PORT ALBERT
MARITIME MUSEUM
78 Tarraville Rd, Port Albert VIC 3971
(03) 5183 2520
portalbertmaritimemuseum@gmail.com
Normal Opening Hours
Thu-Mon 10am-4pm
Please check our Facebook Page for updates on opening hours.
Groups
Depending on the availability of volunteers, we will open outside of our main hours for Group Bookings. Please contact David Dickson on 0418424192 for group bookings.
ADMISSION
Families $10, Adults $8, Concession $6, Children U16 $2
For group rates please enquire. We can offer Morning or Afternoon Tea and will provide tables & chairs for lunch if you organise catering from a local Port Albert business. Again, please enquire for details.
Welcome To Port Albert Maritime Museum
There could be few places better credentialed to house a first-class maritime museum than Port Albert on Victoria’s South Gippsland coast.
From Gunaikurnai origins, the arrival of European settlers in 1841 establishing a port servicing pastoralists and later the Gippsland goldfields, the rise and fall of the local fishing industry, right up to the OMEGA satellite navigation station at Woodside and present-day Bass Strait oil exploration, all is on display at the museum.
The moment you enter and see the restored 1.3-metre-high lens from the Cape Liptrap lighthouse and a cannon used at the Cliffy Island Light Station to sound fog warnings to shipping, you know you could easily while away hours.
The 1861 bank’s former vault houses a Gippsland goldfields display in the very room which stored bullion from strikes at places like Omeo and Walhalla awaiting shipment from Port Albert.
You’ll be intrigued by the display of an original Breeches Buoy Rocket Lifesaving system that went into service in Port Albert in 1871, described by the prestigious Smithsonian as one of only a few intact examples to be found anywhere in the world.
There’s an extensive Navigation & Communications display covering everything from hand-held Sextants, the establishment of Port Albert’s Pilot Service in 1900, early coastal radio technology, port & channel markers and modern satellite navigation aids.
Outdoor exhibits include restored work boats, the original Port Albert wharf crane, anchors, and the Citadel Island light, Australia’s first automatic acetylene light installed in 1913 on a rocky islet off Wilson’s Promontory.
Our Collection
Our collection focuses on the Maritime, Indigenous and Local History of Gippsland, in particular Port Albert.
Currently we house in excess of 1,000 artefacts, 10,000 photos and illustrations, 10,000+ books, pamphets and document collections.
Click on the links below for posts on some aspects of our collection. These posts will grow over time so please check back every now and then.
Maritime
Local History
Indigenous
Archives
We have an extensive range of photos, documents and books in our archives relating to local history and early maritime activities in Gippsland. We are in the process of converting our catalogue system for online access and are optimistic this will happen by the end of 2022. In the meantime, click on this link to submit a request for us to search for information in our archives or to make a booking to visit for research.
Merchandise
To help raise funds for the museum, we sell a range of retro toys, giftware and books.
These are all available at very reasonable prices from the museum.
If you wish to order online, please click on the link below to see more details on our range and how to purchase online – ONLINE ORDERING AVAILABLE SOON
Volunteering
The Port Albert Maritime Museum is solely run by volunteers, from the person who greets visitors at the door to the committee of management.
By joining us you will work in an engaging, collaborative, supportive and safe working environment. We aspire to make the volunteer experience an enjoyable and rewarding one, providing professional and ongoing training and development throughout the year.
MORE INFORMATION
Supporting the Museum
We invite you to become involved with the Museum in a number of ways, such as a volunteer, joining as a member, through general financial donations and in-kind support, donating artefacts to our collection, making a bequest or through sponsorships for specific projects.
The Museum is a registered charity and tax deductible recipient.
NEW
Alberton Cemetery
The picturesque Alberton Cemetery is one of Victoria’s oldest and most historically significant graveyards. Commissioner Charles Tyers surveyed the site in 1846 however, the first recorded burial at the cemetery was that of Robert McClure who died in 1842. Folklore...
Port Albert – The Oldest Port
Long isolated by steep forested mountain ranges to the east and north, swamps to the west and an inhospitable coastline the Gippsland area was bypassed by early European explorers. Unknown to Tasman as he sailed south, around Van Diemen’s land in 1642, merely sighted...