History is brought to life through dioramas, soundscapes and audio-visual at the Army Museum of Western Australia.

Several impressive galleries display various periods and themes. These are located within the main museum building. There is a substantial collection of vehicles, artillery field guns and other military hardware located around the perimeter of the parade ground outside the main museum building. And in some of the adjacent sheds vehicles are also on display.

The museum's collection includes a substantial amount of archival material in the way of documents, letters, diaries, photographs and art work. The reference library is accessible by arrangement.

Download our app and enjoy a self-guided audio tour.

We offer school programs in line with the national curriculum and can tailor them to your needs.

Visit our website to find out more armymuseumwa.com.au

The Azelia Ley Homestead Museum is situated in Manning Park, Hamilton Hill and is open to the general public on Sunday afternoons from 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm. The Museum is also open to schools and other groups on weekdays by appointment.

Manning Park is accessible all year round for organized events, family day-outs and social gatherings. When the Museum is open there are always two members of the Historical Society of Cockburn in attendance.

The collection is highly significant as it is the only such one in Western Australia that aims to tell the story of all railways across the state. Other collections focus on one aspect or a region.

The majority of the collection is from the Western Australian Government Railways. There are also items representative of the extensive timber lines and gold mines that operated in the state as well as the private lines such as the Midland Railway Company.

The collection spans the whole spectrum of railway history. From Katie which was placed in service in 1881 when the Fremantle to Guildford Railway was built through to more modern diesel locomotives. Therefore whether you are interested is the heavy freight V class steam locomotives or the tiny 20 inch gauge mine locomotive 'Freudie' there is something to interest you at the museum. Four different railway gauges are exhibited.
Special events and visiting stalls are a feature of the annual "Railfest" day, usually in October - see the museum calendar.

Various passenger carriages and freight wagons that formed an integral part of the railway scene can also be appreciated. A number of these date back to the 19th century. The 1947 "Australind" buffet car is loved by children when hired for their own private birthday party.

The exhibition building houses an extensive collection of railway artefacts and photographs telling the story of railways in Western Australia. 

Ticket Information:

Adults $9 | Concession $7 | Children (4 - 14 years) $4 | Children under 4 Free

Broomehill Historical Society was officially declared in 1997 and the following year a stone building was erected on the corner of Great Southern Highway and Journal Street – which is now our Museum . The building was officially opened on 20 April 1898 and used as the Agricultural Hall where meetings and dances were held. A room at the rear was added later for Road Board members to meet. At one stage the building housed the Mechanics’ Institute. In 1923 the building was purchased by the Presbyterian Church, the porch was added and regular services were held until the early 1940’s. The brick work was rendered after 1946. The Broomehill Shire Council purchased the building in the late 1960’s and in 1979 it was officially opened as a museum, containing many items of historical interest for Broomehill.

The museum is open by appointment, at long weekends and special events. Volunteers contact numbers are displayed on the front door. To help us maintain our collection, we ask for an entry donation and Broomehill and Holland Track souvenirs are available for sale.

In 1893 Mr R. John Holland (b 1855 – d 1936) cut a direct cart track from Broomehill to the Goldfields which was and is still known as the Holland track.

Instructed by engaging volunteers, students cook damper in the Buckingham kitchen; do a spot of sewing in the Buckingham sitting room; attend a lesson in the Old Wanneroo School House; learn how to milk a cow; and do some pioneer style washing.

Temporarily closed. 

As the capital city of one of the world’s most significant mining regions, Perth is rapidly growing in both population and economic prosperity.

 
The strength of our economy, especially our capabilities in the resource sector, ensures that both the city and the state are competitively placed for future investment and growth.

Perth's close proximity to Asia opens great potential for investors in energy, minerals, tourism and hospitality, education and agriculture and food.

Perth is in the midst of an exciting period of expansion and new developments. The large-scale capital works projects throughout the city and surrounding areas means Perth will change dramatically over the next ten years, better reflecting the growing global importance of the city.

These developments provide great opportunities for investors and will drive further economic growth, creating more jobs and stimulating commerce in all industries.

While the state of Western Australia is fortunate to have world-class reserves of natural mineral and energy resources, the city has become home to an equally impressive resource - a highly educated, skilled and productive workforce – gathered here by the strength of our tertiary institutions, economic climate and world-class lifestyle opportunities, making Perth the state's leading destination for creative innovation and cultural diversity.

For more information on Perth’s greatest strengths as an investment destination visit the Economic Development section.

No matter who you are, everyone is welcome to join the Library. Plus, membership is FREE!

Joining is super-easy, and to do so you’ll just need to bring in a few items:

Current proof of your name and address
The name, phone number and address of an alternative contact who doesn’t live at your address
If you’re a kid under 16, you’ll need mum, dad or your guardian to sign your membership application.

Claremont Museum's main exhibitions are housed in a preserved nineteenth century schoolhouse. The schoolroom provides a glimpse into the colonial education system, c1862. Behind the teacher's room where we present changing exhibitions, the washhouse contains the original copper, a mangle and other traditional domestic equipment. Text panels throughout the museum provide insight into the settlement of the region and traditional practices of past eras.

A scale model displays Freshwater Bay in 1862. A display of early Claremont shops includes the barber, cobbler, draper and a 1940s corner store. Special exhibitions are changed periodically and address a variety of topics in history, science and the arts. 

Cockman House provides a unique opportunity for teachers and students to encounter what life was like in the past and learn about the families that lived here over a 130 year period.

Completed in 1860, this family home of three generations is a rare historic place of continuous residence by descendants of the original building. It presents a pioneer story that began with James and Mary Ann Cockman at the beginning of the Swan River Colony and progresses alongside the development of the Wanneroo district.

OPEN: Every Sunday 2:00pm - 5:00pm Closed all of February
Entry by donation

School Groups welcome Tuesday, Thursday & Friday.
Bookings required. For more information:
Phone: (08) 9405 5906
Email: [email protected]

Now refurbished, the old station characterises both past and present emergency services’ through displays dedicated to the history of Western Australian (WA) fire services and a natural hazards and disasters education gallery.

Fremantle Prison was built as a convict barracks in the 19th century and remained in continual use until 1991. The Prison was a place of hangings, floggings, dramatic convict escapes and prisoner riots. Inmates included imperial convicts, colonial prisoners, enemy aliens, prisoners of war and maximum-security detainees.

Visitors can step inside and do time with Fremantle Prison’s experienced guides on a range of fascinating tours. Prison Day Tours highlight convict and prison life, daring escapes and colourful characters in tales laced with prison humour. Visitors with a spirit for adventure can descend 20 meters below the Prison to explore a one kilometre labyrinth of tunnels by foot and by boat on an underground Tunnels Tour or delve into the darker side of the Prison's history at night on a spooky Torchlight Tour.

Bookings are essential for Tunnels Tours and Torchlight Tours.

This 1890s home now contains past photos of the people and places of Bayswater, and memorabilia from the early part of the century.

Halliday House is open to the public on the fouth Sunday of every month between the hours of 1.00pm and 4.00pm.  Group bookings are welcome by appointment.  For more information, please contact us on 9271 3741.

Attractions: The exhibits at the Mt Flora Regional Museum offer a look into region’s past through photographs and artefacts.

Permanent exhibitions include:

Shipwrecks
Whaling
Early days of school.
The mezzanine floor focuses on social history, where visitors can look through ‘windows in the past’ and see what typical rooms were like in the early days. For example, one exhibit is a 1940s kitchen showing utensils at the time, such as a wood stove, and a dining room set for a family dinner.

Go up the stairs to the panoramic lookout and you get one of the best views in the northern suburbs. In 1942 the Defence Forces also utilised the building as an observation post, and you can still see the fantastic view today.

A mural by Anne-Maree Pelusey is painted on the walls of the lookout and features about 300 local fish.

Outside the museum, there is a large grassy park with a children’s playground and picnic area.

About the museum

The Mt Flora Regional Museum is housed in a 1936 water tank originally built for North Beach residents. After being phased out of service in the 1970s, the City of Stirling and the North Suburban Historical Society developed the facility into a museum.

Visiting the Museum

Location
Mount Flora Regional Museum
Elvire Street, Watermans Bay

Wheelchair and general disabled access is available from the car park to the ground floor and the park area. Off street parking is also available.

Opening hours: Sundays, 1.30pm – 4.30pm. Open other times by appointment.

Museum tours

Our museum curator hosts guided tours where he relates local stories and informs visitors about the historical background of the museum site and building.

Community and school groups are encouraged to visit.

Please call to book a tour. 

HISTORY AND TOURS OF THE MUSEUM OF PERFORMING ARTS

Throughout its colourful and exciting history, His Majesty's Theatre has hosted a myriad of performance genres - from ballet to contemporary dance, opera to musical theatre, vaudeville to stand-up comedy, Shakespearean drama to pantomime and more.

Performers who have graced the stage at 'The Maj' include: Dame Nellie Melba, Anna Pavlova, Gladys Moncrieff, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann, as well as Academy Award winners Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Sir John Gielgud, Claudette Colbert, Rex Harrison and Geoffrey Rush.


These performers, and thousands more who have performed at His Majesty's Theatre since 1904, have all contributed to the cultural and social livelihood of Western Australia. In a fitting celebration of this, in February 2001, His Majesty's Theatre opened the Museum of Performing Arts.

The Museum of Performing Arts is curated by Theatre Historian Ivan King and Friends of His Majesty's Theatre are only too happy to assist with enquiries.

Read the biography of Theatre Historian Ivan King.

The Museum of Performing Arts houses more than 40,000 catalogued items of theatre memorabilia collected by the theatre's historian. Items such as glamorous costumes, photographs, press clippings, scripts, scores and other historic pieces are publicly exhibited at the Museum, DownStairs at the Maj, with a new exhibition to view every six to eight weeks. The oldest item in the Museum collection dates back to 1854 - a beautiful silk programme from a Perth performance of amateur theatricals.

Find out about our various theatre tours including: Grand Historical, Behind the Scenes, School Education and Technical.

To access the extensive collection of archival production photographs, visit the Museum of Performing Arts website at www.mopa.com.au 

This exhibition gallery serves as a meeting place of ideas and stories, a retail space, micro-cinema and a cultural hub in a part of the city that is in flux. 

The Museum is an initiative of the Perth History Association Inc, a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2015. 

The museum's objective is to promote understanding of the law, legal issues and the legal profession in Western Australia’s community and to preserve the history of the law and the legal profession in this state. The museum is a community service managed by the Law Society of Western Australia and is sponsored by the Public Purposes Trust and the Department of the Attorney General.

Early Days
The Old Court House is Perth’s oldest remaining public building and was the most prominent building in the early days of the Swan River Colony. For the first six years of the Colony, court was held in the Anglican Church of St James: a small building with rush walls and thatched roof.

In 1836 Governor Stirling called for tenders for the construction of a new court and accepted the lowest bid of £698. The building was designed by the Colony’s Civil Engineer, Henry William Reveley. When it opened in 1837 it also served as a church for all denominations and a schoolroom.

Concert Hall
The Old Court House was important in the early musical life of the colonists and was the scene of the first public concert. In 1846, Dom Salvado, a Spanish Benedictine Monk, gave a piano recital in the courtroom to raise funds to develop a mission. Salvado walked more than 100 kilometres to Perth from near New Norcia and gave a Bellini recital to a packed audience in the ragged clothes he arrived in.


Trial of John Gaven
The trial of John Gaven, the first European executed in the Colony, took place in the Old Court House in 1844. Gaven, a petty thief, was 15 years old when he was transported from Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight and apprenticed to the Pollard family in the South West. Within a few months of his arrival, he was accused of the murder of 18 year old George Pollard. He was found guilty in the Old Court House and was hanged three days later outside the Roundhouse in Fremantle on Easter Saturday.


Convicts
In February 1849 a meeting of State importance was held in the Old Court House. In response to a labour shortage, farmers and merchants called a meeting at which a motion was passed in favour of a full penal colony. The following year convicts began to arrive.


Representative Government
The Old Court House was the venue for a public meeting to demand Representative Government. The demands were unsuccessful until 1870.

Arbitration Court
From 1905 to 1964 the State Industrial Arbitration Court proceedings were held in the Old Court House.

Law Society of Western Australia
From 1965 -1987 the Old Court House served as the office of the Law Society of Western Australia.

In 1987 the building was refurbished and opened to the public as the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum - one of the few law museums worldwide.

In 1992 the Court House was listed by the National Trust as a Heritage Site.  

Today the Old Court House Law Museum houses exhibition galleries and court room.  It is  home to the Francis Burt Law Education Programme.

As the site of one of the first farms in the colony and the earliest residence still standing in the metropolitan area, Peninsula Farm offers a unique opportunity to explore the first years of European settlement in Western Australia.

The Northampton Historical Society was formed in 1969 and meets in Chiverton House (pictured above) which was built c 1865-85 and sits in the main street in the town. This building is owned by the Shire but given exclusively to the Historical Society, which runs it as a museum. The area saw the very first mining activity in the state – originally for tin - so the museum highlights this activity. The museum has a collection of documents, old School books diaries and letters and a large collection of photographs from past residents. The backyard of the house has a collection of old farm machinery. The Society has 54 members and volunteers, and meets on the 3rd Friday of the month at 4pm. Volunteers open the museum from 10 – 12 & 2 – 4 Sat/Sun/Mon/Wed/Friday. Admission $3 Adults, 50c Students. Volunteers also deal with requests for information. The Society sells an informational pamphlet Looking Back by Captain Mitchell The district contains the Gwalia mine site – settled c1863 which now has interpretive signs, as does the Lynton Convict Hiring Depot 1853-57 on the Port Gregory/ Kalbarri road.

Located at the St John Ambulance Western Australia head office in Belmont, the museum uses videos and exhibits to graphically illustrate the history of the original Order from the time of the crusades through to the present day.

Specific to WA, the museum provides examples of the organisation's insignia, first aid trophies, first aid equipment and uniforms. It also provides an overview of the work conducted at the Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem.

The museum is operated on a voluntary basis and admission is free. Please call (08) 9334 1434 to arrange your visit.

Berndt Museum of Anthropology was formally established in 1976 by the University of Western Australia. It holds one of Australia's finest collections of Australian Aboriginal, contemporary and historical art and cultural materials, as well as Asian and Melanesian collections.

Initially known as the Anthropology Research Museum, it was renamed the Berndt Museum of Anthropology in 1992. The change of name was to honour the Museum's founders and principal benefactors, Ronald M. and Catherine H. Berndt. The Museum administers the Professor Ronald M. and Dr Catherine H. Berndt Research Foundation that promotes research in the field of Aboriginal Australia.

The core collections were obtained by Ronald M. and Catherine H. Berndt during almost fifty years of fieldwork in many areas of Australia, as well as New Guinea.

These have been augmented by materials assembled by staff, graduate students and other associates of the Discipline of of Anthropology and Sociology, as well as through purchases and donations under the federal Cultural Gifts Program.

The Perth Mint opened in 1899 in response to the discovery of rich gold deposits in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. It was Australia's third branch of Britain's Royal Mint - the others being the Sydney Mint and the Melbourne Mint (both closed). Diggers, who flocked to the then colony of Western Australia in huge numbers from other parts of Australia and from around the world, deposited their raw gold with us where it was refined and minted into gold coins. Gold refining continually took place at our original Hay Street premises until April 1990, when the operation was moved to a modern facility in Perth’s eastern suburbs. Between 1899 and 1931, we struck more than 106 million gold sovereigns and nearly 735,000 half sovereigns for use as currency in Australia and throughout the British Empire. The visionary leader Sir John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia, is regarded as our founding father. 'Big John' foresaw the importance of gold in the development of Western Australia's economy, and successfully lobbied the British Government to establish a branch of the Royal Mint in Perth. Forrest laid our foundation stone in 1896. Designed by George Temple Poole, our heritage building is one of Perth most impressive colonial-era monuments. In recognition of the quality of the architect's work, we possess the highest classification from the National Trust and are one of the first buildings entered on the State's heritage register.

This is just one of six Museums operated by the Western Australian Museum, the State’s premier cultural organisation, housing WA's scientific and cultural collection.

Boola Bardip means many stories in Whadjuk Nyoongar; the Country on which the Museum sits. WA Museum Boola Bardip is a place to share Western Australia’s many stories. Our people, our places and our role in the world.

Across its five levels, the new Museum features eight permanent galleries, each with its own distinct theme and content, which has been developed in consultation with around 54,000 from across WA.

WA Museum Boola Bardip also has a 1,000sqm special exhibition gallery, five revitalised heritage buildings, retail and café spaces – and of course, thousands of items from the State's collections displayed in new and innovative ways.