Queensland Museum, Brisbane

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Another area of the Museum I found interesting, was the Boats, & Vehicles area.

My 1st photo is of the Fire Brigade, back in 1866. It is called a Quadricycle, four men rode it, and they pulled a reel of hose behind. This one belonged to the New Farm Fire Brigade.
Hard to imagine them getting to a fire anywhere in time! ......Lucky we have BIG improvement today, with Helicopter's playing a big part in putting out fires!

The 2nd photo is of Bert Hinkler's Plane that is on display here. He was the Australian aviator who made the first solo flight from Britain to Australia in 1928.

He made the flight in a single-engine Avro Avian aircraft in 15 1/2 days!.....this broke 5 aviation records!

The 3rd photo is of a car that was actually produced in Queensland. Unfortunately, it really didn't get off the ground, as after only 3000 being made, the Company went broke, what bad luck!

The 4th photo is of a very small sailing yacht, and would you believe, it holds the WORLD RECORD FOR BEING THE SMALLEST BOAT TO EVER SAIL AROUND THE WORLD. Its name is Acrhoc Australis, and believe me, it is small, how it ever survived the high seas, I will never know, you certainly wouldn't get me on it!

These are just some of the interesting displays, there are many more!

Open 9.30 - 5pm daily

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Want to see what Aborigine's use for spears, collecting their food and more, well visit here, and you will get a good insight into their lives.

If you have never seen Opal in its raw form, well, there are some lovely pieces on display, also some beautifully coloured gem stones.

Ever heard of the delicious tasting seafood, called "Moreton Bay Bug?"
Well, this "Bug" which is found on Australia's north coast is a fairly tasty, expensive delicacy served in many restaurants in Queensland and over Australia. Next time you are enjoying your seafood meal, then you will know what you are eating!

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The Museum is located in Southbank, just a short walk across the river from the Brisbane CBD.

There are many different displays to see here.

Of particular interest to me, was the beautifully coloured Australian Butterflies, such bright colours!

There were Spiders of Australia, and here I saw for the 1st time, the deadly Sydney "Funnel Web" spider, with the Male probably responsible for all recorded deaths (13) and many medically serious bites. Not to be messed with!!

Also, the "White Tailed Spider", another one that is nasty, and can leave you with severe skin ulceration on your body.

There were Snakes, with dead ones in bottles so you could have a closer look, Birds and Animals.
In one section you had to match the informative animal outline with the Animal on display.

This Museum had plenty of interactive displays which the children looking to be enjoying themselves.

OPEN....9.30 - 5pm daily

ADMISSION IS FREE

I must say I am not a fan of this museum. I felt like I'm visiting a jigsaw puzzle as the layouts were all topsy turvy. I wanted to put this under "Tourist Traps" but how could it be a 'trap' when entry is actually free?

One minute I'm navigating through some panels on Outback Living and the Gold Rush, the next instance, I'm going through illustrations on creatures of the deep. Your sense of logic literally gets thrown off. If the museum is going for this, then I must applaud them, for they have done a splendid job of it.

I wormed my way through and quickly lost interest after the first 15 minutes. The next 15 minutes was a blur of exhibits as my mind started to shut down. I can hear the click-click-click going off inside my head. Interest? Off. Curiosity? Off. Patience? Off.

I thought it was a shame, as the Museum does show some glimpses of promise...if someone running it would just take a step back and rethink the identity of the place.

Free admission and you could honestly spend nearly all day here. I recently took Imogen to see the latest Dinosaurs exhibition, and we were there for over 5 hours. There's always a new exhibition happening (for which you have to pay), but if you want to see the general displays, it costs nothing. Fantastic for the young and old!

Queensland Museum is interesting and informative (and free to get in!). It features displays on Science, the environment and human experience which offer a great day out for all the family.