Perth

Perth Galleries and Museums

Perth / Boorloo and its surrounding communities offer many ways to encounter Western Australia: through art made here and elsewhere, stories of changing streets and suburbs, maritime archaeology, military service, flight, science and documentary records. The strongest experiences are not confined to the city centre. Fremantle / Walyalup, Wanneroo, Mundaring, Midland and Bull Creek each add a distinct perspective, from working-harbour history to local family archives and aircraft that make engineering tangible.

Use this selection as a starting point for exploring the region’s cultural collections. Some venues focus on changing exhibitions or performance, while others provide permanent displays, research resources or carefully interpreted historic places.

🏛️ Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces

Art Gallery of Western Australia

AGWA presents the State Art Collection, with a particular focus on Western Australian and First Nations art alongside works from Australia and beyond. Collection displays and changing exhibitions open different paths into historic and contemporary visual art. The Centenary Galleries occupy the former 1905 police courts, while the Simon Lee Foundation Institute of Contemporary Asian Art extends the gallery’s view across the region.

Perth Cultural Centre, Perth, WA 6000. ☎ +61 8 9492 6601 — Gallery enquiries.

Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts

PICA offers a different encounter with contemporary practice from a collection-focused museum. Its year-round exhibition and gallery program brings together visual art, contemporary performance, dance, theatre, music and events. The venue gives artists room to test challenging ideas and new work, making the building a place for creative experimentation as well as viewing exhibitions.

51 James Street, Perth Cultural Centre, Perth, WA 6000. ☎ +61 8 9228 6300 — General enquiries.

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre brings contemporary exhibitions, artist studios and workshops into a substantial gothic heritage building. Constructed in 1864 as the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum, the site became an arts centre in 1973. Exhibitions also share the City of Fremantle Art Collection, which holds more than 1,600 paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, photographs and sculptures connected with Fremantle’s creative life.

1 Finnerty Street, Fremantle, WA 6160. ☎ 08 9432 9555 — Arts centre enquiries.

Moores Building Art Space

Moores Building Art Space is a public exhibition venue supporting visual arts and creative practice in Fremantle. Managed by Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre, it gives artists room to develop experimental and site-responsive exhibitions that respond to the building’s architecture and layered history. Regular exhibitions sit alongside workshops, performances and seven on-site artist studios.

46 Henry Street, Fremantle, WA 6160.

📜 Local History & Community Museums

Wanneroo Regional Museum

Wanneroo Regional Museum interprets the area’s development from its Aboriginal past and pioneering period to contemporary Wanneroo. Exhibits are organised around themes connected with Wanneroo Road, using objects as varied as a road roller and a single egg scale. The adjoining Community History Centre provides books, photographs, maps, oral-history interviews, archives and newspapers; together, the museum and centre care for more than 10,000 collection items.

Dundebar Road, Wanneroo, WA 6065. ☎ (08) 9405 5920 — Museum contact.

Mundaring District Museum

Operated by the Mundaring and Hills Historical Society, Mundaring District Museum shares the people, places and events of the Shire of Mundaring from the former Mundaring School. A permanent display interprets the school and its former students, while changing exhibitions draw on local stories. The society also maintains a large archive, maps collection and family-history library; access to some family-history material is by appointment because it is sensitive.

Old Mundaring School, Great Eastern Highway, Mundaring, WA 6073. ☎ 08 9295 0540 — Museum and historical society enquiries.

Museum of Perth

Museum of Perth chronicles the city’s social, cultural, political and architectural history. Its physical research resources include rare books and printed items available for public viewing by appointment, alongside material about places, community life, people and technical documents. Perth-focused history projects and online stories offer approachable ways to follow the changing streets, buildings and communities of the city.

Level 1, 410 Murray Street, Perth, WA 6000. ☎ (08) 6186 6592 — Head Office / Research hub.

🚂 Specialist Museums & Collections

WA Maritime Museum

On Victoria Quay, WA Maritime Museum explores Western Australia’s relationship with the sea through maritime history, vessels and changing displays. The permanent Indian Ocean Gallery and the wider WA Museum collection connect shipwreck sites, scientific specimens and social-history objects. Its position beside Fremantle’s working harbour provides a vivid setting for considering ocean travel, trade and maritime technology.

Victoria Quay Road, Fremantle, WA 6160. ☎ 1300 134 081 — Museum enquiries and group bookings.

WA Shipwrecks Museum

WA Shipwrecks Museum presents maritime archaeology and the stories of ships lost along Western Australia’s coast. Its permanent galleries include Dutch wrecks and the Xantho, bringing exploration, trade, technology and survival into focus through archaeological material. The historic waterfront setting helps connect individual objects with the broader work of investigating shipwrecks and reconstructing lives at sea.

Cliff Street, Fremantle, WA 6160. ☎ 1300 134 081 — Museum enquiries and group bookings.

Army Museum of Western Australia

Located in the Fremantle Artillery Barracks, Army Museum of Western Australia collects, preserves and exhibits the history of the Australian Army in Western Australia. Galleries trace Western Australian service members’ experiences overseas and on the home front, from colonial times through to current operations and peacekeeping. Artefacts, artworks, photographs and interactive presentations support school and group learning programs.

Artillery Barracks, Burt Street, Fremantle, WA 6160. ☎ 9430 2535 — General enquiries.

Aviation Heritage Museum

Aviation Heritage Museum explores civilian and military aviation through aircraft displays, associated artefacts and guided tours. Its collection includes aircraft recalling Australian airmen’s service and the longer development of aviation in Australia. A Young Aviators area and virtual-reality experience add hands-on dimensions, giving visitors ways to think about flight, engineering and aviation history beyond the aircraft themselves.

2 Bull Creek Drive, Bull Creek, WA 6149. ☎ 08 9311 4470 — Museum enquiries.

🔬 Science, Natural History & Cultural Heritage

WA Museum Boola Bardip

WA Museum Boola Bardip brings together Western Australia’s cultural and natural heritage in permanent exhibitions organised around being Western Australian, discovering Western Australia and exploring the world. Stories of people, places, science and environmental change include the blue whale skeleton in Hackett Hall. Highlights tours, digital guides and learning programs provide several ways into the museum’s large-scale displays.

Perth Cultural Centre, Perth / Boorloo, WA 6000. ☎ 1300 134 081 — Museum reception and visitor enquiries.

📚 Archives & Research Collections

J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History

The Battye Library is the State Library’s documentary-heritage collection for Western Australia. It gathers books, newspapers, maps, ephemera, private archives, photographs, music, oral histories and screen material, supporting local and family-history research as well as broader historical enquiry. Its Private Archives Collection extends more than 3,100 shelf metres, with catalogue and manuscript-note tools helping researchers locate material.

Perth Cultural Centre, 25 Francis Street, Perth, WA 6000. ☎ +61 8 9427 3111 — State Library enquiries.

State Records Office of Western Australia

State Records Office of Western Australia preserves and provides access to government archives through the State Archives Collection. Its online catalogue includes contextual information and digital copies of some archives, while original material can be requested in the Archives Reading Room. The shared research facility with the State Library includes finding aids, microfilm copies of key records and a general Western Australian history research area.

State Library / State Archives, 3rd Floor, 25 Francis Street, Perth Cultural Centre, WA 6000. ☎ 08 9427 3600 — Archives Reading Room and research area.

These places reward different kinds of curiosity: a close look at an object, a walk through a historic building, a search for a family name or a new perspective on the ocean and landscape. Galleries, museums, historical societies and cultural organisations in and around Perth are welcome to add or update their details in this directory, helping more people find the collections and stories held across the region.

⚠️ Accuracy Note: We do our best to keep this information useful and up to date, however details can change over time. If you notice anything that appears incorrect or out of date, please let us know and we will review it. Local business owners and community leaders can also help keep local information accurate by logging in and creating or managing their own listing and useful content on perth.place.