Popular Museums in the South West Region of Western Australia

Western Australia’s human history goes back for thousands of years, with estimates ranging from 40,000 to 60,000 years. No matter where you venture throughout the South West, you will see signs of our Indigenous Australian heritage, culture, and artwork. This ancient population carved out their lands, hunted in the forests, fished in their amazing waters, worshiped their gods, and used Mother Nature’s resources to create artwork and weave tapestries with handmade techniques that continue to be used today by their modern era descendants. Much of the Margaret River modern culture, and the development of our South West, began over 200 years ago in settlements such as Busselton. All of these historic treasures are on display in our local museums. Pack your interest, bring a big dose of curiosity, and rediscover our wonderful past.

Busselton Museum

The significant value of this museum is its displays and documentation of one of the oldest colonial settlements in Western Australia. The exhibits cover the time period from 1850 to 1940. You get to witness the reenactment of what daily life was like from the start of the Busselton settlement through to the evolution of social, commercial, and maritime changes created by ‘modern’ appliances and health practices.

You’ll learn about how difference civil rules and regulations impacted family life, how the introduction of sewing machines, clocks, and automotive transportation enabled the settlers to upgrade their style of living and to venture outside of the settlement to meet and mingle with neighboring communities.

Bellview Shell Collection (Witchcliffe)

If you are like most of the visitors to Margaret River, you thoroughly enjoy going to the beaches, or swimming in the oceans or waterways, or being out on the water fishing or whale watching. One of the benefits of having so many beaches and shorelines is the opportunity for you to find and collect beautiful, odd shaped, small and large seashells and corals. Of course, you may only find a few to take home as souvenirs, and that means that you’ll miss the chance to see some of the most elaborate pieces gathered from all over the world.

But, just a half hour’s distance from Forest Rise is one of the largest private shell collections anywhere on the globe that is available for public viewing. When it comes to rare and exquisite shells and coral specimens, the Bellview Collection is where they are all on display, in one location.

Berndt Museum of Anthropology (Perth)

Although this museum is not in the South West, we encourage you to visit if you’re travelling through Perth.

This is the only museum in the world where you can emerge yourself in the cultural and artist world of historical Indigenous Australian tribal life. There are more than 10,000 artifacts and over 35,000 photographs taken during anthropological explorations. The museum also houses a large display of ancient and contemporary Aboriginal cultural materials from various regions that include the South West and the Western Desert.

South West Museums

Busselton Museum

Bellview Shell Collection (Witchcliffe)

Berndt Museum of Anthropology (Perth)