5 shining green beetles pinned to a board

Revealing the Collections

The Western Australian Museum collection site will hold an array of links to a variety of digitised collections, and will continue to grow as the Western Australian Museum collection becomes increasingly digitised.

Information cataloguing collection objects are also being made available through the Museum's online datasets.

To explore the digitised online collections, click on an image below.

Item Count: 30,004

History Collection

By looking at the everyday objects that people made, used and cherished, we are able to understand the identity, history and community of Western Australia.

Collection OwnerHistory Department

Item Count: 54

WAMinals

Access information about some of the wonderful specimens and species curated by the WAM staff. Ever wanted to know more about what spiders inhabit the spinifex of the Pilbara, or what nudibranchs (sea slugs) can be found hiding on the seafloor of the Montebellos Islands?

Collection OwnerWA Museum

Item Count: 35

Ruth Tarvydas Collection

Through her designs Ruth Tarvydas showcased Western Australia to the world, garnering both national and international recognition throughout her 46-year career.

Collection OwnerHistory Department

Item Count: 50

Basket Collection

As one of the most widely spread cultural practices in the world, basketry is more than a simple technology. Malleable, tangible, and mutable, baskets and the technique of basketry can represent the identity of a weaver, their cultural practices, and a discovery of art form.

Collection OwnerWA Museum

Item Count: 59,976

Malacology (Mollusc) Collection

The Western Australian Museum's Mollusc Collection represents molluscs collected from Western Australia, other parts of Australia, and from the wider world. The collection consists of approximately 400,000 lots.

Collection OwnerAquatic Zoology

Item Count: 41,587

Marine Invertebrates Collection

The Western Australian Museum’s Marine Invertebrates Section comprises specimens from many aquatic animals including Cnidaria, ascidians, Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, ctenophores, Foraminifera and others!

Collection OwnerAquatic Zoology

Item Count: 52,943

Ichthyology (Fish) Collection

The Western Australian Museum's Fish Collection comprises 175,000 specimens from 319 different families.

Collection OwnerAquatic Zoology

Item Count: 37,707

Ornithology (Birds) Collection

The Museum's Ornithology Collection contains eggs, nests, skeletons, taxidermy, alcohol preserved birds and also tissue used for genetic analysis. The bird specimens are sourced from all over Western Australia as well as Christmas Island and Indonesia.

Collection OwnerTerrestrial Zoology

Item Count: 55,710

Mammalogy (Mammals) Collection

This collection contains representatives of both terrestial and aquatic mammals, chiefly from Western Australia, but including specimens from other Australian regions and elsewhere in the world - particularly from southeast Asia.

Collection OwnerTerrestrial Zoology

Black-striped Snake - Image copyright Brad Maryan

Item Count: 162,031

Herpetology (Reptiles and Frogs) Collection

The Herpetology collection contains specimens of reptiles and frogs from throughout Australia and South-East Asia but predominantly Western Australia. The majority of the collection is preserved in alcohol but some dried and skeletal material is also maintained.

Collection OwnerTerrestrial Zoology

Item Count: 117,793

Arachnid and Myriapod Collection

This collection contains representatives of arachnids and myriapods, chiefly from Western Australia, but including specimens from other Australian regions and elsewhere in the world. Most specimens are stored in ethanol or slide-mounted.

Collection OwnerTerrestrial Zoology

Item Count: 91

Frog Watch

Frog Watch is dedicated to providing information on all aspects of Western Australian frogs.

Collection OwnerTerrestrial Zoology

Item Count: 3

Maritime Journals

The vast Western Australian coastline was visited by hundreds of ships pre-colonisation, particularly Dutch trade ships. Many of these ships, such as the Emeloort, passed by without incident, documenting what they saw of the coastline as they went.

Collection OwnerMaritime Archaeology

Item Count: 64,989

Maritime Archaeology Databases

Access the WA Museum's Maritime Archaeology Database to explore our shipwreck coastline.

Find information on recovered ships, artefacts, Indigenous contact, numismatic (coin) materials and our international ANCODS agreement.

Collection OwnerWA Museum

Item Count: 1,025

Type Specimens

The WA Museum has over 8 million objects across its collections. Interested in birds, coral, fish, insects, mammals, molluscs or reptiles?

Collection OwnerWA Museum

Item Count: 224

Western Australian Museum – Perth Collections

This collection of images is a comprehensive record of objects and specimens that have been removed from the Western Australian Museum – Perth to the Collections and Research Centre (CRC) in Welshpool since December 2015.

Collection OwnerWA Museum

Hannan Street H.R Redmonds arrival at Australia Hotel 1905. Mr William was MP born 1861 Barrister by profession. He was the son of late WA Redmond MP of Ballytrent County Werford who was MP for Werford from 1872 - 1880. Mr William Redford was returned to Parliament as member for Werford in 1883. Subsequently he represented Cpounty of Fermanagh and while in Kalgoorle was member for Clare. His wife was an Australian and his elder brother was leader of the Bush Nationalist Party. Mr Redmond and his...

Item Count: 9,951

Dwyer and Mackay

J.J. Dwyer moved to Kalgoorlie in the late 1800s with a dream of owning his own photography studio. He worked hard to achieve this, and soon opened a studio in Hannan Street.

Collection OwnerHistory Department

Revealing the Collections

Search form

History Collection

WAMinals

Ruth Tarvydas Collection

Basket Collection

Malacology (Mollusc) Collection

Marine Invertebrates Collection

Ichthyology (Fish) Collection

Ornithology (Birds) Collection

Mammalogy (Mammals) Collection

Herpetology (Reptiles and Frogs) Collection

Arachnid and Myriapod Collection

Frog Watch

Maritime Journals

Maritime Archaeology Databases

Type Specimens

Western Australian Museum – Perth Collections

Dwyer and Mackay