Western Australian Maritime Museum: traces the maritime history of the west coast of Australia, in particular its discovery and exploration by 17th century Dutch sailors. The musuem is primarily a showcase for the relics and treasures recovered from numerous shipwrecks along the Western Australian coastline. The museum's display includes the de-commissioned submarine, HMAS Ovens, and the racing yacht Australia II, which won the America's Cup for Australia from the United States in 1983. Entry fee applies.
Location: New Maritime Museum - Victoria Quay, Fremantle; Shipwreck Galleries - Cnr Marine Tce. and Cliff St., Fremantle. Contact: (08) 9431 8444. Website. How to get there: train to Fremantle. New Maritime Museum is south-east of the railway station along Phillimore St. Shipwreck Galleries are in Cliff St off Phillimore St.
 Western Australian Maritime Museum Shipwreck Galleries: adjacent to the main museum, the Shipwreck Galleries tell the story of many ships that have been wrecked along the Western Australian coast. Pride of place is the a reconstruction of the actual keel of the Dutch cargo ship, Batavia (right), which founded on reefs in the Abrolhos Islands north of Perth in 1629. A stone arch intended for a castle in Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) was part of the Batavia's cargo ship Batavia. It has been reconstructed stone by stone and stands alongside the Batavia's hull and other artifacts from the wreck.
Location: Cnr Marine Tce. and Cliff St. off Phillimore St, Fremantle. Contact: (08) 9431 8444. Website. How to get there: train to Fremantle.
Western Australian Motor Museum
Whiteman Park: Australia has many transport museums but none rival Whiteman Park for size and scope. Whiteman Park is a leisure park, created around a popular swimming hole known as Mussel Pool to house the collections of a prominent and popular local identity, Lewis Whiteman (1903-1994). Whiteman built up a wide collection of objects, antique and curious, local and exotic, during his lifetime. A portion of the collection, relevant to transport heritage, is now on display at the park. It includes agricultural machinery, tractors, bicycles, a narrow gauge railway, over 120 motor vehicles, Perth electric trams and a fleet of 26 Perth diesel and trolley buses.
Whiteman Park tourist tram
These collections are on display at museums within Whiteman Park: the Bus Preservation Society of WA, The Tractor Museum of Western Australia, The Western Australian Motor Museum, The Perth Electric Tramway Society Museum (which operates a 30 minute, 4 km tram ride in the Park) and the Bennett Brook Railway, a narrow gauge steam train that runs 6km around the Park.
Also within the Park is Mussel Pool swimming area, WA Model Aircraft Sport Centre, Western Australian Birds of Prey Centre, bushwalking trails, picnic shelters, a shopping village, a children's playground and Caversham Wildlife Park. Entry fees apply.
Contact: (08) 9209 6000. Website. Location: 22 km north east of Perth near West Swan. How to get there: by road via Reid Hwy or Gnangara Rd, entrances on Beechboro Rd and Lord St.
 Museum of Childhood: displays on the history of growing up in Australia. With over 10,000 articles on display, this museum seeks to share the experiences of children from different times and eras who have grown up in Australia. Displays and exhibitions include the history of bush schools, toys and games, infant care and child raising practices. Displays and exhibitions include the history of bush schools, toys and games, infant care and child raising practices. The museum's collection is one of the largest of its kind in the world, and features a vast array of memorabilia, children's clothing, toys, wooden toy horses, golliwogs and dolls' houses. Entry fee applies.
Contact: (08) 9442 1373. Location: Edith Cowan University, Bay Rd, Claremont. How to get there: by train to Claremont station on the Fremantle line, walk to Museum via Bay View Tce., right into Victoria Ave.
 Western Australian Cricket Association Museum: sports museum focusing on the exploits of Western Australian cricketers. A must for cricket fans, contains extensive cricket memorabilia as well as information on other sports played at the WACA since 1885. Individual and group tours of the WACA Ground and Museum are available several days per week.
Contact: Website. Location: WACA Ground, East Perth. How to get there:
Old Perth Gaol
Western Australian Museum: A state government sponsored museum, located within and an essential part of the Perth Cultural Centre. It is a traditional-style museum which focuses on natural history. The Jubilee Building hosts a dinosaur gallery and features fossils, skeletons, an egg of the extinct elephant bird and many other interesting dinosaur exhibits. Within the complex is Perth's original Gaol, which now houses displays on the history of the Perth region and a cafe under a 140 year old grape vine. Free admission.
Contact: (08) 9427 2700. Location: Francis St, Perth. How to get there: walk from Perth Central station north to the Cultural Centre or along Barrack and Beaufort Sts. to Francis St.
Fire Safety Education and Heritage Centre - a museum showcasing fire fighting equipment past and present, it is dedicated to those who risk their lives fighting fires. The displays include interactive exhibits, videos, and over 6,000 fire fighting artefacts including some of Perth's earliest fire engines. The Museum is housed in Western Australia's oldest and Perth's first fire station. Free admission.
Contact: 9323 9468. Location: 25 Murray St. cnr Irwin St, Perth.
Aviation Heritage Museum: the museum of the Royal Australian Air Force Association. The collection comprises 32 aeroplanes and 34 engines on display as well as an extensive range of other material including flying costumes, uniforms, instruments, radio equipment, models, trophies, awards and medals and photographs. Entry fee applies.
Contact: Website. Location: Leach Hwy, Bull Creek. How to get there: by car, cnr Leach Hwy and Bull Creek Dve.
Western Australian Medical Museum: an historical museum displaying items of memorabilia from the State's past in the health-care field. A comprehensive collection of photographs, displays and memorabilia relating to health care and disease treatment in Western Australia.
Contact: (08) 9340 1506. Website. Location: King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, Barker Rd, Subiaco. How to get there: train to Subiaco or Daglish station, walk to Hospital and Museum on Railway Rd.
O'Connor Museum: 34km east of Perth in the Darling Ranges, Mundaring Weir was built around the turn of the 20th century as the catchment dam for a far-sighted Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. The scheme's pipeline carries water 530 km from Perth to Kalgoorlie. The water was initially pumped in successive stages with the aid of eight steam-driven pumping stations. The O'Connor Museum, which tells the story of the building of the dam and pipeline, occupies the original No.1 pumping station near the foot of the dam. Entry fees apply.
Location: , Mundaring Wier, Mundaring Weir Road. Contact: (08) 9295 2455
Mundaring Weir: Mundaring Weir was built across the Helena River in the the Darling Ranges near Perth at the end of the 19th century as part of a daring engineering scheme to catch water in the Darling Ranges and pump it to the Kalgoorlie goldfields 530 km away. The No. 1 pumping station, at the foot of the dam wall, houses the CY O'Connor Museum, which tells the stories of the dam's construction and the engineer who made it a reality. A visit to the weir and museum make for a pleasant half or full-day drive through the Darling Ranges via the semi-rural townships of Mundaring and Kalamunda. Facilities include toilets; picnic tables; dam wall walk.
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 Francis Burt Law Museum: housed in Perth’s oldest remaining public building and was the most prominent building in the early days of the Swan River Colony. From 1965 to1987 it served as the Law Society offices. In 1987 the building was refurbished and opened to the public and named the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum, a community education centre for legal history and one of the few law museums worldwide.
Location: The Old Court House, Supreme Court Gardens, Barrack Street, Perth. Contact: (08) 9325 4787.
Fremantle Prison: this penal institution 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. After its closure in 1991, the WA state government embarked on a long-term conservation plan to ensure the Prison’s preservation. One of the largest surviving convict prisons in the world today, it is currently part of a joint nomination of Australian Convict Sites for World Heritage status.
Location: off Parry Street (walk up Fairburn Ramp to the Prison’s Gatehouse)
Opening hours: open 9.00am to 5.00pm 7 days a week, excluding Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Contact: Website
Fremantle Art Centre and Museum: The Fremantle History Museum houses items relating to the social history and heritage of Western Australia, with a number of galleries focusing on the history of the port city of Fremantle. It was built of local limestone by convicts in the 1860s as the Convict Establishment Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and Invalid Depot. It was later used as a Home for Women, by US servicemen during the Second World War and then the Fremantle Technical School before its restoration in 1970.
Housed in a separate weing of the building is The Fremantle Arts Centre. One of the State's most dynamic art organisations, it runs a diverse cultural program that includes exhibitions of contemporary visual arts and craft, Create courses and workshops, free Courtyard Music concerts, touring performances and a number of community based arts projects.
Fremantle Arts Centre has a renowned Craft Shop which is stocked full of beautifully hand-crafted ceramics, glassware, wood and textiles by Western Australia's most accomplished craft artists, as well as a discerning selection of new releases, local history and lifestyle titles.
Location: 1 Finnerty St., Fremantle. Website
The Army Museum of WA: showcases Western Australia's military history including weapons and vehicles, uniforms and medals and war memorabilia from the pre-Federation period through to the present day. The museum currently has five established galleries and a static display of vehicles and other military hardware located in the parade ground.
Location: Artillery Barracks, Burt Street, Fremantle. Open Wednesday - Sunday 11:00am to 4:00pm. Entry fees apply. Contact: (08) 9430 2535
The Round House: the oldest remaining building in Western Australia, opening in 1831. It was built as a gaol and was used as such until 1886. It had eight cells and a gaoler's residence, which all opened up into a central courtyard. It was later used as a home for the chief constable, his wife and their 10 children. It is now a popular tourist attraction enjoying panoramic views.
The Round House is located in what is now known as Fremantle's West End, in the Arthur Head Precinct on a headland overlooking the river mouth with uninterrupted views of Cockburn Sound. Other buildings on Arthur Head included the courthouse, cottages and two lighthouses.
Location: 10 Arthur Head, Fremantle. Open: 10.30am - 3.30pm daily. Closed Christmas Day & Good Friday. Entry by donation. Contact: (08) 9336 6636.
Railway Transport Museum: this museum is Western Australia's premier museum devoted to railway history. The collection 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 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. The exhibition building houses an extensive collection of railway artifacts and photographs telling the story of railways in Western Australia.
Location: 136 Railway Parade, Bassendean, WA. Website
Midland Railway Workshops Interpretive Centre: The Interpretive Centre located is the former Time Keeper’s Office at the entrance to the Midland Railway Workshops site. The weatherboard building retains its 1920s ambience while high-tech audio-visual equipment brings back the voices of the workers to the site. The Centre gives visitors vivid insights into a former industrial workplace with a fascinating social history. Large panels give a cameo into Workshops activities, and a DVD and interactive touch screen allow you to find out more.
Location: Yelverton Drive, Midland. Contact: (08) 9250 3895
Kalamunda History Village: a museum depicting life in the hills district to the east of Perth. Centred around the original Upper Darling Range railway station yard, complete with a static, resident steam locomotive, this folk museum is housed in early railway buildings dating back to 1895. Display feature local industry, timber getting and the marrow gauge zig zag railway that once wound its way down neighbouring Gooseberry Hill.
Contact: (08) 9293-1371. Location: 56 Railway Rd, Kalamunda. How to get there: by road, via Gt Eastern Hwy and Kalamunda Rd; by bus, from Perth to Kalamunda.
Berndt Museum of Anthropology - showcasing anthropological artifacts and photographs, the Museum is home to an enormous collection of Australian Aboriginal art and cultural artefacts, and also comprehensive collections of historic items from Asia, Melanesia and South-East Asia. Free admission.
Contact: (08) 6488 2854. Website. Location: Social Sciences Building, University of Western Australia, Hackett Drive, Crawley. How to get there: by car, via Mounts Bay Rd or Stirling Hwy, use Hackett Drive Entrance No. 1.
Historic Homes
Woodbridge: in 1885, Charles Harper – agriculturalist, parliamentarian and newspaper proprietor – purchased land originally granted to WA's first governor, James Stirling, at Guildford, and built Woodbridge as his family home. The building is today a museum operated by the National Trust. Its furnishings and displays reflect an aspect of life in the late Victorian era. Education & Learning programs at Woodbridge are linked to the WA curriculum framework.
Location: Ford St. West Midland (behind Gov. James Stirling High School). Entry fees apply. Contact: (08) 9321 6088
Tranby House: The Tranby House is one of the oldest surviving farmhouses from early settlement of the Swan River colony. It was built by Joseph Hardey in 1839 and provides a good example of colonial architecture. The house was occupied by the Hardey family and originally known as Peninsula Farm. The museum and grounds are managed by the National Trust of Australia. The Tranby Tea Rooms are located in the grounds.
Location: Johnson Road (off Peninsula Road), Maylands. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm; closed July, Christmas Day, and Good Friday. Entry fees apply. Contact: (08) 9272 2630
Stirk Cottage: constructed in 1881 and was the very first house to be built in the Perth Hills suburb of Kalamunda. It was build by Frederick and Elizabeth Stirk. The building was subsequently enlarged between first being built and 1895. Since 1970, the local Historical Society has operated a museum here.
Location: 12 Kalamunda Rod, Kalamunda. Open Sunday 2-4pm or by appointment; closed December and January.
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