PORT ALBERT MARITIME MUSEUM
Gippsland’s Regional Maritime Museum
There could be few places better credentialed to hou
se 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, reputedly as much as 1,000 ounces every week.
One of the key exhibits tells the story of the loss of the CLONMEL, a timber paddle steamer wrecked near the entrance to Port Albert, along with details of some of the other 23 ships lost nearby.
You’ll be intrigued by the display of an original Breeches Buoy Rocket Lifesaving system which 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.
Please check our Facebook Page for COVIDNormal Opening Hours.
Once out of “COVIDNormal” status we should return to our broader opening hours of:
7 Days 10am-4pm September-May
Sat-Sun 10am-4pm June-August
Families $10, Adults $10, Concession $6, U16 $2. (Note: Family consists of up to 2 adults and up to 3 children. 2 adults can be considered a family without any children
78 Tarraville Rd, Port Albert VIC 3971
(03)5183 2520
