Perth

What's On

Pinjarra Massacre Memorial

The Pinjarra Massacre Memorial exhibition shows how the arts can break boundaries and a small town's history can reach a large audience. This project has come about as Nyungar people have no outlet to share this story.

Through research over many years, extensive information has been accumulated about the massacre of the Bindjareb Nyungars at the hands of a group led by Governor James Stirling in October 1834 in the small WA town of Pinjarra.

This exhibition invited artists to visually interpret the event or Nyungar life before or after. Research has uncovered 21 victims by name and each artist adopted one or more of these names, giving each of the 21 artworks special significance. The artwork that each artist has produced stands as a monument to honour that person.

Pinjarra Massacre Memorial is an exhibition of artwork coordinated by Karrie-Anne Kearing and Mark Salmon.

The national tour of this exhibition is managed by ART ON THE MOVE.

Further information about Pinjarra Massacre Memorial
- Perth 9:30am – 5:00pm, Fri 28 October 2011 – Sun 12 February 2012
Quiriupp

Woodcut Print
Image copyright of Laurel Nannup
Festival Museum

Programs and Events

This year the WA Museum – Perth is delighted to welcome the Perth International Arts Festival to our grounds.

The all-new Festival Gardens will make its home in the Museum Grounds, where the former Francis Street building was located, with fantastic live bands including The Medics, Death Cab for Cutie and Neon Indian to name a few.

Within the Museum the Festival will be featuring Home Sweet Home, where visitors can build a vibrant new Perth from the ground up using special cardboard kits. Come in to Hackett Hall Gallery and let your creativity run wild!

For all the details about the Festival go to http://www.perthfestival.com.au
- Perth 8:00pm – 10:00pm, Fri 10 February 2012 – Sat 3 March 2012
Image copyright of the Perth International Arts Festival
Debt of Honour

Temporary Exhibition

In 1942 a small force of around 300 Australian commandos fought against all odds to wage a successful guerilla campaign in East Timor, holding down over 10,000 Japanese troops at a critical moment when the Japanese were only a few miles from Port Moresby.

This exhibition investigates the heroic exploits of the commandos, the reasons for their initial successes and why the Timorese supported the Australians. It also explores the enduring relationship between the men of the 2/2nd and the people of East Timor, and the contorted relationship between the Australian Government and East Timor/Timor Leste from the 1975 invasion to the 1999 Intervention and beyond.

This exhibition highlights the war efforts of Australia’s first guerilla commandos and their life-long endeavour to repay a ‘debt of honour’ to the people of Timor-Leste.
- Perth 9:30am – 5:00pm, Sat 18 February 2012 – Sun 20 May 2012
Image copyright of WA Museum
City of light - 50 years in Space

Programs and Events

On February 20, this year, WA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of a very significant event. On that day in 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 spacecraft. On this mission, Glenn flew over Perth and the people of Perth turned on their lights to acknowledge his mission. Glenn observed that the city was clearly visible from space and Perth became known worldwide as the ‘City of Light’. This early space exploration mission set the stage for the Gemini and Apollo programs which culminated in NASA landing men on the moon.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Glenn’s orbit, on Monday 20 February 2012 an outdoor public event will be staged in the Northbridge Piazza, featuring a live audio and video link to the International Space Station as it orbits the Earth.

The highlight of the event will be an opportunity for young people to speak with and ask questions of the astronauts on the International Space Station.

The event will also include activities, displays and presentations highlighting Western Australia’s involvement in space exploration and the development of telecommunications in WA over the last 50 years.

This free public event is being organised by the State Records Office of Western Australia and the WA Museum working with the City of Perth, the Hills Amateur Radio Group, the Amateur Radio International Space Station and NASA.
- Perth 5:00pm - 6:00pm, Mon 20 Feb 2012
Image contains elements copyright of NASA

Long Term Exhibitions

Bird Gallery

Perth

From the forest dwelling parrots to coastal birds, this gallery explores the amazing variety and diversity of Western Australia’s birds.

The Bird Gallery features in the Jubilee Wing of the Western Australian Museum - Perth, a high-ceilinged Victorian-era room bathed in natural light. The display is glass encased and removed from the wall, to enable viewing from all angles.

Bird Gallery

Photo from WA Museum
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Butterfly Gallery

Perth

The BankWest Butterfly Gallery displays an extensive collection of butterfly species from Australia, South East Asia, South America and Africa.

Butterfly Gallery

Photo from WA Museum
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Dampier Marine Gallery

Perth

Travel along the shores and beneath the waters of the Dampier Archipelago.

This gallery presents the results of the four-year partnership between the Woodside Energy Ltd. and the Western Australian Museum to explore the region’s marine diversity. This exhibition showcases a selection of organisms recorded by Museum scientists to give visitors a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of the marine habitats of Western Australia’s northern coast.

Divers of Scott Reef

Photo by Clay Bryce
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Diamonds to Dinosaurs

Perth

Take a journey though 12 billion years of history, beginning at the origins of our universe, through to the birth of our solar system before exploring the evolution of life on our planet.

This exhibition features a wealth of significant geological artefacts, including 10 million diamonds that pre-date the solar system, rocks from Mars and the Moon, our world-famous array of meteorites, fluorescent and unusual minerals, and the Argyle Diamond Display.

The exhibition also showcases the evolution of life on Earth, beginning in an inhospitable furnace and resulting in the diversity of life that exists today. The gallery features dinosaur skeleton casts, fossils of extinct life, and displays that show the evolution of humans, mammals, marine life and reptiles.

Diamonds to Dinosaurs

Western Australian Museum
Discovery Centre (Perth)

Perth

Do you want to see dinosaur fossils, stone-age tools, meteorites, preserved vertebrates and invertebrates or perhaps some living frogs? The Discovery Centre has interactive displays and activities where young people and adults can get busy with their hands and minds. It is also the place to go to find answers to your scientific questions or to identify a biological specimen. Read more about the Discovery Centre in the explore section of this site.

Kids with a crocodile in the discovery centre

Photo from WA Museum
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Katta Djinoong

Perth

Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia depicts the history and culture of the Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia from past to present.

Katta Djinoong is a Noongar term that means “see and understand us”. Many individuals, communities and organisations shared their stories, gave information, lent objects and approved photographs for inclusion in Katta Djinoong. The exhibition focuses on issues identified as important by Aboriginal people - family, land and continuity between traditional and contemporary life.

The exhibition examines traditional Aboriginal hunting and gathering lifestyles in the four major cultural regions of the State – South-West, Desert, North West and Kimberley.

It considers the impact of European settlement on people’s lives and social systems. It tackles contested histories including massacres, the inquiry into Deaths in Custody, the Stolen Generations, and progress towards reconciliation, including the origins of Sorry Day and Kevin Rudd’s historic Sorry speech.

Katta Djinoong also examines contemporary Aboriginal arts and crafts, and issues of ongoing importance from politics to success as sporting heroes.

Katta Djinoong: First Peoples of Western Australia provides an opportunity for the Aboriginal peoples of this state to share their stories and for visitors to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of Western Australia’s Aboriginal’s peoples, their role in modern society, and their heritage and cultural values.

A student in Katta Djinoong

Photo by Norm Bailey
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
Mammal Gallery

Perth

A large array of mammals from Australia and the world are on display in this exhibition. Deer, bison, elephants, camels, horses, wallabies, kangaroos, numbats and many more mammals have been preserved and displayed in Victorian-era glassed case displays.

Mammal Gallery

Photo from WA Museum
Image copyright of the Western Australian Museum
WA Land and People

Perth

This exhibition explores relationships between people, the land and the natural environment. Find out how these interactions have shaped the history of Western Australia.

Stories of Western Australia’s past and recent present are illustrated with fascinating and important historical objects.

The exhibition is set within a magnificent heritage gallery space - the former Public Library building (Hackett Hall) which opened in 1913.

WA Land and People

Photo by Trish McDonald
Image copyright of WA Museum