26 Nov 2014Da Vinci Machines at WA Museum – AlbanyExperience Leonardo da Vinci’s genius first-hand when da Vinci Machines opens at the Western Australian Museum – Albany this Saturday 29 November. This exciting exhibition features 60 of his visionary inventions in the areas of flying machines, nautical innovations, and machines of war, alongside 15 beautifully crafted replicas of famous da Vinci artworks.Read more News Sharna Craig
26 Nov 2014Contractors invited to submit interest to design, construct New MuseumMinister for Culture and the Arts John Day today invited local and international teams to submit expressions of interest to design and construct the New Museum for Western Australia in the Perth Cultural Centre. You can read the Minister’s full statement here.Read more News Western Australian Museum
13 Nov 2014Hidden Treasures exhibition extended at the WA MuseumThe Western Australian Museum is delighted to announce it is extending its season of the stunning exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul until 18 January 2015. This beautiful exhibition of treasures once thought lost to the world contains more than 200 rare and beautiful objects dating back to the Bronze Age, from a place that was once at the crossroads of the world’s great civilisations.Read more News Sharna Craig
11 Nov 2014Building a web of knowledge about Weld RangeAn update of research findings from the Weld Range in Wajarri Yamatji country will be presented at a public lecture next week at the Western Australian Museum – Geraldton. Weld Range, near Cue in the Murchison region, is highly significant for the Wajarri Yamatji Traditional Owners. It is home to the nationally heritage listed Wilgie Mia Aboriginal Ochre Mine, mined by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.Read more News Sharna Craig
10 Nov 2014The Goldfields commemorates Remembrance Day Learn about the role young men from the Goldfields played in World War One tomorrow when military historian Graham McKenzie-Smith presents Goldfields Tunnellers and Sappers in World War One as part of the Western Australian Museum’s In the Wild West lecture series. The Remembrance Day presentation details how many miners from the Goldfields joined the Tunnelling Companies of the Australian Imperial Force during World War One.Read more News Sharna Craig
7 Nov 2014Last Gentlemen of War: a story of decency, honour and humourThe Western Australian Maritime Museum today opened its doors to a compelling exhibition on the Battle of the Cocos, Australia’s successful first naval engagement in World War One which took place 100 years ago this weekend, on 9 November, 1914.Read more News Western Australian Museum
15 Oct 2014Explore the rich history of Mid West mining onlineThe Western Australian Museum – Geraldton this week launched two interactive online activities allowing primary-aged students to explore the rich history of Mid West mining in a novel and fun way. The two activities were developed thanks to a Your Community Heritage grant awarded to the WA Museum in 2012 from the Australian Government. In the Miner to Magnate quiz children answer a series of questions on a range of different Mid West minerals from guano to gold, learning fun facts through entertaining infographics.Read more News Jane Rosevear
3 Oct 2014Da Vinci Machines exhibition extendedThe Western Australian Museum – Geraldton today announced a three week extension to its internationally acclaimed Da Vinci Machines exhibition, until Sunday 9 November. Since the exhibition opened in July more than 8,000 people have explored and interacted with this amazing exhibition. Regional Manager of the WA Museum – Geraldton Leigh O’Brien said the exhibition had been extremely popular, with many visitors astounded at the breadth of Leonardo da Vinci’s extraordinary talent.Read more News Jane Rosevear
3 Oct 2014Final research expedition to include Rowley ShoalsThe Western Australian Museum will lead a team of researchers to the Kimberley this week in the sixth and final expedition of an award-winning research project into the region’s unique marine life. The 17-day survey from 30 September – 16 October includes 16 researchers from the WA Museum, Queensland Museum, the Australian Museum, Museum Victoria, the Herbarium of WA and Curtin University.Read more News Jane Rosevear
3 Oct 2014One Hundred Postcards from the front lineAn extraordinary collection of postcards sent to a Boulder woman from men serving on the front line of World War One will go on display at the Western Australian Museum – Albany from Saturday 27 September. More than one hundred postcards were sent from six young soldiers serving in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) to home-nurse Eliza ‘Lida’ Jane Downey. WA Museum history curator Stephen Anstey said the postcards were sent from the soldiers while they were training and when they were on active duty overseas.Read more News Jane Rosevear
22 Sep 2014Kimberley proves to be a frog hot-spotFind out about frogs this week when Dr Paul Doughty, Curator of Herpetology at the Western Australian Museum presents two lectures in Broome and Kununurra as part of the Museum’s 2014 In the Wild West lecture series. Wet and Wild: Frogs of the Kimberley will delve into recent discoveries and introduce a who’s who of the region’s frogs including conspicuous tree frogs, rockhole frogs and burrowing frogs.Read more News Jane Rosevear
12 Sep 2014History of the Western Australian Museum – PerthThe 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.Read more Article Danny Murphy
12 Sep 2014IntertwinedAs 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.Read more Online Exhibition Western Australian Museum
8 Sep 2014Asylum seeker boat donated to Museum The Western Australian Museum today thanked the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service for donating the wooden asylum seeker boat that arrived into Geraldton in April 2013, to its collection. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the vessel and its story were part of contemporary Australian history, and the Museum was committed to documenting the historical record through the collection of significant objects that explored the history of WA and connected people to its past, present and future.Read more News Jane Rosevear
5 Sep 20141,000 origami cranes fly at the Maritime Museum for child cancer research One thousand gold coloured origami cranes have been suspended from the ceiling vents in the WA Maritime Museum’s foyer for the month of September in support of Go Gold Australia for Childhood Cancer. The WA Museum’s Executive Director of Fremantle Museums and Maritime Heritage Dr Ian MacLeod said the Museum is proud to be taking part in September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness month. “Go Gold Australia for Childhood Cancer is a volunteer organisation dedicated to raising awareness to advance research into childhood cancers,” Dr MacLeod said.Read more News Jane Rosevear
4 Sep 2014Nyoongar peoples acknowledged in new sponge species namesTwo new sponge species unique to the southern Western Australian coast have been given species names to honour the Nyoongar peoples as traditional owners of that land. Haliclona durdong and Haliclona djeedara are endemic to the WA coastline, occurring in temperate rocky reef habitats and shallow waters from Jurien Bay to Bremer Bay, and are found nowhere else in the world.Read more News Jane Rosevear
3 Sep 2014New technologies reveal more of maritime mysteriesAdjunct Professor and Curator of Maritime Archaeology at the WA Museum Dr Michael (Mack) McCarthy will reveal new and exciting developments occurring behind the scenes at the Museum in an engaging lecture presented in Geraldton on Wednesday 3 September and at Carnarvon on Thursday 4 September.Read more News Jane Rosevear
3 Sep 2014Crucial cannon conservation to beginThe Western Australian Museum undertook a delicate operation to remove the Zeewijk cannon from Marine Terrace last Tuesday, so it can be transported to Fremantle for critical conservation treatment. With the help of the City of Greater Geraldton, a small crane safely lifted the 289 year-old cannon from its concrete plinth and place it onto a cushioned trailer bed, where it was carefully wrapped in padding and canvas before travelling to the Materials Conservation department of the WA Museum in Fremantle.Read more News Jane Rosevear
25 Aug 2014Faces From the FrontTo mark the Centenary of World War I and the significant impact it had on Goldfields communities, the Western Australian Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder launched its very poignant Faces From the Front exhibition last Friday.Read more News Jane Rosevear
25 Aug 2014New Museum connects with Kimberley communitiesThis week, communities in the Kimberley will meet members of the WA Museum’s New Museum Project team and participate in discussions about the New Museum for WA. Scheduled to open in 2020, the New Museum will be the flagship museum for Western Australia and will share stories and collections from around the State. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said a core principle of the New Museum is that it will be developed in partnership with the people of WA.Read more News Jane Rosevear