Western Australian Maritime Museum
See historic boats and modern ships, learn about Western Australia’s busy ports, hear stories about shipwrecks and fishing adventures and step aboard a submarine.
The Western Australian Maritime Museum is part of Perth’s Western Australia Museum, but is located in Fremantle, a port city 30-minutes’ drive southwest. The maritime complex on the coastline of the Indian Ocean celebrates the state’s impressive seafaring history. Browse galleries filled with artifacts, from shipwrecks and leisure boats to racing yachts, and learn gripping stories about overseas trade and naval missions.
Check out the Fremantle Harbour exhibit to learn about the state’s enormous shipping industry. Since the museum is on the spot where thousands of English immigrants first set foot Down Under, you will also learn about Australia’s “10-pound Poms.”
Explore the Indian Ocean collection with replica boats and tools to understand the tribes that have sailed the waters for thousands of years. You’ll learn about the techniques they developed, their trading practices and how they interacted with each other.
Move on to the Cargoes gallery to read up on the immense mineral and agricultural exports that boost the state’s economy.
Be amazed by the fish traps of the first Australians, the Aboriginal people. Learn about Fremantle’s South European fishing community at the Hooked on Fishing exhibit. Make your way over to the Swan River galleries to admire some of the first ships that navigated its turquoise waters.
Visit the Naval Defence galleries to see sea mines, torpedoes and other artifacts from Australia’s maritime conflicts. Outside, tour the HMAS Ovens, an Oberon class submarine.
It’s worth the short walk to the Shipwrecks gallery on Cliff Street, which you can enter by voluntary donation. The gallery is also part of the West Australian Museum. Examine the remnants of Dutch trading ships, such as the early 17th-century vessel Batavia. The crew’s mutiny ended in disaster and their survival story is astonishing.
The Maritime Museum, with café, is down by the waterside at Victoria Quay in Fremantle, about 13 miles (22 kilometers) from central Perth. Pay to park, or take public transport. The museum is open daily, except major public holidays. There is an admission charge but every second Tuesday of the month you can get in by voluntary donation.
Victoria Quay, Peter Hughes Dr, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia | View Google Map