Museum of the Great Southern in Albany

An unmissable part of a visit to Albany.This is a beautifully curated and arranged museum, and Im so glad I extended my stay past the weekend music festival and spent a couple of hours there today.The main exhibition space is stunning. Theyve somehow distilled multiple strands of local history: First Nations, colonial, natural history, war time, and more recent themes into a spacious, flowing set of displays with multi-media.There are other exhibition spaces, but the cherry on top for me is the replica Brig Amity vessel (on board for max $5 - all other areas are free access). The sailing vessel experience is astounding. Maybe Im hypersensitive because Ive just finished two books about maritime events in the region in the 1600s and 1800s, but to climb on board and go down below decks with an amazingly evocative sound commentary (via audio guide - included in pricewas just brilliant.A wonderful place. Ill be back to soak up more.

It is one of the best museums documenting history from both the indigenous and settlers perspective. Very informative.

Brilliant new display in the main building of the life of the first nations menang-noongar people. Enough things to keep a 6 year old entertained as well.

Great for a free museum! Cool boat outside. Great activity place for the kids by gift shop

It’s free and there’s quite a few interesting things to look at. definitely worth a look.

Found it by accident on holiday! Very interesting historic objects!

Disappointed and glad it was free otherwise would be peeved. Bush tucker garden has numbers but no description...Exihibits could do with more interaction and more interesting topics. Amity replica ship is ok

Perfect place for school holidays. Especially in wet weather! The thought and effort the Albany museum has put into the kids activities for the school break is fantastic. My girls (7 & 2were entertained for an easy 2 hours doing the crafts and creative play alone! The whole museum is just so well put together, clean, tidy, very informative staff and friendly too. And with the exception of some special exhibits, the museum is free! Just a donation of your choosing! (FYI, We personally offer $5 per adultwould highly recommend to anyone!!

Awesome lego exhibition!

The museum which has a Lego expedition is a waste of money $12.50. The residence is free and a further $5 to see inside the Amity.What a debacle!

The museum is great but the $12.50( seniors paid for the Lego Big Wrecks was a waste of $.

Very informative great place for kids n adults alike

Very interesting to learn about the great Southern region. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable.

Very informative. The volunteer staff are friendly and knowledgeable

Great place to learn about Albany history , the museum has some really interesting programs

The smells, the feels and the motivated and informed staff were terrific.Love to go back soon

Great place to take kids for the spy exhibition

Grate display and well maintained museum is wheelchair accessible

Very good customer service and informative for a little free museum, nice to have something thats by donation in the south west for tourism. Im surprised there was more history for the area though. Set out in old heritage buildings and near the inlet, it was a good way to spend a rainy day

Great location for sightseeing Albany, Mt Barker, Stirling Ranges and Capes.Friendly managers.

Good little museums in the same area as the Brig Amity ship too.

Not only is this museum a free, family friendly place to visit, but the staff are friendly and the displays are constantly changing. Its a regular family outing for us.

The museum and adjoining art gallery, lovely work in fabulous old buildings, that obviously have many stories between those walls...

We went for the photo exibition. I would have given it 5 stars, the photos were exceptional. But, the captions were nearly all under the photos, not much above knee hight. As a result, I did not bother reading too many. What a pain, and a spoiler.I wonder which "Einstien" thought of that?

Do not underestimate this place like I did by thinking that youd only spend a half hour here. This museum is impressive with its well presented exhibits, insightful displays well spaced out in different locations so you dont ever feel like you are having to fight with crowds, and a nice group of volunteers ans staff who help you find your way around it. Take your time to browse over the individual rooms as they display different things and places. My kids loved the classroom exhibit and finding out how everything was so tiny. They also learned how hard life had been before their time. Go slow and take your time here, there is plenty to see and do!

Staff are genuinely helpful and happy..this was such an educational visit to remember for years and the fact you got to walk on the replica ships deck was a bonus. Easy access and parking and leave an hour and half to absorb the information

Really interesting and its free! The old Gaol behind (not free - but not much $was also very entertaining

Awesome.Love it

Great displaying for photography artworks with vintage cameras. Friendly staffs and helpful Information. Outdoor surroundings is beautiful and we enjoy the walk.

A nicely laid out museum, surrounded by trees and green spaces. Has free activities for the little ones. Very central location as well, with great views of the sea.

At the site of that first settlement by Princess Royal Harbour is a museum that looks at the region’s indigenous history, natural history and European settlement.Here you’ll learn the stories of the Menang and Noongar people, finding out about traditional life and seeing where they fished and cooked.This also happens to be the place that was first pronounced Western Australia in 1826. There are absorbing insights about seafaring over the last 200 years, as well as the incredible biodiversity of the southern seas.The museum’s grounds are flush with nature too, harbouring a host of bird species, King’s skinks and various types of frogs.

Great location. Very friendly helpful staff. Great to wander around. Artist on site beautiful work

Fascinating place to visit with new exhibits changing from time to time.

Full of information and free. I was a bit dissapointed that not everything was open. I would have loved to explore more of the ship and some of the other buildings. Right across the tracks is the old jail, it is a $5 entrance fee per person. It is very interactive but wished for more information and pictures about the cells and inmates.

This is a great museum, and all visitors to Albany should visit this place.

Really nice museum guiding, small but interesting !

Very interesting, some great information for all ages.

Great place to visit. Lots of interesting exhibits as well as free activities for the kids. They do have some more complex activities as well for a small fee. At the moment they have the 3D Antarctica experience which is amazing. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

We had a look at the pearl exhibition and the main building. A lot of interesting information boards and artifacts to see. Well worth the $5 donation.

Great place for adults & kids. Brig Amity more suitable for kids, especially less than 1200 mms tall ones. Theres not much room mid-ships. Mind yer head!

Lots of things to do! The kids enjoyed all the fun activities, exploring, yummy food and life music. 🤗

Great place to visit for local history, visiting exhibitions and childrens activities. Also there is the Brig Amity replica, truly a journey back in time.

Really well layed out. Very informative. Learned a lot about the history and really enjoyed it. Had no idea Capt Vancouver had survived some Western Australia. Was cool to learn because my mother is from Vancouver.

Nice mix of nature, history. Had a Roman installment and a photography exhibition at the time.

Cultural time line and European settlement history in captivating surroundings.Friendly helpful and knowledgeable staff.

Great place and for only $2 you can see the inside of the ship

Particularly enjoyed walking around in the brig (shipoutside. The portable commentary handsets were a great idea. In the museum itself we were greeted by a very friendly lady. I found the exhibits on the central/South American civilisations really interesting and kids were allowed to draw and paint items from that time which was fun. The other exhibits were also interesting and thought provoking. A great place to come on a rainy day!

The Western Australian Museum’s long and fascinating history reflects and documents the State’s rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage.Established in 1891 in the old Perth gaol, it was known as the Geological Museum and its collections were geological, ethnological and biological. In 1897 it officially became the Western Australian Museum and Art Gallery.During 1959 the botanical collection was transferred to the new Herbarium and the Museum and the Art Gallery became separate institutions. The Museum focused its collecting and research interests in the areas of natural sciences, anthropology, archaeology and the State’s history. Over the 1960s and 1970s it also began to work in the emerging areas of historic shipwrecks and Aboriginal site management.Today the Western Australian Museum comprises six public sites and a collection and research centre and houses more than 8 million objects from rare fossils to the iconic racing yacht Australia II.The Museum also manages 200 shipwreck sites of the 1500 known to be located off the WA coast and manages eight Aboriginal land reserves.

Ive worked with the Museum of the Great Southern on multiple occasions to organise some astronomy nights for Albany and the Great Southern region and theyve been a pleasure to work with. The Museum itself is very interesting and the staff are very nice. Make sure you go do the Brig Amity tour as while your there, its worth it.

This is a fun place to discover the history of the Albany region. Allow plenty of time. There is lots to do and see. Displays are always changing.