Yilgarn History Museum

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A meeting place between the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt

A visit to the Yilgarn Museum is a journey through the history of Southern Cross, which is sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Goldfields region. The museum building is the original courthouse and Mining Registrar’s Office. In fact the main Goldfields claims which sparked the goldrush were lodged at this Mining Registrar’s Office. In a museum in the Goldfields, you would expect a rock and mineral collection, and this one certainly delivers. There is a gold mining pavilion and an agricultural pavilion which houses a rare camel wagon used during the gold rush in the 1890s. The Museum also includes some very quirky items like the Icyball refrigerator and a rare birth caul. There is also an extensive collection of old Shire documents.

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Address:

26 Antares Street
Southern Cross WA 6426
Australia

Tel:

0437 530 848 or
0412 053 830

Email:

rosesj@westnet.com.au
Stevensrobin13@yahoo.com

Opening Hours

Mon 9.30 - 11.30am & 1.30 - 3.30pm; By appointment Tuesday; Wed to Thurs 9.30 - 11.30am; Fri 12 - 4pm; By appointment Saturday 10.30am-3.30pm Sunday

Armchair

Gelignite chair

A great example of making-do, these armchairs were made from old gelignite boxes by David Woodberry for his wife in 1950. They were used in their main bedroom in Mt Magnet and relocated to Southern...

Sugar scuttle and trophy

A sweet trophy

Silverware like this scuttle and shovel from 1905 was placed on the table to hold and serve sugar. They are called scuttles after the shape of coal buckets or scuttles. Coal buckets were common in...

The “Civic” pipe

Showcase

Mr Ken Beaton donated this tobacco pipe display to the Museum in 1978. It is thought to have come from Harry Traver’s Tobacconist and Billiard Saloon, which operated in Southern Cross, as a one-stop...

Laverton Outback Gallery

Aboriginal art from Laverton and the Western Desert region

In this gallery you will find artworks, paintings, digging sticks, carvings, weavings and crafts by artists from the surrounding regions, including the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Well known weavers in the...

Albert Facey Homestead

A Fortunate Life

Visit the original humble homestead of Albert Facey, author of Australian classic autobiography, A Fortunate Life. The homestead is right in the heart of Wickepin and forms a key feature of the 58km...

Esperance Museum

The largest museum collection outside Perth

You will need more than one visit to take in this impressive collection. The museum is a short stroll from the foreshore, in a historic railway building. Get lost in the large collection of items...

Balladonia Heritage Museum

A museum located near the ‘Ninety mile straight’.

Located in a roadhouse, this little museum has items and information about Ngadju and Mirning people. It also covers the early settler history at Balladonia station, Skylab, an around Australia car...