Rottnest Island Authority

Rottnest Island Authority

The mission of the Rottnest Island Museum is to acquire, conserve, communicate and exhibit material that demonstrates the significant aspects of Rottnest Island's natural environment, including surrounding waters, and its cultural history for the purpose of study, education and enjoyment.

Address: 
Kitson Avenue, Rottnest Island WA 6161, Australia
Tel: 
+61 08 93729730
Fax: +61 08 93729775
Hours: 
11 am - 4 pm daily (except Christmas Day)
Website: 
http://www.rottnest.wa.gov.au/
Email: 
harriet.wyatt@rottnest.wa.gov.au
Admission: 
By donation
Facilities: 
The Rottnest Island Museum was built by Aboriginal prisoners in 1857 as a hay store and granary. It was part of the original complex of farm buildings built to replace earlier structures destroyed by a fire in 1856. It has a low pitched roof, split beam trusses, thick limestone parapet walls and a long elongated rectangular plan. However, the plan also features a circular area that was designed to accommodate a horse-powered crushing mill.

The whole of Rottnest Island is also often referred to as an open-air museum.
Collection: 

The collection reflects themes on the natural environment, maritime history, transport, the penal establishment, the boys' reformatory, the pilot service, communication, military heritage, agriculture, salt collection, social and family life on the Island, recreational use and the Island's development as a holiday destination. Themes date from the geological formation of the Island to its present day uses. Many of the artefacts in the Museum are on loan from the history and maritime departments of the Western Australian Museum. The Rottnest Island Authority is grateful for their valued assistance. The Rottnest Island Museum also houses a wealth of historical photographs and a research and public reading library.