History of the Western Australian Museum – PerthArticle | Updated 2 years ago Western Australian Museum 1900s The following timeline outlines the major changes and developments on the site where the Western Australian Museum – Perth is now located. Well before the WA Museum was on this site it was part of a landscape that was a large system of freshwater lakes, swamps and wetlands. For thousands of years, my old people used to rely on the wetlands, freshwater springs and ochre pits that surround the area where the Museum stands today. When food was abundant, Nyoongar people gathered to share in the rich and diverse plant and animal resources, practice their Lore and cultural rituals and catch up with family and friends. Brett Nannup, 2001. The following details show how the Museum site has developed over time. 1850 Surveyor General Roe chooses the current Perth Cultural Centre site to build the Perth Gaol and house convicts sent here to work. 1856 The Perth Gaol construction is complete. 1891 The WA Museum is established as the Geological Museum with a collection of geological specimens housed in the Old Perth Gaol. 1892 The term ‘geological’ is dropped from the Museum’s title and the building became simply the ‘Perth Museum’. 1892 - 1913 WA prospers during the gold rush. 1899 The Jubilee Building opens housing the State’s Library, Art Gallery and Museum. Part of the Gaol is removed to make way for this building. 1902 The Geologists’ offices is built on the Beaufort Street part of the site. 1903 The new Victoria Library is built and the State Library is relocated into it, leaving the Museum and Art Gallery to share the Jubilee Building. 1908 The Beaufort Street building is constructed between the Jubilee and Geologists building to house the Art Gallery. 1913 Hackett Hall is built as an extension to the Victoria Library building increasing the size and services of the State Library. 1914 - 1960 There is little development on the site due to two World Wars, the Depression and slow economic recovery after World War II. 1957 The George Weick gallery is built to house the Museum’s collection of military arms and medals. 1960 WA experiences the start of a mineral boom. 1967 Premier Brand announces plans for a new museum building. To make way some of the buildings around the Old Gaol are planned to be demolished. 1968 Woodward Gallery which housed the mammal collection was demolished from the site. 1971 The Wieck gallery and Nicolay Galleries are demolished. The Francis Street building is completed. 1972 Francis Street building is opened to the public with three floors of exhibitions and four floors of collection and administration space. The centrepiece of the Museum was the rare Blue Whale skeleton, an artefact that has become an icon of the WA Museum. 1980 The Art Gallery moves to its current premises on Roe Street. 1985 State Library moves to the Alexander Library building. The Victoria Library is demolished. Hackett Hall becomes part of the Museum and some alterations made to the rear wall in order to join it to a new extension for offices and store rooms. 1999 A glass insertion is placed between the Jubilee Wing and Hackett Hall to join the two buildings and become the Museum foyer. 2003 The Francis Street building is closed due to asbestos and for safety reasons. Staff and the collections are moved to the Collection and Research Centre in Welshpool. 2011 Francis Street building is demolished. 2012 The temporary Museum Grounds are opened and become home to the Perth International Arts Festival’s Festival Gardens. May 2012 Minister for Culture and the Arts John Day MLA announces the State Government’s commitment to build a new museum on the former Francis Street site. October 2015 Heritage conservation works to the existing buildings is completed. The façades were cleaned, brick work was replaced or repointed where needed, wall ties were replaced, decorative features restored and the timber work repainted. The interiors of the heritage buildings will be revitalised as part of the main works. April 2016 The Harry Butler Research Centre is delivered as a critical part of the New Museum Project. These works included a new purpose-built facility to store the Museum’s collection of spirit-preserved specimens, state-of-the-art research laboratories, preparation spaces and supporting infrastructure. The Centre was officially opened by Culture and the Arts Minister Hon John Day MLA and Harry Butler’s son, Trevor Butler. More than three million specimens were relocated from the former Wet Store to the new, state of the art storage facility. Early 2016 More than 11,000 objects are relocated from the WA Museum – Perth to the Collections and Research Centre, Welshpool in preparation for the development of the New Museum. June 2016 The WA Museum – Perth temporarily closes its doors for four years while the New Museum is being developed. The New Museum is scheduled to open in 2020. July 2016 Multiplex, with its design team HASSELL+OMA, is announced as the Managing Contractor that will design and construct the New Museum for WA. The bold and dynamic design is publicly released to wide acclaim. September 2016 The Museum’s Discovery Zone opens in the State Library of WA. This is one of many displays, activities and programs being delivered as part of the Museum’s offsite activation program, creating opportunities for people to experience the Museum in new venues. May 2017 Premier Mark McGowan MLA and Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman MLA turn the first sod at the site of the New Museum. At this time the glass foyer of the Museum was removed along with non-heritage elements on the site. March 2018 A 45-metre-long steel structure, weighing 30 tonnes, is carefully lifted into position to complete the frame of the cantilever gallery. Designed by architects HASSELL+OMA, the cantilever gallery will float above the heritage-listed Hackett Hall building, framing it like an artefact in its own right. December 2018 First look inside the Museum. An animated tour is released to coincide with the project reaching its highest construction point. The animated tour shows the scale of the project and the dramatic features of the building design, including the contemporary architecture integrating with the historic buildings. December 2019 Practical completion of the building. Exhibition fit out begins. January 2020 A world-first display of Western Australia’s iconic blue whale skeleton suspended in Hackett Hall at the New Museum. It is displayed in a spectacular rolling-lunge dive. The whale is named Otto after former WA Museum taxidermist Otto Lipfert March 2020 The Museum has eight major galleries sharing the extraordinary stories of Western Australian people, places and biodiversity. Thousands of objects are carefully prepared ready for display. July 2020 The Museum is developed with a people first approach. Around 54,000 people were consulted and had input into the new WA Museum. First person stories feature in all exhibitions. September 2020 The New Museum is named WA Museum Boola Bardip. Boola Bardip means ‘many stories’ in Nyoongar language. October 2020 The Museum launches its digital guide the Gogo app. The ground-breaking guide includes curator talks, community stories and stunning soundscapes. It is named after the State fossil emblem – the Gogo fish. November 2020 The Museum is a canvas for well-known and emerging Aboriginal artists. A program of digitised works curated by the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub WA (AACHWA) are displayed on large screens facing the Perth Cultural Centre and Francis Street. November 2020 The world-class WA Museum Boola Bardip is officially opened by Premier Mark McGowan MLA. Around 40,000 people visited the Museum during the nine-day opening festival. November 2020 Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, from the National Museum of Australia is the first major special exhibition at new WA Museum Boola Bardip. It is a highly acclaimed exhibition sharing an ancient creation saga featuring Aboriginal paintings, sculptures, ceramics and state of the art multimedia. June 2021 Ancient Greeks, Athletes, Warriors and Heroes is the first international exhibition at WA Museum Boola Bardip. Direct from the British Museum the exhibition includes 180 remarkable objects ranging in age from the sixth to first centuries BCE. June 2021 The WA Museum Boola Bardip wins a number of major awards for architecture, building, content fit out, exhibition design, research and engagement.