Best places: Heritage museums in Australia

Large, old penitentiary providing interactive cultural exhibits on convict life, tours & a cafe.

Museum of aviation featuring vintage military planes, crash artifacts & multimedia exhibits.

History museum of civilian & military aviation featuring 30 aircrafts, many artefacts & a gift shop.

Australian aircraft museum offering history exhibits & a collection of restored historic planes.

This huge former convict settlement built in the 18th & 19th century is a popular historic landmark.

Site of an old mine with a museum & education center teaching about the area's industrial past.

Former prison providing a glimpse into the lives of convicts & orphans who dwelt there in the 1800s.

One of the country's longest continuously operating prisons, with history & ghost tours & a museum.

Expansive, modern gallery for Jewish history exhibits, tours, book signings & a kosher cafe.

👍👍 Very cool planes and a lot of information about them. Cafe and gift shop at entrance. Needs pass which you need to acquire at the start, simple process. Very friendly staff, no complaints about anything really. Very nice hangers and wow these planes are huge compared to what they look like in the ai...

👍👍 Just wow - great place for lunch, morning or afternoon tea!! It is completely free to enter and so much local history on display. If you are passing through Mareeba - then this is an absolute must do!!

Interactive museum in a state-of-the-art building with 5 galleries charting outback heritage.

Theatre productions and art exhibitions in a large, smart venue with a cafe and a sculpture park.

Site featuring a 19th-century fort & surrounding park, with guided tours & history-oriented shows.

The oldest surviving home in the area, this 1846 house offers a museum with historical collections.

👍👍 So much to see and do. Had a blacksmith demonstration while we were there. Clean tidy well labelled old stuff even had information how some things worked. Had a old school telephone you could talk to a friend on.

👍👍 THE BEST experience was had by my plane loving son. The awesome men today gave an informed and heartfelt tour to my boy. Their knowledge and the way they pass it on is second to none. I can't thank you guys enough. Such a variety of plane's. Your kindness shown today will not be forgotten. My son ha...

👍👍 See and experience trams from Sydney's past. It was $20 for an adult to enter and this includes unlimited tram rides. On the day I went there were 2 different trams running and you could choose to ride one to the National Park, or to Sutherland (or both!). There is also a large hall showcasing hist...

Recreated town & lumber camp on 11 hectares, with period buildings, a visitor centre & gift shop.

Waterside complex with several climb-aboard historic vessels plus photographs, artefacts & models.