Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre

04/09/2026

After School Activity | Maneki-Neko Craft
Get creative with cool crafts inspired by South West Japan Festival!
Drop in to the Bunbury Museum for some after-school fun and learn about Japanese culture and language, as we celebrate the Sister City relationship between Bunbury and Setagaya, Japan.
📆 Wednesdays, 9 & 16 September
⏰ 3.15pm - 3.45pm

Designed for primary school-aged children (6-12yrs), the activity will have attendees construct and decorate a Maneki-neko (beckoning cat). Originating from the Gotokuji Temple located in the Tokyo ward of Setagaya, Maneki-neko is a symbol of good fortune, wealth, prosperity, and happiness.
➡️ https://vist.ly/5h9hh

While you're at the museum, make sure to check out the Bunbury-Setagaya Biennial Photo Exchange, a cherished tradition between our Sister Cities since 1995. On display from 9-20 September.

03/09/2026

Meet the Collector / Arthur Russell
Did you know one collection started at 15km/h?

Arthur Russell's stubby holder collection began on the job - driving highways for Main Roads and Mainspray, spotting holders tossed from cars along the roadside. His original goal was simple: use every single one. Today, he owns over 2,500.

His favourite says ‘Best Dad Ever’, and another has a family photo on it. These days, as Arthur lives with dementia, the collection has become something more - a source of joy he loves sharing again and again. As his daughter Kylie puts it, “He just lights up when he gets to show us the stubby holder collection. We love to hear Dad's catch cry, "Do you want to see my stubby holder collection?”

Word has spread over the years, with people often dropping off holders and, of course, getting another tour of the famous Stubby Holder Collection.

Meet Arthur and see a small selection of his impressive collection at Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.
Free entry | Open Tues-Sun | 10am - 4pm
📷Bianca Turri Photographer

03/09/2026

📆Mark your calendar!
The Bunbury book launch of Brendan Kelly's latest historical biography, 'Jerry Hart: S*x, Drugs, and Gilbert & Sullivan' is this weekend.
🔗 https://www.bunbury.wa.gov.au/museum/whats-on/events/book-launch-jerry-hart-sex-drugs-and-gilbert-sullivan-tickets-1996539523460

BOOK LAUNCH / Jerry Hart: S*x, Drugs, and Gilbert & Sullivan
Join us for the Bunbury launch of Brendan Kelly's latest historical biography.
📆 Saturday 5 September
⏰11.15am - 12.30pm
📍 Bunbury Museum - Arthur St, Bunbury

Enjoy a lively act of historical recovery that arrives at a critical juncture in WA historiography. Francis Jerome Ernest ‘Jerry’ Hart was once a highly conspicuous, polarising figure in Western Australian public life who subsequently vanished from the state's collective historical memory. Brendan Kelly has unearthed this lost history in his latest book, ‘JERRY HART: S*x & Drugs & Gilbert & Sullivan’.
🔗 https://vist.ly/5erwb

03/09/2026

ON NOW / 40 Years of the South West Opera Company
Last Friday, we celebrated with SWOC at the launch party for the brand new display in The Cloakroom.
'40 Years of the South West Opera Company' explores the story of the company from humble beginnings to award-winning productions and international tours.
Co-curated by SWOC and the Bunbury Museum, the display celebrates the history through costumes, props and photographs.
Make sure you pop into the museum before Sunday 22 November to check out 40 incredible years of South West Opera Company - SWOC

28/08/2026

Meet the Collector / Alan Burdett
Meet Alan Burdett, one of 14 local collectors featured in 'The Collectors' exhibition currently on at Bunbury Museum. Alan's collection of Sheffield cutlery knives began with his parents' bone-handled kitchen set, and grew into a lifelong pursuit of history, craftsmanship, and a few remarkable personal connections along the way.

"My father was given a special pocketknife on leaving David Brown and Sons metal casting factory in the UK to immigrate to WA in 1952. This knife was made by Master pocket knife maker Edward Osborne in 1951. In 1997 I made contact with Stan Shaw [Edward Osborne's apprentice from 1942-1950], a famous knife maker in the UK, and visited him two years later. There I was able to purchase one of his pocket knives, which I treasure along with my father's pocket knife."

Come see a selection of Alan's collection in person at the Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.
Free entry | Open Tues-Sun | 10am - 4pm

27/08/2026

🌳 Family Myths & Trees is officially open!
Every family has a myth, a mystery, or a story half-told. Was Grandpa's medal for bravery? Did an ancestor really strike gold? Is that story about the family surname actually true?

Bunbury Museum has partnered with the Australind Family History Society to help you find out. Submit your family history question, and the team of expert family history researchers will trace your family roots, dig through the archives, and uncover the real story. As part of the project, some of the questions and unearthed findings will be invited to share the story live at a showcase event during Heritage Month 2027.

📅 Submissions open today and close at the end of October 2026.
🌍 Your question can be about anywhere in the world.
💻 Submit your question online, via a printable form, or drop in to the Museum, Australind FHS, or Bunbury/Withers Library for a paper copy.

What's your family mystery?
Learn more and get started ➡️ https://vist.ly/5gax4

26/08/2026

WINTER WARMER / Bunbury Landforms
Go on a journey, billions-of-years in the making, through the dramatic forces that shaped Australia and Bunbury's own backyard with geologist Dr Mike Freeman.
📆 Sunday 30 August 2026
⏰ 1.30pm - 3pm
📍 Bunbury Museum, Arthur Street

Long before Bunbury was a city - before it was even a coastline - the ground beneath our feet was on the move. Join highly experienced, retired geologist Mike Freeman for a sweeping journey through billions of years of dynamic change, from the ancient forces that shaped the Australian continent to the geological story behind the Bunbury we know today.
Massive upheavals, continents fleeing across the globe at breakneck speeds and the immense forces transforming everything in its path, Dr Freeman brings it all to life, revealing how the landscape of our own backyard is the result of remarkable forces almost too vast to imagine.

Free entry, RSVPs are encouraged. Coffee & tea available.
🔗 https://vist.ly/5g6v4

25/08/2026

Apologies for our recent quiet spell, but we've been immersed in a world of imagination, delving into the incredible stories submitted for this year's History's Mysteries Young Writers competition.

From epic chases, grand jail breaks and treacherous sea voyages, we've been utterly captivated by the record number of this year's entries!

Join us for the Awards Night on Thursday, 10 September, from 6pm to 8pm as we announce our winners. Hear the winning stories come to life with live reading!
📅 Thursday 10 September, 6pm - 8pm
📍 Bunbury Museum + Heritage Centre
Thank you to Southern Ports for proudly sponsoring this year's prizes.

Everyone is welcome to this free event. Please RSVP for catering purposes, link below 👇
https://vist.ly/5f2ny

21/08/2026

Meet the Collector / Anna O’Connor
Ever had a hobby become a time capsule?
For Anna O'Connor, it started in Year 4, a new school, and a discovery of the latest craze. “Eager to fit in and certain that Beanie Kids were the only way to do so, I asked for some for Christmas. The rest was history”. Soon she was printing out catalogue pages on her dad's work computer, circling the bears she wanted to track down.
“Beanie hunting became something my dad and I did together, trawling through the ubiquitous racks at toy shops and, for some reason, newsagents, wherever we went to see if they could fill the gaps"

Starting in 2002, interest in Beanie Kids collecting gradually declined as Anna approached adolescence. Migrating from purpose-built shelves in her bedroom to a pile in a corner, and finally to storage boxes that would follow her through her adult life.

"For me, the collection symbolises the relationship I had with my dad as a child. He was always so enthusiastic about supporting our interests and hobbies, going out of his way to learn about them and help us pursue them. My Beanie Kids are a time capsule of one of those shared interests, and that’s why they’re still important to me."

Meet Anna and see her collection at Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.

19/08/2026

WINTER WARMER / The Leschenault Estuary – Shaping Human History
Explore how the Leschenault Estuary has shaped the communities, cultures, and stories of the Bunbury region across time.
📆 Sunday 23 August 2026
⏰ 1.30pm - 3pm
📍 Bunbury Museum, Arthur Street
Presented by Chris Bishop

Bunbury, as we know it, simply wouldn't exist without the Leschenault Estuary. But how much has it shaped the region's human history?
Explore the connection between the Estuary's natural environment and the communities, cultures and ‘sense of place’ that evolved around it. Touching on places like Point Douro, the lower Collie River, Turkey Point, Little, Princep and Belvidere, The Cut, and the rich traditions of Noongar culture, Chris brings to life a series of local vignettes illustrating the idea that where we live shapes who we are, and that the history of a place is inseparable from the landscape that holds it.

Free entry, RSVPs are encouraged. Coffee & tea available.
🔗 https://vist.ly/5fcd6