History and heritage

City and city fringe

Queensland Museum - The Queensland Museum, located in the cultural hub of South Brisbane, is an innovative and stimulating museum of science, environment and human experience. Enthral yourself in amazing, one-of-a-kind encounters with Australian and international history.
Queensland Maritime Museum - Take a voyage of discovery through the exhibition galleries and trace our maritime history from the days of the early navigators to the present day. See how divers worked on the seabed before the invention of SCUBA gear. Take a tour of the HMAS Diamantina - a Royal Australian Navy frigate built in Queensland and commissioned in 1945. See the cramped quarters in which the crew slept and ate their meals. At the wharf see the powerful steam tug SS Forceful, built in 1925 and now preserved as a working vessel making regular trips down the Brisbane River to Moreton Bay.
Museum of Brisbane - Located in the CBD on the ground floor of the City Hall, Museum of Brisbane specialises in social history. Museum of Brisbane is open 7 days a week from 10am - 5pm and admission is free. New exhibitions are displayed throughout the year and there's a great gift shop (MoB Store) where you can buy unique, locally made souveniers of Brisbane.
Customs House - This Brisbane heritage icon and beautifully restored building is on the river in the CBD. Take a guided tour through this historic building and capture a glimpse of years gone by. Be educated about Australian culture by this Brisbane and Queensland Tourism Award winner. There is also a restaurant. You can choose to sit inside what was once part of the Queen’s warehouse or outside overlooking the river.
Brisbane Libraries - Explore Brisbane's many libraries where you can read, research, browse the web, watch a movie, listen to music and much more.
St John’s Anglican Cathedral - It's taken over one hundred years but construction of the world's last Gothic Cathedral is almost complete on Brisbane's St John's Cathedral with two spires added in March 2008. See Australia's only stone-vaulted ceiling and the stunning interior when visiting the historic precinct on Ann Street. You can also take a guided tour.
Brisbane’s wartime history is reflected in specialised war museums and many war memorials.

For more information about Brisbane's historic locations be sure to visit Brisbane's Living Heritage Network.

Further afield - Greater Brisbane Regions

Half day

Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology (45 minutes north of downtown Brisbane) - The Abbey Museum has won international acclaim for the quality of its displays and the scope of its collections. Tucked away in Caboolture, it is home to a priceless collection of antiquities and fine arts from around the world. Among other interesting discoveries, explore the exciting history of Western Europe over the last half million years to the present day.
Vintage Aussie Movies (35 minutes north of downtown Brisbane) - Redcliffe Picture Palace, Sutton Street, Redcliffe, features early footage and newsreel and a display of antique film equipment. Tel: 07 3889 3011
Antique Airways (35 minutes north of downtown Brisbane) - Lets you fly over Redcliffe and Moreton Bay in a classic tiger moth. Flights depart from the Redcliffe Aero Club, 1 Wirraway Drive, Kippa Ring, five days a week (closed Monday and Tuesday). Tel: 07 3204 1933
The Workshops Rail Museum (45 minutes southwest of downtown Brisbane) - This $20 million Workshops Rail Museum is located at North Street, in North Ipswich and is an inspiring and interactive day out for the whole family (see full day options, too).
Laidley (60 minutes southwest of downtown Brisbane) - The quaint township of Laidley is home to a number of historical treasures. Take time to visit them all: Das Neumann Haus, built by a German immigrant of the same name in 1983 has been lovingly restored by local volunteers, and redecorated art-deco style. Laidley Pioneer Village lets you feel what it was like to live like an early pioneer; there’s a hundred year old school, complete blacksmith shop, country store, even a post office and police cells. And be sure to see Laidley’s Second Childhood Museum which boasts a fascinating collection of antique toys and circus paraphernalia. All located in downtown Laidley.

Full Day

North Stradbroke (90 minutes east of downtown Brisbane) - Drive 35 minutes to Cleveland on the coast, then hop on a passenger/vehicular ferry to North Stradbroke Island for the day. Rich in Aboriginal and European historical sites, there is much to entice the history lover here. Visit Dunwich Cemetery, a moving tribute to Dr John Ballow and immigrant victims of an early typhus plague. See also the North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum for a fascinating history of the island. You can also attend indigenous cultural and bush tucker talks organised by the Minjerribah Moorgumpin Elders. Visit the Redlands Tourism website
Historic “rail trail” (45 - 90 minutes west of downtown Brisbane) - Begin in Ipswich at the Workshops Rail Museum. Continue west to the Rosewood Railway Museum and then on to Grandchester’s Model Steam Railway, also home to the oldest railway station in Queensland. Last stop is Gatton Shire’s Spring Bluff Railway Station, one of the Lockyer Valley’s most cherished, stemming from 130 years of railway history. For more information visit the Ipswich Tourism and Lockyer Valley Regional Council websites.