History

  • The Clipper wreck

    29 May 2024

    Deep dives into Rottnest's Ships Graveyard

    Diving up to 100m into the Indian Ocean west of Perth, a team of elite technical divers are uncovering and identifying shipwrecks in conjunction with the Western Australian Museum. Some of these shipwrecks have been at the bottom of the sea for more than 100 years.

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    News
    Flora Perrella

  • Travellers' Choice 2023 - Top 10% Attractions Worldwide

    18 Aug 2023

    Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice - Top 10% Attractions Worldwide

    We are delighted to share that reviews from millions of Tripadvisor travellers have placed the WA Maritime Museum and WA Shipwrecks Museum in the top 10% of attractions worldwide in the 2023 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice!

    Our heartfelt thanks go to all our visitors and supporters for helping make this happen.

    The WA Maritime Museum is located on Victoria Quay Fremantle, overlooking the Port and Indian Ocean, and is a world-class maritime tourist attraction.

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    News
    Flora Perrella

  • Alec Coles engaging in conversation candid image

    18 May 2023

    Saving the World… Museums, Sustainability and Well-being

    International Museum Day Opinion Piece by Alec Coles, CEO WA Museum

    On May 18th we celebrate International Museums Day.

    Since 2020, the theme for this annual celebration has supported the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s theme Museums, Sustainability and Well-being, focuses on the following three goals:

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    News
    Robyn Ambrosius

  •  The Antikythera Mechanism on Display at WA Museum Boola Bardip, Credit WA Museum Bec Weldon

    27 Apr 2023

    New exhibition at Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip reveals secrets of world’s first mechanical computer

     
    The story behind what is believed to be the first mechanical computer and a Western Australian engineer’s six-year journey to reconstruct it, have been revealed at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip’s new Reconstructing the Antikythera Mechanism exhibition.
     
    Created in ancient Greece around 200 BCE, the Antikythera Mechanism is a sophisticated astronomical calculator that integrated several mathematical calculations based on observations by early astronomers from ancient cultures including the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks.

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    News
    Kasper Johansen

  • Aerial photo of the three heritage cranes

    26 Apr 2023

    Victoria Quay heritage cranes to be restored, repaired and repurposed

    In a collaborative effort between Fremantle Ports and Western Australian Museum, the iconic heritage cranes that grace the western end of the Victoria Quay skyline in Fremantle will be conserved and prepared for future exhibition.

    Working closely with the Heritage Council, Fremantle Ports and Western Australian Museum have developed a conservation strategy to restore and re-erect a representation of each crane type as part of the Victoria Quay redevelopment.

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    News
    Robyn Ambrosius

  • 28 Nov 2022

    Fremantle Then and Now: Historical Panoramas exhibition wins Interpretation Project at 2022 WA Heritage Award

    The WA Maritime Museum has been announced as the winner of the Interpretation Project category at the 2022 WA Heritage Award for its Fremantle Then and Now: Historical Panoramas exhibition.

    Led by WA Museum, in collaboration with Curtin University Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch (HIVE), the exhibition uses 20 panoramas and digital projection technologies to explore 155 years of Walyalup Fremantle history.

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    News
    Madeleine Pengelly

  • Artefacts musket balls and spring shot found 2022 Vergulde Draeck

    25 Nov 2022

    Return of Dutch shipwreck artefacts to Western Australian Museum

    Several artefacts, believed to be from Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) wrecked off the coast near Ledge Point in 1656, were returned to Western Australian Museum today.

    Leon Pule and Hanneley Tredoux, found the artefacts while on a camping trip and doing some recreational metal detecting in the area. The couple were unsure what they had come across but felt it was important.

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    News
    Robyn Ambrosius

  • The 1.6-metre high Australovenator model, Image courtesy of WA Museum Boola Bardip, Credit Remote Digital Imagery.

    9 Nov 2022

    Dinosaurs to storm the Museum of the Great Southern

    Inspire your curiosity at the Museum of the Great Southern this summer when it is taken over by animatronic, life-size dinosaurs from Saturday 12 November 2022.

    Dinosaur Explore: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous brings to life some of the extraordinary dinosaurs of Earth’s Cretaceous period in a spine-tingling, Western Australian Museum-curated exhibition featuring 14 life-size dinosaur models.

    Museum of the Great Southern Regional Manager, Catherine Salmaggi, said the exhibition was set to transform the Museum into the Cretaceous era habitat.

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    News
    Robyn Ambrosius

  • Black and white image of the view from South Mole Fremantle 1904

    23 Sep 2022

    New panoramic exhibition explores changing face of Fremantle over 155 years

    The WA Maritime Museum today opened its doors to Fremantle Then & Now: Historical Panoramas – a new, immersive, and interactive exhibition exploring the changing face of Fremantle from the 1800s to the present day.

    Through sweeping historical panoramic photographs, taken at seven vantage points across the port city, the exhibition provides a unique opportunity to explore 155 years of history, using immersive digital projection technologies developed by the Curtin University Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch (HIVE).

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    News
    Flora Perrella

  • A snorkeler dives towards an anchor deep in the ocean.

    9 Sep 2022

    Explore almost 400 years of Batavia stories through a rich digital experience

    On Friday 9 September, the Western Australian Museum will launch an innovative and interactive digital experience, which brings together almost 400 years of one of Australia’s most notorious events – the wreck of the ship, Batavia, in 1629.

    The Batavia 1629: National Heritage Listed Place Guide is the first interactive e-book produced by the Western Australian Museum.

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    News
    Yoshika Kon

  • A spotty and patterned gecko with big round eyes on a rock, its mouth is slightly open.

    12 Aug 2022

    Herpetology – the study of amphibians and reptiles in action at the Museum of Geraldton

    As part of National Science Week 2022, the Museum of Geraldton are featuring three Western Australian herpetologists for Public Talk: Wildlife Research in Action on Wednesday 17 August.

    Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles, and new and exciting discoveries within the Western Australian Museum Collections and Research continue to be made every year.

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    News
    Yoshika Kon

  • A handcrafted puppet of an 18th Century botanist with a boat in the background.

    4 May 2022

    Follow the journey of an 18th Century botanist at the Museum of the Great Southern

    An immersive and finely crafted installation opens at the Museum of the Great Southern on 14 May 2022.
     
    The Peregrinations of a Citizen Botanist exhibition by artist Susie Vickery takes the form of a cabinet of curiosities, charting the journey of 18th Century French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière, who came to Western Australia in 1792 on the ship Recherche, captained by Bruni d’Entrecasteaux.
     
    Museum of the Great Southern Regional Manager Ms Catherine Salmaggi said this exhibition will delight visitors as they e

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    News
    Yoshika Kon

  • A bird with striking yellow feathers contrasted against black feathers.

    16 Mar 2022

    Stunning photographs of the natural world to go on show at the Museum of the Goldfields

    The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition will open at the Museum of the Goldfields this Saturday, 19 March.

    The annual Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition celebrates the unique beauty of the flora, fauna and landscapes of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bioregions through the lenses of professional, emerging and junior photographers.

    Every year the finalists and winners of the competition are featured in an exhibition produced by the South Australian Museum.

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    News
    Yoshika Kon

  • Anne Frank

    15 Feb 2022

    Anne Frank's life and legacy on display at the Museum of the Great Southern

    An exhibition reflecting on the life and legacy of Anne Frank will open at the Museum of the Great Southern.

    The Let Me Be Myself – The Story of Anne Frank exhibition follows the life of Anne Frank from her birth in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929 to her death in Bergen-Belsen in 1945.

    Anne Frank may well be the most well-known victim of the Holocaust. Persecuted for being Jewish, Anne and her family went into hiding in a secret annex during World War Two. During her stay in hiding, Anne kept a diary, which was then published after the War.

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    News
    Yoshika Kon

  • The Ancient Rome exhibition allows visitors to immerse themselves in the everyday life of Roman citizens through clothes, jewellery, art and entertainment.

    16 Apr 2019

    Museum of the Great Southern prepares for Roman invasion

    A new exhibition that transports visitors back 2,000 years to one of the most epic, technologically significant times in the history of humankind will open at the Museum of the Great Southern on Saturday 13 April.

    Ancient Rome: The Empire that Shaped the World will provide visitors the opportunity to learn about the military genius of Julius Caesar, admire the disruptive innovations that held the Roman Empire together for centuries, and marvel at the awe-inspiring technology used to construct Rome, which became known as the Eternal City.

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    News
    Hillary Henry

  • 5 Sep 2018

    Exhibition brings Ancient Rome to WA for the first time

     

    A new exhibition that transports visitors back 2,000 years to one of the most epic, technologically significant times in the history of mankind will open in Western Australia for the first time.

    Ancient Rome: Explore the Empire that Shaped the World opens at the Museum of the Goldfields on Saturday 15 September and will tour both regional and metro WA Museums.

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    News
    Hillary Henry

  • 21 Aug 2018

    A Ticket to Paradise?

     

    A Greek girl sent across the world to marry a man she’d never met, an African journalist fleeing for his life, and a stateless baby born in India to Iranian parents. They’re just some of the human stories that feature in A Ticket to Paradise? opening Saturday 1 September at the Museum of Geraldton.

    The touring exhibition from the National Archives of Australia examines the rich diversity of Australian immigrants and the government’s ambitious plans after World War Two to encourage mass migration.

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    News
    Hillary Henry

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