Australian Museum

The Australian Museum is a natural history institution at the corner of William Street and College Street in Sydney and holds over 21 million scientific specimens in a building with a neoclassical facade. Rooms spread across several floors and include permanent exhibitions on fossils, marine life, mammals and First Nations culture.

Henry Bathurst founded the institution in 1845 following the model of European collections and organized an exchange of specimens with institutions in London and Paris. During the 20th century several renovations expanded the exhibition areas and adapted the building to modern conservation standards.

The mineral collection displays over 400 native gemstones from different Australian mining regions and connects geological research with traditional stoneworking craft. Many visitors pause before the large display cases holding rare opals and crystal formations.

Galleries open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and provide wheelchair-accessible routes on all floors. Visitors planning to see the skeleton collection and marine rooms should allow at least two hours.

Staff coordinate the FrogID project, in which people across Australia record frog calls and send them to a central archive. This community-based method has helped researchers map the distribution of over 240 amphibian species and detect threats early.

Location: New South Wales

Inception: 1845

Founders: Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst

Architectural style: Neoclassical architecture

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible

Fee: No

Address: 1 William Street Sydney NSW 2010

Opening Hours: Holidays,Monday-Sunday 10:00-17:00

Phone: +61293206000

Website: https://australian.museum

GPS coordinates: -33.87430,151.21300

Latest update: December 20, 2025 01:37