Museums - Melbourne & Suburbs
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Australian Sports Museum
Located within the Olympic Stand at the MCG, this museum 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 world's love of international sporting moments.
Location: East Melbourne
www.australiansportsmuseum.org.au
Chinese Museum
Situated in the vibrant and bustling Chinatown, the Chinese Museum is a five-floor masterpiece featuring Australia's long Chinese history. With regular international and national exhibitions on show, the Chinese Museum 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 the ancient ceremonial regalia, lanterns and famous Chinese lion and dragon costumes donned by members of the Chinese community during the Chinese New Year Festival.
Location: Melbourne CBD
www.chinesemuseum.com.au
Fire Services Museum of Victoria
Featuring Australia's largest collection of fire brigade memorabilia, the Victoria Fire Services Museum 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.
Location: East Melbourne
www.fsmv.net.au
Fox Classic Car Collection
Housed in the historic Queen's Warehouse building, over 50 prestige cars are on display for public viewing.
Location: Docklands
www.foxcollection.org.au
Hellenic Museum
Located in the former Royal Mint building, this museum celebrates the cultural heritage of ancient and modern Greece. See antiques, statues, artwork, photographs and audio-visual displays.
Location: Melbourne CBD
www.hellenic.org.au
Heritage Hill Museum & Gardens
This historic precinct allows visitors to discover Dandenong's unique social history. It includes landscaped gardens, St James Anglican Church (built in 1864), Laural Lodge (1869) and Benga House (1936).
Location: Dandenong
www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au
HMAS Castlemaine
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, 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 in those times.
Location: Williamstown
www.hmascastlemaine.org.au
Immigration Museum
Australia's rich multicultural past is captured at the Melbourne Immigration Museum, located at Old Customs House. Visitors 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 Victoria's humble beginnings as a trade and shipping port.
Location: Melbourne CBD
www.museumsvictoria.com.au
Jewish Museum of Australia
Explore the experience of Jewish communities within Australia at the Jewish Museum. The museum features rotating exhibitions about how people of the Yiddish culture came to make a home in Victoria, and showcases the controversy, theatre, music and politics of the Melbourne Yiddish community as their congregation numbers steadily grew. Tours are available of the synagogue and there is a collection of thousands of items of personal and professional significance to the Victorian Jewish community.
Location: St Kilda
www.jewishmuseum.com.au
Melbourne Museum
The museum showcases incredible post-modern architecture and innovative exhibitions, exploring Victoria's natural environment, culture, history and sport.
Location: Carlton
www.museumsvictoria.com.au
Museo Italiano
Discover the history of Italian migration to Australia which dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850s. View artefacts and memorabilia from those who came to Australia seeking opportunities and prosperity, and celebrate the culture created by Italians.
Location: Carlton
www.coasit.com.au/museoitaliano
Newport Railway Museum
This museum 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.
Location: Williamstown
www.newportrailwaymuseum.org.au
Old Treasury Building
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 to take part in the burgeoning gold production industry that Victoria built. The Old Treasury Building has dedicated itself to showcasing the excitement of the gold rush era in Victoria. 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.
Location: East Melbourne
www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au
Polly Woodside
This enchanting tall ship was first launched by British shipbuilders in 1885 and has now been been restored and opened to the public as a museum located at Dukes Dock on the Yarra River
Location: Southbank
www.nationaltrust.org.au
RAAF Museum
Located just south-east of Werribee at Point Cook, 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 and Royal Australian Air Force. 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.
Location: Werribee
www.airforce.gov.au
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Museum
The College of Surgeons Museum houses a collection of items related to the history of surgery. View historical surgical instruments and equipment, rare and historic books, artwork and gifts from affiliated colleges.
Location: East Melbourne
www.surgeons.org
Scienceworks
The technological marvel known as Scienceworks is located 2 kilometres north of Williamstown in Spotswood. It is 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. Within Scienceworks is Melbourne Planetarium with its 16 metre domed ceiling and state-of-the-art theatre to recreate the night sky for its spellbound visitors. Also 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.
Location: Williamstown
museumsvictoria.com.au/scienceworks
Seaworks
Spanning almost 3 hectares, Seaworks Maritime Precinct preserves an important part of Victoria's maritime heritage. There are several historic buildings, a maritime museum, tavern, workshops, piers and slipways that front Hobsons Bay. It is also a venue for regular events and a berthing place for the public to view tall ships and other historic vessels that arrive from around the world.
Location: Williamstown
www.seaworks.com.au
Victoria Police 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. 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.
Location: Docklands
www.policemuseum.vic.gov.au
Werribee Historical Society Museum
Housed in the former Shire Hall which was built in 1893, the museum showcases items of local history including photographs, documents, period clothing and artefacts
Location: Werribee
www.werribeehistory.org.au
Williamstown Museum
Located in the former Mechanics Institute building which was built in 1860, the museum is run by the Williamstown Historical Society. It showcases exhibits relating to Williamstown's maritime history and includes social history collections dating back to the 1800s.
Location: Williamstown
www.williamstownhistsoc.org.au