Two adults and two young children sit on a 1970s-style couch and read a newspaper in a Museum gallery.

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Black and white photograph of the city of Albany, featuring historic buildings sitting along the water.
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See Albany's past meet the present

Albany Then & Now: Historical Panoramas of Menang Noongar Boodja is an invitation to journey through time and place.

In the news

Two people deliver a workshop in front of a crowd of seated people

Australia and Indonesia Museum-to-Museum Collaboration
In November 2025, the Western Australian Museum worked with the Australian Embassy and the Indonesian Heritage Agency to deliver a two-day workshop on museum management and curatorial practice at the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta.
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From our blog

Underwater photo of a man diving next to a submerged ship

Not all shipwrecks are accidents
When we hear the word shipwreck, it tends to conjure up images of storms, navigation errors and even tragedy. But did you know some shipwrecks reach the seabed by design?
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Three children seated at a white table in a museum activity area, working on a craft project with colorful beads, pipe cleaners, and other art supplies. Clear containers of materials are on the table, and bright red structural elements and exhibit displays are visible in the background.

Celebrate the holidays with art, culture, and adventure at WA Museum

Across WA, our museums are packed with holiday activities that give kids a way to burn their energy, sharpen their minds, and ignite their imagination. Every Museum has its own mix of art, science and culture so families can choose what suits them best and make a day of it!
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Explore all stories

Spiders invade Elizabeth Quay

The Western Australian Museum will be displaying, playing and talking all things spiders – alongside a 50-tonne fire breathing spider at Elizabeth Quay this week.

The Museum’s spider encounter will take place inside the WA Museum’s inflatable museum for Arcadia Australia.

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Circa 1830s axe made from wood, stone and resin

Exceptional Yurlmun exhibition opens in Albany

An exhibition featuring historic objects made by Albany’s Menang people nearly 200 years ago opens at the Museum of the Great Southern (previously the WA Museum – Albany) today.

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Dirk Hartog Dish, 1600 – 1616.

Dutch King and Queen unveil Hartog Dish in Fremantle

The Western Australian Museum is pleased to announce that its special exhibition, Travellers and Traders in the Indian Ocean World, was officially opened today by Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

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Abrolhos Islands, Copyright WA Museum

Search for 5th Old Dutch shipwreck to continue

The Western Australian Museum continues its search for a possible fifth Dutch East India Company (VOC) shipwreck, believed to have been lost at the Abrolhos Islands off the Mid West coast around 300 years ago, working alongside celebrated wreck-hunter and author Hugh Edwards.

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A burial at sea. The Illustrated London News, November 1880. Courtesy State Library of Victoria

Rough medicine on the high seas

Rough Medicine: Life and Death in the Age of Sail will open at the Western Australian Museum – Geraldton on Saturday, 10 September 2016.

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Not an Agelas axifera, but this specimen from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands looks similar to the rare sponge the Museum is looking for.

Calling all beachcombers – have you seen this sponge?

Beachcombers, divers, swimmers and anglers are being asked to help the Western Australian Museum find examples of a very rare marine sponge, Agelas axifera, known only to the Champion Bay area in Geraldton.

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