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A Guide to Brisbane's Museums

Updated: May 16, 2025

Brisbane and surrounding regions are home to a sizable collection of fascinating museums, from the well-known like Queensland Museum and Museum of Brisbane to medieval, tiny wartime, convict, police and antiquities, as well as maritime, train and tram museums. Here are 20+ that are worth visiting: 

Brisbane Motor Museum
Brisbane Motor Museum
A fantastic trip back in time and must-visit for motoring enthusiasts, located in a massive converted warehouse
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Queensland Museum Kurilpa
Queensland Museum Kurilpa
Queensland Museum, founded in 1862, is the keeper of the state's historical collections dating back to colonial times
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Museum Of Brisbane
This impressive Brisbane City Council owned museum offers an insight into the social history and visual arts of Brisbane.
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Queensland Maritime Museum
Ship in dry dock in the Queensland Maritime Museum
You don’t have to be a ship enthusiast to visit this homey museum, which is well laid out and staffed by mostly ex-naval and maritime workers.
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Macarthur Museum
General Macarthur's office in the Macarthur Museum in Brisbane.
Few who pass the glass doors of MacArthur Chambers Hotel would know that it was from this building that General Douglas MacArthur directed the Allies in holding back the Japanese invasion.
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Commissariat Store Museum
Commissariat Stores building in Brisbane.
Tucked away from the city’s thoroughfares, the convict-built Commissariat Stores are one of only two buildings that survived from the penal settlement.
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Queensland Police Museum
Queensland Police Museum, Brisbane
The Queensland Police Museum is a fascinating secret trove that contains the history of crime, law and order
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Brisbane Tramway Museum
Brisbane Tramway Museum
This fascinating outdoor museum is where you can ride restored Brisbane trams
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SparkLab
SparkLab MDB
Be a scientist at SparkLab, only at Queensland Museum!
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Antiquities Museum
Egyptian mask inside Antiquities Museum in Brisbane.
This fascinating little trove of ancient artefacts belonging to UQ and dating back 4000 years is one of the best kept secrets around.
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Samford District Historical Museum
Samford District Historical Museum, Queensland, History, Rail Trail
Resembling a mini historical village, the Samford Museum holds one of the most extraordinary collections of heirlooms, memorabilia and building styles of late 19th and early 20th century Queensland life to be found
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Fort Lytton Military Museum
People outside ruins at Fort lytton
Housed within the grounds of the 19th century Fort Lytton ruins is the Fort Lytton Military Museum
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Tele Museum

Tucked away in Clayfield, this interesting little museum houses the largest display of historical telecommunications items in Queensland 

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Near Brisbane
Pine Rivers Heritage Museum
Museum building adn entrance.
There’s nothing dusty or musty about this slick little timber building on the edge of the Old Petrie Town car park.
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Redland Museum
Old machines, motorbike and horse carriage inside Redlands Museum in Cleveland.
Behind the plain brick façade of Redland Museum lies a wonderland of memorabilia from the past.
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The Workshops Rail Museum
Vintage train inside The Workshops Rail Museum
Whether you have the slightest interest in things that run on tracks or not, this national treasure of a museum is must-visit.
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Logan Village Museum
Logan Village Museum
Home to thousands of artefacts, the Logan Village Museum is a must-visit destination for all history buffs
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Redcliffe Museum
Exhibit inside Redcliffe Museum
Visitors to this museum will be happily surprised to find a modern well laid out display of the Redcliffe peninsula's 200+ years of European history
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Abbey Museum
Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology provides a unique opportunity to be fully immersed in history for a day
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Beenleigh Historical Village
Beenleigh Historical Village & Museum
Leave the 21st century behind and time travel back to another century at Beenleigh Historical Village, a well-kept secret that which would have to rate as
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Cobb + Co Museum
Cobb + Co Museum, a must visit if in Toowoomba, is home to Australia’s finest collection of horse-drawn vehicles
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Image credit: Tele Museum courtesy of Tele Museum Facebook page.

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