Top Things to do in Yorke Peninsula
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What to do and see in Yorke Peninsula, South Australia: The Best Museums
Discover the best top things to do in Yorke Peninsula, Australia including The Farm Shed Museum, Stansbury Museum, Moonta Mines Museum, Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum, Ardrossan Museum And Information Centre, Edithburgh Museum, Port Victoria Maritime Museum, Ardrossan Historical Museum, Port Wakefield Heritage Museum, Bublacowie Military Museum and Memorial.
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1. The Farm Shed Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 41 reviews
The Farm Shed Museum brings together some of the fascinating developments and practices of dry land farming. You will discover; the way of rural life; a magnificent collection of vintage tractors; a delightful display highlighting women's contribution to farming; fascinating stories about local characters; an impressive display of farming machinery; more than a century of Australia farming history and one of cereal farmings greatest innovations, the stump-jump plough. Visitors will also be delighted by Matta House, a mine manger's residence from the 1860's refurbished in its original location and memories of school days gone by will come alive when you enter the 1950's school house. You will leave with a renewed appreciation of how far farming and society has come.
Reviewed By mike98123
Our 5 year old daughter loved it, lots of exhibits and really well presented. Putt putt mini golf course nearby too.
2. Stansbury Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By jeanm410 - Barmera, Australia
Even though the museum volunteers work restricted hours they are prepared to open by special request. Amazing museum with so much history and interesting collections. Informative and cheap way to spend a few hours.
3. Moonta Mines Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 124 reviews
The museum is located in the former Moonta Mines Model School, erected in 1878. The school remained an active and important centre for the Moonta Mines community for ninety years and closed in 1968. The museum has 15 rooms and houses thematic displays on the Cornish miners' lifestyles - mining, lodges and friendly societies, sports and pastimes, death and hardship, extensive displays of costumes, china, silverware, photographs and memorabilia and a classroom furnished c.1900.
Reviewed By SusanC4948 - Melbourne, Australia
The Moonta Mines Museum consists of the museum itself, a 45 minute train ride at the adjoining Moonta Mines Railway and the self-guided Moonta Mines Walking trails that allow you to explore the geology and mining ruins in the area. We started our visit with the Hughes walk about 650 metres from the complex. It is a heritage walk around the Hughes Engine House and the ruins near it. There is a brochure available online and from the Moonta Mines Museum and Moonta Tourist Office but the walk is well sign-posted. I found the main structures quite evocative and excellent photography subjects. One of the children we know, who visited separately, was enamoured with seeing the “Repunzel” tower. Nearby is the Moonta Mines Uniting Church along Bower St with a Sunday School Museum but the tourist services are currently suspended due to COVID but you can peek in the windows from the steps that take you to the higher storey. The Museum itself in located in fourteen rooms of the old Moonta Mines Model School. I found it a well-structured display of the Moonta miner’s lifestyle. Highlights for me were the mining exhibits at the start, the Cornish heritage, the cartoons and biography of Oswald Prior and, towards the end, the old classroom looking like a small lecture theatre. Another family member found the geology exhibit interesting. The music, death and societies rooms (at the end) were the least engaging but were still presented in a manner that made them interesting. There was a sign saying a photography permit was required but that is only for more professional photography; hand-held no-flash photography was allowed without one. This attraction is run by the National Trust of SA. It was free for us Vic Trust members but $8 for the museum for my sister who used her ticket to come back the same day with her grandchildren. It can close a little early (as the museum did when we visited) or run extra trains (as it did when we visited) depending on availability of volunteers. There is also the Moonta Mines Sweet Shop with old-fashioned and more current sweets but there is always quite a queue not helped by COVID restrictions. My husband finished the museum early and queued for us for over 15 minutes to get our goodies. We were operating on a time limit and weren’t organised enough to take a ride on the train. I think it takes you through similar areas to the also not-taken Ryan’s Walk and Hancock’s Walk. As the museum is open 11:00 am to 4:00 pm school holidays (after Dec 26th) and 1 pm to 4:00pm otherwise I would visit the outside walks in the morning, schedule a train ride (only Wednesdays, Saturday & Sunday unless public / school holidays where more are scheduled (check website for times when planning and be aware that very hot and very wet weather can cause closures)). All-in-all it is a place I will revisit to take the train, the other walks and re-explore the museum again.
4. Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 51 reviews
Reviewed By SusanC4948 - Melbourne, Australia
The SA National Trust runs the Wallaroo Heritage and Nautical Museum. The museum is bigger than it looks from the outside. The main museum building is supplemented with additional buildings holing the nautical and train displays. Their volunteers are very friendly and helpful. At $6 (or free for National Trust members) it is good value. The shop had some interesting books including one on the jetties that abound on the Yorke Peninsula. The museum abounds in local community history and enriched by personal collections and so provides an eclectic mix with the sad story of a poor immigrant who slew a magistrate, a mother who kept the tea set of her young daughter who died, sea shell constructions and a preserved squid intermixed with old telephone equipment, nautical and war displays. It is a bit overcrowded or jam packed (depending on your perspective) so one visit will probably just scratch the surface.
5. Ardrossan Museum And Information Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10 reviews
A Museum of the stump jump plough in the building which originally housed the power plant for the factory where the ploughs were made and a local Information outlet with souvenirs, local art and craft for sale. This outlet is run by friendly local volunteers and is open seven days a week.
Reviewed By sonyad463
Absolutely amazing museum. Fantastic array of history. Plenty of memorable pieces to see and the service also amazing!
6. Edithburgh Museum
7. Port Victoria Maritime Museum
8. Ardrossan Historical Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 8 reviews
Reviewed By lizcasha - Adelaide, Australia
This is a great litle museum with a range of exhibits spanning local history and events. Although the invention of the stump jump plow is a major feature, the museum covers a broader range than this, including fascinating information about local ship wrecks. The volunteer guides, Derek and Joy, were wonderfully friendly and extremely knowledgeable about local history and happy to share their own experiences. All in all, a lovely way to spend some time in Ardrossan
9. Port Wakefield Heritage Museum
10. Bublacowie Military Museum and Memorial
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 8 reviews
Reviewed By Marilyn50
We would never have found this one only for a relative with a holiday house on the Yorke Pen. We easily spent a couple of hours there and Chris spent quite a deal of time with us which was appreciated. My husband is a Vietnam war veteran so found the exhibits very interesting. While, I found the WW2 exhibits interesting from the perspective of South Australia rather than Queensland which I am familiar with. Chris has real community spirit and has spent many years of research and collecting to pull such an amazing collection together. It's not just a war museum, however. There is much more. Old cars, buses, household utensils etc of the past. Excellent and a real surprise given the location.
