Museums - Travel Victoria: accommodation & visitor guide

The myths, facts and artefacts of those who came before us are cleverly frozen in time between the walls of museums across Australia.

Take a stroll around the exhibits at your local museum, and what do you find? Eclectic displays of scientific and artistic snapshots of history, allowing the visitor to not only learn a little more about the past, but to live in it for just a moment.

The first museums ever known of were nothing more than the collection of private valuables kept by the upper class. They were usually pieces of artwork passed down through generations, or cabinets filled with weird and the wonderful items that ordinary people could not afford to collect. These days, museums are public galleries, with three-dimensional exhibits suitable for all ages, tastes, historical interests and fascinations.

Victoria is home to some of the highest-quality museums in the world, with thousands of staff dedicated to collection care and preservation, and a wide array of artefacts spanning the natural, scientific, artistic and cultural wonders that many travel across the globe to see.

Museums in Greater Melbourne

Victoria's capital city of Melbourne has a selection of notable museums which showcase artefacts and displays of the state's immigration history, gold rush, wool farming and past artistic endeavours.

Chinese Museum - www.chinesemuseum.com.au: Situated in the vibrant and bustling Chinatown, the Chinese Museum is a five-floor masterpiece featuring Australia's 200 year Chinese history and strong connection with Asian Pacific nations. With regular international and national exhibitions on show, Chinese Museum Melbourne is a treasure trove of artefacts depicting the contribution of the Chinese community in Victoria and across Australia in social and economic contexts. Visitors can see and touch the ancient ceremonial regalia, lanterns and famous Chinese lion and dragon costumes donned by members of the Chinese community in Melbourne during the Chinese Spring Festival celebrated annually each February.
HMAS Castlemaine Maritime Museum - www.hmascastlemaine.org.au: The HMAS Castlemaine vessel was built in Victoria in 1941, and served during World War Two in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and China Sea. The magnificent vessel was later restored by the Maritime Trust to become the floating museum and naval memorial that it is today. Sitauted at Gem Pier in Williamstown, the museum includes artefacts of early steam and sailing vessels, evidence of the first formally arranged coastal trade in Victoria and of course, Navy shipbuilding and everyday life for those on HMAS Castlemaine all of those decades ago.
Immigration Museum - www.museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum: Australia's rich multicultural past is captured at the Melbourne Immigration Museum, located at Old Customs House in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. Locals, visitors and far off tourists alike will unite in their appreciation of the museum's recreation of real-life stories about how the nation of Australia has evolved since the arrival of the First Fleet. The thought-provoking, the sad, the sombre and the truly magnificent pieces of Australia's multicultural revolution are depicted among the exhibitions of moving images, personal voices and memorabilia. Encased in the Immigration Museum is the popular Customs Gallery, which examines, in detail, Victoria's humble beginnings as a trade and shipping port.
Jewish Museum of Australia - www.jewishmuseum.com.au: Explore the experience of Jewish communities within Australia at the Jewish Museum in St Kilda. The museum features rotating exhibitions about how people of the Yiddish culture came to make a home in the state of Victoria, and showcases the controversy, theatre, music and politics of the Melbourne Yiddish community as their congregation numbers steadily grew. There are daily tours of the synagogue and a collection of 12,000 items of personal and professional significance to the Victorian Jewish community.
Melbourne Museum - www.museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum: You can hardly visit a new city without taking a stroll around the museum. Based in Carlton, the Melbourne Museum is no exception, with cultural, historical, sporting, and agricultural artefacts to tantalise and entertain. Take the kids or go it alone - you won't be disappointed.
Melbourne Planetarium - www.museumvictoria.com.au/planetarium/: Located within the Scienceworks Museum complex is Melbourne Planetarium - a favourite for astronomers and star gazers from the world over, providing a well-equipped and insightful astronomical experience. The planetarium features a 16 metre domed ceiling and state-of-the-art theatre to recreate the night sky for its spellbound visitors. With its groundbreaking projection system and surround sound, Melbourne Planetarium visitors will feel as if they have been catapulted into outer space, as this unique immersive environment displays hemispherical beauty in high resolution, like never seen before.
National Sports Museum - www.nsm.org.au: Victoria is a sporting state - a place where historical sporting moments actually happened and on-field history was made. The National Sports Museum at the MCG in East Melbourne will delight sports lovers from around the globe. Not only showcasing the greatest sportspeople moments that Australia has to offer, this experience is a true testament to the globe's love of international sporting moments.
Old Treasury Building - www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au: In the 1850s and 1860s Victoria experienced its gold rush era. The population of the state more than tripled, and immigrants raced to Australian shores from the world-over to take part in the burgeoning gold production industry that Victoria built. The Old Treasury Building in East Melbourne has dedicated itself to showcasing the excitement of the gold rush era in Victoria, and first opened its doors 150 years ago. There are permanent exhibitions that use modern displays to help visitors from far and wide understand how the gold rush in rural Victoria shaped the city of Melbourne as it is today.
Performing Arts Collection - www.theartscentre.com.au: The Victorian Arts Centre at Southbank is home to a performing arts collection which is a must visit for those who have had even the most fleeting of dreams to take to the stage. Delve inside the dress up box showcased in this unique museum to discover the costume secrets of some of Australia's leading performers including celebrities, musicians, actors, dancers and circus performers.
RAAF Museum - www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum: Located at Point Cook, near Werribee, the RAAF Museum offers interactive flying displays and hanger tours for all air force enthusiasts. The museum houses important aviation artefacts of the Australian Flying Corps, Royal Australian Air force and Point Cook itself. See unique "flying machine" designs, military training artefacts, RAAF medical services memorabilia and displays detailing how RAAF soldiers have served for their country in World War One and Two. Guided tours are available through closed window viewing areas where aeronautical engineers and mechanics work on RAAF aircraft.
Railway Museum - www.railwaymuseum.org.au (re-opening in late 2011): The Railway Museum, located in Williamstown, was first opened in 1945 and is dedicated to recording the development of Victoria's intricate rail transport system. Visitors can sample the extensive range of Victorian Railway history publications contained in the museum, including an archive of the resources that detail the early set up of the Victorian railway network by new settlers to Australia. The museum houses a collection of steam locomotives that were once operational in Victoria, as well as an exhibition featuring the evolution of the railway system in the state as diesel and eventually electrical trains and tracks were introduced post 1950.
Scienceworks - www.museumvictoria.com.au/scienceworks: The technological marvel known as Scienceworks is located 5 kilometres west from the city centre in the suburb of Spotswood. It's a popular wonderland for children and a hub for the budding and veteran science-minded among us. Explore how electricity works, what really happens when lightning strikes, and quirky physical science facts you never thought could be true. A visit to the 120 seat Lightning Room is a hair-raising experience for all, with electrifying stunts and high-voltage entertainment sure to delight all. Also contained within Scienceworks is the historic Spotswood Pumping Station where visitors can gain an insight into how Melbourne's first centralised sewerage system began in the late 19th century.
Victoria Fire Services Museum - home.alphalink.com.au/~fsmvic: Featuring Australia's largest collection of fire brigade memorabilia, the Victoria Fire Services Museum, located in East Melbourne, offers a comprehensive history of fire fighting services across Victoria. With more than 10,000 fire-related items on display, the museum showcases collections of both international and national Country Fire Authority memorabilia, vintage fire fighting appliances, exhibits from some of the most famous fires to hit Victoria, personal stories and associated items.
Victoria Police Museum - www.police.vic.gov.au/museum: There is a darker side to the history of Victoria, which is displayed in full colour at the Victorian Police Museum, located on the Yarra River at the World Trade Centre, Docklands. With displays showcasing a unique view of Victorian crimes, both solved and unsolved, and the aftermath of significant disasters in the state, the museum offers a unique collection of artefacts dating back to the days of the Kelly Gang.

Museums in regional Victoria

Branch out into the rural areas of Victoria and you're sure to find other hidden riches, housed at quaint historical societies and museums dotted along the countryside.

Benalla Costume & Pioneer Museum - home.vicnet.net.au/~benmus: Step back in time at this museum at Benalla, which was founded in 1967. It showcases costumes and historical memorabilia worn in the time of Ned Kelly, with the famous blood-stained sash he wore at his death kept on site. Benalla's favourite sons, Dunlop, Waller and Savage, are brought to life thanks to extensive displays of memorabilia and many visitors enjoy the silk dress display, with pieces dating as far back as 1770.
Burke Museum - www.beechworth.com/burkemus: Burke Museum is located at Beechworth and features collections of unusual natural history from the 1860s. The museum is dedicated to the honour of Robert O'Hara Burke, an explorer and Beechworth police officer from 1854 to 1858. Exhibits include Aboriginal artefacts and details of Burke's explorations to cross Australia from South to North from the Victorian settlement in which he lived to the unchartered Gulf of Carpentaria.
Omeo Historic Park and Museum - www.omeo.org.au/park: This heritage-listed building in Omeo is home to a historical society museum that showcases the significance of the East Gippsland area throughout Victorian history. The museum offers artefacts relevant to some of the earliest law and order rulings in Victoria post settlement, along with a local history collection lovingly managed by the Omeo Historical Society.
RAAC Memorial and Army Tank Museum - www.armytankmuseum.com.au: Featuring around 80 tanks, armoured cars, anti-armour weapons and memorabilia of the Australian Light Horse, the museum is located at Puckapunyal, near Seymour. It is situated just a stone's throw from one of the largest army training centres in Australia and provides an important link to Australia's wartime and peacekeeping history.
Surfworld Australia Surfing Museum - www.surfworld.com.au: Located in the vicinity of one of the most famous surf breaks in the world is The Surfworld Museum at Torquay. Surfing diehards will revel in the museum's collection of historical surf craft, specialised historical documents on where the art of surfing officially began and memorabilia from some of Victoria's most notable surfing competitions and titles throughout the years. A true celebration of the sport of surfing for all to enjoy and known to be the world's largest surfing museum.
Wangaratta Museum - www.wanghistsoc.org.au: Located in the old fire station at Wangaratta, the Wangaratta Museum is managed by the Wangaratta Historical Society and showcases a collection of historical items from the district. With 19th century handmade quilts and memorabilia from the origins of Wangaratta, the historical society has collated 15,000 photographs of historical interest that chronicle the origins of the town in photographic detail.