MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
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Tropical North Queensland is much more than pristine beaches, scuba diving or birdwatching. There is a wide variety of museums and art galleries to visit, ranging from aircrafts collections, dinosaur displays, mining gear or historical artifacts. Nearly every town in North Queensland has a museum worth checking, and in this page we have gather them all together to save you the trouble of having to search for them. Enjoy them!!!
WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER AN EXTENSIVE LIST OF THE BEST MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES THAT TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND OFFERS. THE LIST IS UPDATED REGULARLY AS WE DISCOVER EVEN THE MOST HIDDEN ONES.
CAIRNS AND SURROUNDS MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES
CAIRNS MUSEUM
Corner of Shields and Lake Streets
Phone (07) 4051 5582, Fax (07) 4051 5586
www.cairnsmuseum.org.au
Located on the corner of Shields and Lake Streets, the Cairns Museum is housed in the historic Old School of Arts Building. The museum showcases a number of collections, and features a wide array of material that illustrates the development of the city of Cairns into the cosmopolitan city that it is now. A gift shop, selling a wide selection of historical books and souvenirs, is also housed in the museum.
It opens from 10:00am to 4:00pm from Monday to Saturday and after hours by appointment. A small entry fee is charged: $5 for adults, $2 for school children and $12 for a family of 2 adults and children under 17.
CAIRNS REGIONAL ART GALLERY
Corner of Abbott and Shields Streets
Phone (07) 4046 4800, Fax (07) 4031 6410
www.cairnsregionalgallery.com.au
The Cairns Regional Art Gallery is located right in the heart of Cairns, in a two storey heritage building, and is North Queensland's only visual art museum. For more than 10 years, Cairns Regional Art Gallery has been documenting and presenting history, heritage and contemporary culture of North Queensland through the visual arts, craft and design. Housing exhibitions of fine arts from major Australian and international collections, including the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, the gallery also organises tours for the general public on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
The Gallery is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm, and Sundays and public holidays from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. It is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday. There is an admission fee of $5.
CENTRE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
96 Abbott Street
Phone (07) 4050 9401 / Fax (07) 4050 9409
www.coca.org.au
The Centre of Contemporary Arts is home to three arts companies: JUTE, a professional theatre company; KickArts, a contemporary visual arts company; and the End Credits Film Club. Together, their ever-changing artistic and educational programs continue to inspire, surprise and entertain. The KickArts galleries are open to the public from 10am until 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and admission is free.
KickArts Contemporary Arts is the leading contemporary visual arts organisation in regional Queensland and one of the most innovative in the state. Based in Cairns, KickArts is dedicated to facilitating and promoting contemporary arts and extending the experience and cultural life of northern Australians and the 2.2 million annual visitors to Cairns.
PETER LIK PHOTOGRAPHY
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KURANDA MUSEUMS
DOONGAL ABORIGINAL ART & ARTEFACTS
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IAN STEPHENS FINE ART GALLERY
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ATHERTON TABLELANDS MUSEUMS
THE CRYSTAL CAVES AND FASCINATING FACETS
69 Main Street, Atherton
Phone (07) 4091 2365 / Fax (07) 4091 3285
www.crystalcaves.com.au
Home of the World's biggest amethyst geode!
Crystal Caves is a fascinatingly crafted mineralogical museum. Explore a labyrinth of caves on 2 levels over 250 square metres to discover spectacular and colourful natural crystals, ancient fossils, and rare delicate minerals. You will be given a miners helmet and your adventure begins! Venture into the man made cave system, which offers an amazing labyrinth of gemstone, crystals and fossils studded into the walls.
What began with one man's passion is now Australia's most spectacular mineralogical collection, attracting more than 25,000 visitors annually. The mineralogical world is as much a part of nature as the rainforest and the reef, and René Boissevain, and his wife Nelleke would like to share the beauty of this spectacular collection that they have travelled the world to collect since 1963.
HOU WANG TEMPLE
86 Herberton Road, Atherton
Phone (07) 4091 6945 / Fax (07) 4091 6946
www.houwang.org.au
The Hou Wang Temple was the social and religious heart of Atherton's Chinese community. Apart from the temple itself, there was also a community hall, kitchen and a pig oven. People gathered here to worship, celebrate festivals and discuss community issues.
Nowadays, it is the only remaining structure of the original town. It is highly significant as a rare example of temples in overseas Chinese settlements. This unique building houses elaborate carvings and has an intriguing past. The site and temple were bought by a number of Chinese families who donated it to the National Trust in 1979. It is the only temple outside China known to be dedicated to HOU WANG, and is the only surviving timber and iron temple in Queensland. The Temple contains a substantial number of original artifacts. The Chinese were pioneers of agriculture in North Queensland and, as such, played an important role in opening up the Atherton area for settlement.
THE HUB CHILLAGOE
Queen Street, Chillagoe (MAP)
Phone (07) 4094 7111 / Fax (07) 4094 7122
www.chillagoehub.com.au
Home of the ancient reefs of the Outback.
The first stop for any visitor to Chillagoe intent on experiencing all that the area has to offer is the Hub. The interior walls of the Hub are home to an amazing interpretive display where the story of Chillagoe's amazing past comes to life. Enter and an astounding geological story unfolds, one that tells of long lost seas and ancient coral reefs which teemed with fabulous creatures that have long since passed into oblivion. Remarkably, the remnants of this ancient Great Barrier Reef have been preserved in the form of the countless limestone bluffs which surround Chillagoe.
The Hub is the Central co-ordinating office for the National Park Cave Tours and is a one stop shop for interpretation of the area and the sale of Cave Tour Tickets to the 3 World Class Cave Tours:- Donna Cave 9.00am, Trezkinn Cave 11.00am, and the Royal Arch Cave 1.30pm. Bookings are essential.
TOLGA WOODWORKS
Tolga (MAP)
Phone (07) 4095 4488 / Fax (07) 4095 4589
www.tolgawoodworks.com.au
Artisans in wood!
The wonderful aroma of hewn wood greets you as you enter Tolga Woodworks Gallery.
The stunning range of gallery pieces on display include the work of artisans in timber, metal, glass, clay, gold, silver, pewter, leather, silk, linen and wool. The work is of excellent quality, with craftsmanship, style and imagination. On most days the craftsmen can be seen in the adjoining factory, working with timbers unique to North Queensland; Red Cedar, Queensland Maple, Silky Oak, Sassafras and Eucalypt burl.
Exquisite leather boxes in various colours, hand painted silk scarves, Aboriginal art, contemporary art, prints, cards and books, make Tolga Woodworks the best gallery and studio workshop on the Atherton Tablelands. This is food for the soul, come and enjoy the talent and imagination of our artisans.
LOUDOUN HOUSE MUSEUM
Post Office Street, Irvinebank
Phone (07) 4096 4020
Built in 1884, the Loudoun House Museum is the former home of John Moffat, Queensland's greatest mining entrepreneur. The house is also the oldest high set timber and corrugated iron (QUEENSLANDER STYLE) house in the north. Nowadays converted into a museum, the house provides an insight into the town's past, as well as a display of an important mineral collection and a very extensive collection of photographs, depicting the town and life from the early years of the last century.
Open seven days a week, except Good Friday and Christmas Day, from 10.00am to 4:00pm.
EACHAM HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Situated in the Main Street of Millaa Millaa, this small museum contains aboriginal artefacts, household memorabilia relative to pioneering days, and items pertaining to the timber and dairying industries and alluvial gold mining.
The Museum is a great educational facility and is regularly visited by groups of school children and their teachers. It is run by volunteers, so opening times vary, but it is usually open mornings from 9:30am till noon. To find out current opening times, please phone (07) 4097 2147. Free entry.
CASSOWARY COAST MUSEUMS
AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY MUSEUM
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OUTBACK MUSEUMS
OUTBACK AT ISA
19 Marian Street, Mount Isa
Phone (07) 4749 1555 or 1300 659 660 / Fax (07) 4743 6296
www.outbackatisa.com.au
Outback at Isa is a major tourism precinct in the centre of Mount Isa - a fantastic home base for travellers discovering the Queensland Outback. Don't miss on this fabulous attraction and visit attractions such as the Hard Times Mine, an artificial mine constructed using the mining techniques of the region.
A wide variety of tours are provided to suit everybody's tastes, including breakfast, lunch and dinner tours. After being shown around, you will enjoy a meal in the 'crib' room just like the miners do! And if you choose the Dinner Under Isa, be prepared to be entertained with the stories the miners will tell you while you enjoy a three course meal.
TERRESTRIAL
Low Street, Georgetown (MAP)
Phone (07) 4062 1485
www.terrestrialgeorgetown.com.au
The Ted Elliott Mineral Collection!
Terrestrial means 'of the earth' and as such provides a ready name for TerrEstrial Georgetown and the extensive mineral collection, TerrEstrial - the Ted Elliott Mineral Collection.
A local collection of over 4,500 mineral specimens was opened to the public in early 2003. Named TerrEstrial, this collection is the work of one man, and houses the Ted Elliott mineral collection, a myriad of fascinating colours and shapes from the region and throughout the world. The Centre also provides up to date tourist information and is a fully accredited yellow 'i' Visitor Information Centre. You can make bookings to visit nearby attractions, view artwork, use the internet café and relax in the cool building.
RIVERSLEIGH FOSSILS CENTRE
"Only in one or two places on the surface of our planet, in the course of the last three thousand million years, have conditions been just right to preserve anything like a representative sample of the species living at any particular time. Those places are the rare treasure houses of palaeontology. Riversleigh is one of them."Sir David Attenborough.
Riversleigh is located 340 kilometres north west of Mount Isa and since 1984 has been part of the Lawn Hill National Park. Fossils discovered at Riversleigh include bones and teeth of extinct prehistoric animals such as lungfish, frogs, crocodiles, huge flightless birds, marsupials, turtles, snakes, lizards, tiny bats, rats and even insects and other arthropods, that go back to as far as 15 or 20 million years. The site was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1994 as representing a major stage of the earth's evolutionary history, and an outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
The Riversleigh Fossils Interpretive Centre was built to showcase the incredible fossils discovered at the Riversleigh Station.
RICHMOND MOON ROCKS
If you're in for something different, then you must see the Lions Park Monument, located in Richmond. The monument is made of different shaped limestone rocks that have been positioned one on top of each other. The rocks are a local phenomenon known as 'moon rocks', very heavy rocks that can weigth a few tonnes each, and often have fossillised remains of shells and fish inside.
Opened in 1976 to celebrate the sealing on the Flinders Highway, the monument resembles the sort of plasticine model made by a pre-school kid. Also in Lions Park there is an old 'flood boat', used to shift provisions across the river when it was flooded.
BARRAMUNDI DISCOVERY CENTRE
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FLINDERS DISCOVERY CENTRE AND DINOSAUR DISPLAY
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PORT DOUGLAS AND DAINTREE MUSEUMS
DAINTREE DISCOVERY CENTRE
Cnr Cape Tribulation and Tulip Oak Roads, Cow Bay
Phone (07) 4098 9171
Open every day except Christmas Day, from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Entry fee applies (concessions available).
This award-winning world class interpretive facility, offers visitors the opportunity to learn about and explore the rainforest in Far North Queensland, one of the few remaining unspoiled stretches of lowland through boardwalk tours, a 23 metre high Canopy Tower, Aerial Walkway and comprehensive Display Centre.
At the Display Centre the visitor will have access to a wide range of information through touch screen displays, easy to use and entertaining for the whole family. Visitors to the Audio Visual Theatre can choose from a wide selection of DVD's that provide a comprehensive insight into the rainforest, inaccessible to the public until very recently. But not everything is computerised. Visitors can also venture into the forest via the four hundred metres of timber boardwalks, the Elevated Rainforest Boardwalks, and from there follow some of the circuits and trails such as the Cassowary Circuit or the Bush Tucker Trail.
DAINTREE TIMBER GALLERY
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DAINTREE ENTOMOLOGICAL MUSEUM
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COOKTOWN
JAMES COOK MUSEUM
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COOKTOWN SEA MUSEUM
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TOWNSVILLE & MAGNETIC ISLAND MUSEUMS
REEF HQ
2-68 Flinders Street, Townsville
Phone (07) 4750 0800 / Fax (07) 4772 5281
email link coming soon
website link coming soon
Open from 9:30am to 5:00pm, seven days a week except Christmas Day.
Reef HQ, the world's largest living coral reef aquarium, is not only a uniquely North Queensland attraction, it is the education centre for the Great Barrier Reef and a 'must see' for both locals and visitors to the region.
Reef HQ is the place to see many underwater species that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef. Whether you want to see how animals are fed, learn a bit more about the corals and creatures that live in the Reef, talk to a diver while sharks are surrounding him or observe how the aquarium is maintained, there is something for everyone.
NORTH QUEENSLAND MILITARY MUSEUM
Jezzine Barracks, North Ward, Townsville
Phone / Fax(07) 4771 1098
home.st.net.au/~dunn/museums/nqmm.htm
In 1979 a committee was formed to refurbish the old battery at Fort Kissing Point in Townsville as a Military Museum known as the North Queensland Military Museum. It was opened on 12 June 1980 to display artifacts relevant to colonial years, World War 1, the inter-war years and World War 2.
The Museum is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9.00am to 12.00 noon, and Sunday, from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Guided tours can be organised if 24 hours notice is given.
AQUASEARCH AQUARIUM
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RAAF TOWNSVILLE MUSEUM
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BURDEKIN SHIRE MUSEUMS
AYR NATURE DISPLAY
119 Wilmington Street, Ayr
Phone (07) 4783 2189
One of Ayr's most unique attractions, the Ayr Nature Display exhibits an unusual collection of native fauna, butterflies, rocks and shells, with more than 60,000 species on display; a focal point at the centre of the Display is a colourful rock wall made from 9,400 pieces of Queensland rock.
BURDEKIN THEATRE COMPLEX
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BOWEN HISTORICAL MUSEUM
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