17 Jan 2011New bee species discovered in ForrestdaleA new species of bee has been discovered in the outer suburb of Forrestdale by Western Australian Museum scientists. WA Museum curator of insects Dr Terry Houston and Museum volunteer Otto Mueller spotted the new species in bushland in December 2010. An authority on Australian native bees, Dr Houston said he was surprised to discover a moderately large and unusual new species of insect so close to the city. Read more News Western Australian Museum
11 Jan 2011Interview with Museum CEO Alec ColesThe following interview was taken with Alec Coles, CEO of the Western Australian Museum on 22 December 2010. The interview was taken by City of Perth and will feature on the Northbridge Piazza screen.Read more News Western Australian Museum
6 Jan 2011Welcome Walls Stage 3 Launch Fremantle Part 2More than 8,000 people attended the official unveiling of the final migrant Welcome Walls outside the Western Australian Museum – Maritime on Saturday 11 December. Culture and Arts Minister John Day launched the third and final stage which added more than 4,500 new names to the existing Walls. Read more Photo Galleries Danny Murphy
23 Dec 2010Welcome Walls Stage 3 Launch FremantleMore than 8,000 people attended the official unveiling of the final migrant Welcome Walls outside the Western Australian Museum – Maritime on Saturday 11 December. Culture and Arts Minister John Day launched the third and final stage which added more than 4,500 new names to the existing Walls. Read more Photo Galleries Danny Murphy
16 Dec 2010Catch a falling starScientists are celebrating the discovery of a second meteorite in the Western Australian desert using ‘star gazing’ cameras. The images from the cameras will reveal the space rock’s original orbit in the Solar System.Read more News
10 Dec 2010Opening our eyes to Australia's Natural HeritageAustralians will be able to help researchers protect the amazing array of plants and animals in their local area, thanks to a new online information portal. Read more News Western Australian Museum
26 Nov 2010Moving megamouthOn 22 September 2010 Megamouth III, the WA Museum's extraordinarily rare and valuable megamouth shark, was moved from Perth into a purpose built tank at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle. Moving Megamouth was a massive logistical activity that took over one year to plan. Over 7000 litres of ethanol had to be disposed of, a fragile and priceless specimen had to moved across a city, and extensive and ongoing conservation processes had to be developed. This online exhibition tracks how the Museum performed this task, and tracks Megamouth's conversation. Read more Online Exhibition Western Australian Museum
26 Nov 2010WA Museum – Geraldton takes silver in 2010 Tourism AwardsStaff at the Western Australian Museum – Geraldton are celebrating a silver award in the 2010 WA Tourism awards, announced at the Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth on Saturday. The Museum was an entry in the Tourist Attractions, one of the most heavily contested categories. WA Museum chief executive officer Alec Coles said he was delighted with the award. Read more News Western Australian Museum
26 Nov 2010New exhibition a different take on wild womenA new exhibition that took the Goldfields by storm will open at the Western Australian Museum - Geraldton on Saturday, 4 December.Femme Fatale: The female criminal, which offers a rare insight into some of Australia’s wildest women, attracted about 10,000 visitors while on display at the WA Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder.Not for the faint-hearted, Femme Fatale explores criminology, the justice system, religion and myth, popular culture and case studies of some of Australia’s most notorious female criminals.Read more News Western Australian Museum
17 Nov 2010Perth Palaeontologist wins Prime Minister’s Prize A Perth palaeontologist will receive one of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science for her work in the preservation of fossilised soft tissue of ancient fish. Dr Katherine Trinajstic’s work has found muscles and internal organs of ancient fish preserved along with fossilised bones, and has led to a series of discoveries including the oldest known fossilised vertebrates with soft tissue and discovery of the ‘first womb’. Read more News Western Australian Museum
10 Nov 2010Western Australian Museum welcomes Dutch shipwreck collectionThe Western Australian Museum is to receive a significant collection of artefacts recovered from four Dutch shipwrecks found off the Western Australian coast.Until now the collections of the Zuytdorp (1712), Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draeck (1656) and the Zeewyk (1727) have been shared between the Netherlands and the Commonwealth Government as agreed under the Australian and Netherlands Committee on Old Dutch Shipwrecks (ANCODS) established in 1972.Read more News Western Australian Museum
4 Nov 2010WA Museum – Geraldton 2010 WA Tourism Award finalistsThe Western Australian Museum Geraldton is a finalist in the Tourist Attractions category of the 2010 WA Tourism Awards which were announced at events in Perth and Margaret River last week. The Tourist Attractions category is open to attractions of State importance which market primarily to intrastate and interstate visitors and significantly contribute to the tourism experience within their area. Read more News Western Australian Museum
27 Oct 2010Desert Fireball Networking…In September 2010 scientists from around the world headed out to the Nullarbor in search of meteorites. This was no ordinary meteorite search, but part of the ongoing cooperative of the “Desert Fireball Network” that utilises a number of cameras spread across the Nullarbor to record meteorite fireballs as they fall to Earth. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
19 Oct 2010WA Museum links web audience to remote Kimberley field workFrom today, the Western Australian Museum’s world-wide online audience will be able to follow the discoveries of its scientists and their colleagues as they work in remote locations such as the Kimberley. The first footage from a new research project along the Kimberley coast is about to go up on the WA Museum’s website this morning. The technology also enables ‘in the field’ documentaries to be created about the new research in a matter of hours after any significant research findings. WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the project would bring little known aspects of scientific fieldwork within reach of anyone with a computer. “The remote field streaming project involves a satellite dish being set up on Cassin Island off the Kimberley coast which will beam back footage to the website,” Mr Coles said. “A team of scientists from a number of Australian museums are now in this remote part of the State to begin the next stage of an ongoing partnership with Woodside Energy that has been documenting the region’s marine biodiversity for some years now. “Normally this sort of fieldwork is inaccessible to the public and we have to wait until the scientists return to tell people about their findings.” A team member will film the work on the boats and, once a day, returning to Cassin Island to upload it to the web through the satellite link. The Woodside Four project will continue until October 28 and the daily updates will document its progress. “This means the public will be able to see the team at work on the research vessel and see what they are finding, including new discoveries.” Mr Coles said. The WA Museum is leading a team that includes scientists from the Queensland Museum, Australian Museum, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the WA Herbarium. Woodside Four follows on from previous fieldwork last October that looked at offshore atolls over two trips, using historical data provided by the Museums involved that dates back to 1976. “The Kimberley one of the last frontiers on earth – it is truly exceptional by global standards: no-one would question the ecological importance of the Amazon rainforest and yet here in WA, just like in the Amazon, we are discovering new species every year,” Mr Coles said. “Considering the increasing pressure this region is coming under from visitors and industry, it is vital that as much as possible is known about its biodiversity and ecosystems.” Mr Coles said the achievements from the enduring partnership between Woodside and the WA Museum were impressive, with more than 6,700 marine species documented, 4,500 of which were now in the Museum's Woodside Collections and accessible to a global audience through the website. “About 90 international scientists from 25 countries have been involved in this work and the remote field streaming project would now allow the Museum and its partners to share their findings and work with a much greater audience.” To see the scientific team at work, visit: http://www.museum.wa.gov.au.Read more News Western Australian Museum
14 Oct 2010WA Museum scientists awarded for guide to State’s sea stingersTwo members of the Western Australian Museum’s scientific staff have received a commendation in this year’s prestigious 2010 Whitley Awards, which recognise outstanding publications dealing with the promotion and conservation of Australasian fauna. The authors - Marine Invertebrates Emeritus Curator Loisette Marsh, and Curator of Molluscs Shirley Slack-Smith - received the commendation for their new edition of Field Guide to Sea Stingers and other Venomous and Poisonous Marine Invertebrates of Western Australia. Read more News Western Australian Museum
14 Oct 2010Gold from the vault - preview into the Kalgoorlie-Boulder redevelopmentOne of our best kept secrets lies under the WA Museum Kalgoorlie-Boulder site. The recently refurbished gold vault provides the first glimpse of things to come with the redevelopment of the mezzanine area due to open early December 2010. This photo gallery gives a sneak peak into the redevelopment of the Gold Vault. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
12 Oct 2010Moving megamouthOn 22 September 2010 the iconic Megamouth shark was moved from WA Museum - Perth to a new custom built tank at the WA Museum - Maritime where he will undergo extensive conservation work. This photo gallery documents his move. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
4 Oct 2010Patrick Baker: 36 years of shipwreck photography –Gallery 3Patrick Baker was the Western Australian Museum's shipwrecks photographer. This series of photo galleries explores his amazing career and catalogues the photos taken between 1970 - 2005. The third gallery has a heavy focus on exploration and restoration of Batavia wreck. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum
3 Oct 2010Marine Life of the Kimberley RegionThe Marine Life of the Kimberley Region project is a three-year marine biodiversity research program. The project will explore the marine biodiversity of the inshore Kimberley and associated continental shelf coral atolls. This website publicly explores the findings and provides information about new species, diaries of the researchers, publications and more information as the research reveals more about this poorly understood region.Read more Online Exhibition Western Australian Museum
29 Sep 2010Marine Life of the Kimberley Region - Montgomery ReefThe Marine Life of the Kimberley Region is a three-year marine biodiversity research program. This photo gallery was taken in mid-October 2009 and is of Montgomery Reef and surrounding waters. Read more Photo Galleries Western Australian Museum