Western Australian Museum

About

The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the Museum Act 1969. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located in the Perth Cultural Centre. The other sites are: the WA Maritime Museum and WA Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle, the Museum of the Great Southern in Albany, the Museum of Geraldton in Geraldton, and the Museum of the Goldfields in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Established in 1891 in the Old Perth Gaol, it was known as the Geological Museum and consisted of geological collections. In 1892, ethnological and biological exhibits were added, and in 1897, the museum officially became the Western Australian Museum and Art Gallery. The museum employed collectors to obtain series of specimens; J. T. Tunney ventured across the state from 1895 to 1909 obtaining animals and, later, the tools and artefacts of the indigenous inhabitants.

During 1959, the botanical collection was transferred to the new Western Australian Herbarium and the museum and the art gallery became separate institutions. The museum focussed its collecting and research interests in the areas of natural sciences, anthropology, archaeology, and Western Australia's history. Over the 1960s and 1970s, it also began to work in the then-emerging areas of historic shipwrecks and Aboriginal site management.

In February 2008, the Government of Western Australia announced that it would build a new A$ 500-million museum at the East Perth Power Station site, equivalent to A$693.7 million in 2022. However, following the election of a new State Liberal party government under Colin Barnett, the redevelopment plans were scrapped in early February 2009.

On Museums day in 2012, the Barnett State Government pledged to build a new museum at the Perth Cultural Centre at a cost of A$428 million, equivalent to A$539.3 million in 2022, for completion by 2019–20. The Western Australian Museum – Perth site closed temporarily from 18 June 2016 until 2020 to construct the New Museum for WA, designed by OMA and Hassell.

In late 2014, critical improvements to the museum's Collection and Research Centre (CRC) in Welshpool commenced. This site continues to house the museum's research laboratories and working collections throughout the construction phase. The upgrades to the CRC include new collection storage, laboratories, and workshops to support ongoing research and to ensure that collections can be adequately prepared and conserved. [ citation needed ]

The Western Australian Museum has six museum branches and four collection facilities. The museum also offers outreach services to all areas of Western Australia.

On 9 September 1891, the Geological Museum was opened at the site of the Old Gaol and housed the state's first collection of geological samples. The Old Gaol still forms a significant part of the Western Australian Museum – Perth and is one of the oldest standing buildings in Western Australia.

Shortly after the Geological Museum was opened, collections were expanded to include geological, ethnological and biological specimens and in 1897, the Western Australian Museum and Art Gallery was declared. From 1971 to 2003, a greater part of the research and display collections were housed in a large building on Francis Street. This site was closed due to concerns with asbestos, and demolition concluded in late 2011.

Throughout the Western Australian Museum's history, the prominent James Street location remained central to the museum's identity and the location of many large permanent and touring exhibits. Exhibitions on fashion, natural history, cultural heritage and history have attracted large numbers of visitors, including A Day in Pompeii (25 May – 12 September 2010) which attracted more than 100,000 people.

Permanent exhibitions which were on display at the Western Australian Museum in Perth included:

- WA Land and People : This exhibition tells the story of Western Australia from prehistoric times of dinosaurs, to indigenous beginnings, and through to environmental issues of the present day.

- Diamonds to Dinosaurs : An exhibition exploring 12 billion years of WA's history, featuring specimens such as rocks from the Moon and Mars, pre-solar diamonds and dinosaur skeleton casts.

- Katta Djinoong : This exhibition depicts the history and culture of the Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia from past to present.

- Dampier Marine Gallery: This exhibit explores the biodiversity of the waters around the Dampier Archipelago.

- Mammal, Bird and Butterfly Galleries: These galleries contain extensive collections of various animals. The museum closed for major redevelopment in June 2016.

The Perth site also included the Discovery Centre, designed to help children and adults interact and learn about the museum's collections and research. After the closure of the main museum for redevelopment, the Discovery Centre relocated to a Discovery Zone in the State Library of Western Australia in September 2016, but this closed permanently from 8 December 2019.

After four years of construction, the Perth museum re-opened on Saturday, 21 November 2020. The new museum is named WA Museum Boola Bardip, and features new exhibitions and topics such as the formation of the Universe, WA's latest inventions, dinosaurs, newly discovered species and local communities.

Inside the new complex are five heritage buildings, including the Old Perth Gaol, which dates back to 1855. It is also built around what is believed to be Australia's oldest grapevine, estimated to date from the 1850s or 1860s, and encompasses Hackett Hall, once home to the State Library of Western Australia, now displays the skeleton of a blue whale (nicknamed Otto), which was in storage since 2003. The Jubilee Building has been refurbished, with the terrace and grand entrance reopened.

The Western Australian Museum has two branches in Fremantle: the WA Maritime Museum and WA Shipwrecks Museum (formerly known as Maritime Gallery and Shipwreck Gallery).