It’s the first museum to be developed in the area for many decades. The City of Bunbury gave the go-ahead in 2010, and since then a magnificent building has been fully restored with Lotterywest support to preserve and showcase a newly developed collection. New, contemporary exhibitions reveal all Bunbury’s key stories and objects, many never seen before in the South West.

Professional staff care for the museum, which is owned and operated by the City of Bunbury, with significant community funding support organised by longstanding heritage supporter, Stephen Craddock.

The Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre, opened in November 2016, tells the unique stories of how the South West's regional centre was developed, and the colourful characters who made it the vibrant port city that it is today. Shipwrecks, the struggles of early settlers, convicts, the Bunbury port, and the people of the town have all contributed to this city’s rich history.

The museum cares for a new collection focused on the history of the Bunbury area, and displays the highlights of that story with objects, interactive displays and events designed for all ages and imaginations.

Also part of the museum team is the Local Studies Collection department, established about 30 years ago to safeguard Bunbury’s documentary history, with an emphasis on council records.

The new Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre meets the needs and interests of the Bunbury community, visitors to the city, and school students through its education programs, developed in line with the Western Australian Curriculum. 

Located close to the town centre of Bunbury, the King Cottage Museum is a living piece of our heritage. Come and discover what it was to be a pioneer in our city over 100 years ago. You will witness the lifestyle, tools, clothing and chores that people in that time were using or doing on a daily basis. There is a vast amount of memorabilia that has been donated by local families and preserved by volunteers.

Enjoy a guided tour of Bunbury's historic museum and see the displays, including costumes, farming implements and photographs.

Open everyday from 10:30AM to 12:30PM. Walk-in or book online.

One of three very knowledgeable volunteers will take you through the mine and provide an insight into the mining industry and the working conditions of the early underground miners. All three are retired miners who have lived the life and therefore have many stories and anecdotes to make the experience much more rewarding.

Tours can be made by arrangement through the Collie Visitor Centre. The Replica Coal mine is attached to the Visitor Centre.

There is a self-guided option for those on a deadline, with interpretive panels and television screens that will give you a peek into the underground mining era. The Collie Rotary Club has also generously provided funding for this latest addition.

Entry fee $5 per adult, $2 per school-aged child. Family (2A+2C) $12, extra children $1.

Opening hours
9am-4pm, Monday-Friday. 9am-3pm, Saturday. 9am-2pm, Sunday. Guided tours by appointment.

Taking pride of place is a restored barrel organ made in Italy. The organ is a forerunner of a jukebox and was used to entertain the old timers at Fontana’s Wine Saloon next to the Federal Hotel in Throssell Street. A massive letterbox (pillar box), a relic of the penny postage days, is rare having been cast in the J & E Ledger Foundry in Perth in 1903.

Many more items are on display in the museum including bottles, radiograms, phonographs, gramophones, wirelesses, a baker’s cart, mining equipment, Coolgardie safe, Icyball refrigerator, Lynch’s Rock and Mineral display, Fred Kohler woodwork, Gastaldo Homestead items, Della bus, all-time great fireman Dudley Magill’s bust, many historical photos and military memorabilia.

Opening hours:
Open Thursdays to Mondays, 9am-3pm.