Sail Away to the Western Australian Maritime Museum

Details: Written by: Nita Teoh; Category: Arts & Culture; Published: 09 December 2008

Western Australian Maritime Museum
Victoria Quay,
Fremantle

Phone: 9431 8334

Opening Hours:
9:30am to 5pm daily

HMAS Submarine Ovens tour:
10am and then every half hour to 3:30pm. Last tour finishes at 4:30pm

Entry Fee:
$10 entry fee to the museum
$8 for the Submarine Ovens tour
$15 combined entry fee for museum and a guided tour of the Submarine Ovens

Sail Away to the Western Australian Maritime Museum

If you are planning a trip to the port city of Fremantle, make sure you visit the Western Australian Maritime Museum at Victoria Quay. It is hard to miss this distinctive building built in late 2002 whose boat like structure appears to have stranded itself on land. Once inside the building, one can feel a close affinity to the water as the floor to ceiling glass windows provide a sweeping view out to the harbour and the ocean.

Fremantle is steeped in history and the Museum is a great place to learn the stories about life in the heyday of this once thriving port city. The City of Fremantle was established in 1829 as a port for the Swan River colony and was once the major city in Western Australia in its earlier days.

The Museum has an interesting range of exhibits whose themes change frequently and the interactive displays are always fun for a hands-on experience.

The Submarine Ovens tour is well worth a visit. The Oberon class submarine HMAS Ovens served for 26 years from 1969 to 1997 with the Royal Australian Navy. Thereafter, it was decommissioned and gifted to the Museum in 1998.

Volunteer guide including navy officers who have previously served on the submarine provide interesting facts about the submarine as well as relate their personal stories about life on the submarine. Just a word of caution, if you suffer from claustrophobia, there are some parts of the submarine tour which require you to walk through some tight spots.

How to get there:

The WA Maritime Museum is located at Victoria Quay, Fremantle.

Head to the Perth Central Station and catch the train from Perth to Fremantle. Fremantle is the last stop along the Perth to Fremantle line.

The Fremantle train station is walking distance to the Museum. Once you exit the Fremantle train station through the main entrance, take a right turn along Phillimore Street and keep walking till you reach the main entrance of the Victoria Quay. At Victoria Quay, head left past the E Shed markets and towards the western end of the Quay to Berth A. You should be able to spot a very modern looking glass building from the distance. This building is the home of the Western Australian Maritime Museum.

Coming Up:

Photos of WA Maritime Museum

Fremantle Round House

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