive through artA new exhibition that brings to life one man’s remarkable journey to share his people’s culture with the world is going on display at the Museum of the Great Southern next weekend. Yidumduma Bill Harney: Bush Professor is a travelling exhibition from Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre and celebrates the life work of Yidumduma Bill Harney. Museum of the Great Southern Regional Manager Rachael Wilsher-Saa said Yidumduma Bill Harney is a Wardaman Elder, whose country lies south-east of present-day Katherine in the Northern Territory.Read more News Sharna Craig
23 May 2017WA Museum discovery makes Top 10 New Species listA marine worm that looked so much like a delicious fried pastry that it was named after one by a research scientist at the Western Australian Museum, has been named as one of the Top 10 New Species for 2017.Read more News Flora Perrella
23 May 2017Children to plunge into a Voyage to the Deep at the WA Maritime MuseumChildren are invited to release their inner aquanaut and explore the mysteries of the deep in an exciting new adventure-land Voyage to the Deep: Underwater Adventures opening at the WA Maritime Museum on 27 May. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the Voyage to the Deep exhibition is on tour from the Australian National Maritime Museum and is based on French author Jules Verne’s 1870 classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Read more News Flora Perrella
23 May 2017The Next Stage of the JourneyYesterday, I was delighted to join Premier Mark McGowan, Culture and Arts Minister David Templeman, members of the WA Museum’s Board of Trustees and Governors of its Foundation at the site of the New Museum for the turning of the first sod. This ceremony is an important event in construction projects and marks the start of significant works at the site. For the New Museum project it signals the demolition of non-heritage elements ahead of major construction works, which will start later this year.Read more News Alec Coles