Horse Drawn Transport
The Museum, consists of an historic post office (1890), a early and later period school buildings, pioneer's cottage and a bark hut. Lewis Lasseter (of fabled gold reef fame) - story of his activities in the district. His work boat is on display at the Museum. Displays deal with local history - from the discovery of gold, followed by timber getting, then dairying. As the area developed into a thriving community.Approximately 800 artefacts and 2000 photographs, and 100 documents
The museum is accredited under the Victorian Museum Accreditation Program. It operates the original Ballarat Vintage Tramway system within the Botanical Gardens Reserve. Its aims are to conserve, display and maintain the various tramway artifacts in order to create a living reminder of Ballarat's past. The collection consists of 16 trams, some of which operate over 1.31km of track along Wendouree Parade. A display and sales area are located at the depot, which also houses the museum's archives and collection. Access to the collection can be arranged during opening hours. School charters with...
The Museum's Aboriginal name translates as "home of yesterday". It is housed in a bluestone and brick building built in 1874. Displays, including many photographs, dressed models, clothing and farm machinery, reflect the gold mining rush of 1856. The Mooney and Charles Best collections of Aboriginal artefacts are also featured, the Mooney collection being on loan from the City of Ararat.Approximately 4000 items, plus 1000 photographs