In a digital age where authenticity is at a premium, the Western Australian Museum’s natural, social and cultural history collections have never been more important as an avenue for exploring the past and looking to the future. Explore the diversity and creativity through the Museum’s displays and special exhibitions, events and activities.
Fremantle Prison is one of Western Australia’s premier cultural heritage sites and tourist attractions. Built by convicts in the 1850s, Fremantle Prison was used as a place of incarceration for 136 years before being decommissioned as an operating maximum security gaol in 1991. The empty prison with its solitary cells and gallows is a monument to a system of punishment that is uncomfortably recent. Visitors can ‘step inside and do time’ with Fremantle Prison’s experienced guides on a range of fascinating tours.
Renowned as having one of the finest music acoustics in the Southern hemisphere Perth’s Concert Hall is located in the city centre. The Concert Hall is an example of brutalist architecture, with its solid opaque interior, giant projecting roof, and use of white off-form concrete. The auditorium features a specially commissioned 3000-pipe organ surrounded by a 160-person choir gallery and an audience seating capacity of 1,729.
The outstanding Aquarium of Western Australia surrounds you with all the fishy creatures of the Southern Ocean. Innovative underwater tunnels and walkways get you up close and personal with the turtles, fish, sharks and rays swimming overhead. If you dare you can scuba dive with sharks in the Shipwreck Coast feature aquarium.