Insight into the history and culture of the Aborigines.
Due north of Fed Square is the vast and striking Melbourne Museum. Opened in 2000, it uses the most advanced display techniques to make the museum lively and interesting. Major exhibitions come and go, with some permanent features. The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre looks at the history of Aboriginal people since white invasion and the politics of displaying their possessions and artefacts. Koorie Voices, a photo gallery of Victorian Aboriginal people, is also fascinating for its contemporary recording of individual life stories. The Mind and Body Gallery examines humans in exhaustive detail, perhaps more than is palatable for the squeamish.
Other highlights include the Australia Gallery, with its focus on the social history of Melbourne and Victoria, Bugs Alive, with its colourful inventory of live insects and spiders, and the Children’s Gallery, where the little darlings can check out their weight and height in ‘wombats’. The museum also has an excellent shop and lots of eating choices.
Facing the Melbourne Museum, and in striking architectural contrast, is the Royal Exhibition Building, a Victorian confection built for the International Exhibition of 1880. At the time it was Australia’s largest building and grand enough to be used for the opening of the first Federal Parliament. The Victorian Parliament sat here for 26 years until it was able to move back into the Victorian Parliament House. The building is still used as an exhibition centre, and the museum occasionally runs tours.
