Wadjemup Museum
Wadjemup Museum
4
About
Wadjemup Museum is a gateway to history and culture. Discover exhibits that tell the island’s story.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingWhat is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
15 within 5 kms
Attractions
43 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
205 reviews
Excellent
68
Very good
98
Average
31
Poor
7
Terrible
1
PaulJan
Perth, Western Australia, Australia31 contributions
May 2021
Don't expect this museum to be one of the magnificence of Rottnest Island. Instead it is completely on the history of the abuse and mistreatment of the Aboriginals in the early settlement as a penal jail. The museum is a cold presentation of the brutal side of history. Such a shame it could not have been contrasted with the beauty and character of the island itself. Our family has donated countless irreplaceable memorabilia to the Rottnest Island Authority and that seems to have disappeared. We would have loved to have seen some of that displayed to depict the brighter side of history.
Written 12 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
trustascot
Perth, Australia670 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
If raining then it is worth a visit. Apart from story plaques little to see. Much of the stuff is pathetic. Great building but needs a lot of amaginion to make it more interesting.
Written 13 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dide R
Perth, Australia174 contributions
July 2018 • Couples
Very interesting facts and memorabilia within this fascinating museum. Including the history of Rottnest, natural, and human occupation, and the more recent history of The WRENS. And their involvement on the Island.
Written 15 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sheridan S
Melbourne, Australia37 contributions
Apr 2018 • Friends
You could easily spend an hour or so looking at all the exhibits at the museum. Gold coin donation entry. Has information on social and natural history of Rottnest. Well set out with plenty of room to move about.
Written 29 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DawidK859
Nagoya, Japan614 contributions
Dec 2015
Small, although interesting in its description of life on Rottnest and how it changed from a prison for the indigenous, to the current day holiday getaway for many people. Along with a guide service on the island it is staffed by outstanding volunteers. Interesting photos of stages of the islands history and how it has evolved. Free entry but request made for gold coin donation to help with running costs,. and that was done with absolute pleasure =D
Written 9 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review Dawid. The museum is a great way to educate our visitors about Rottnest Island's multifaceted history and we hope that more people take the time to walk through and speak to our fantastic voluntary guides. In 2018, the lease of the Quod will return to Rottnest Island Authority control. Planning is beginning for appropriate use of this significant site, in conjunction with Aboriginal people from across Western Australia. This follows the recent completion of the initial landscaping works on the Aboriginal burial ground. We are also in the planning stages to extend the geological display in the Museum to include the pre-Island artefacts. We hope you do take the time to return to the Island once this is complete as we hope this will be a fantastic way to educate visitors about the Island's history, and also allow for visitors to pay respects. Warm regards, Rottnest Island
Written 10 March 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Victorianlad
Melbourne, Australia17,904 contributions
Dec 2011
The museum only required a gold coin donation and so at the bargain price of A$1 was in stark contrast to what can be ripoff food and drink prices charged on this island.
It has three rooms and while even the limestone walls did not keep out all the heat, I enjoyed looking at photos depicting the island's history as a boys'reformatory and Aboriginal prison until 1903.
The lady volunteer (not young) was gracious and just the type to answer anyone's questions.
It has three rooms and while even the limestone walls did not keep out all the heat, I enjoyed looking at photos depicting the island's history as a boys'reformatory and Aboriginal prison until 1903.
The lady volunteer (not young) was gracious and just the type to answer anyone's questions.
Written 10 December 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Swisshen
Perth, Australia2,345 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
If you have time visit this free museum which brings the island history alive. The Aboriginal story telling video is very poignant. You can give a free contribution. Definitely worth a visit
Written 12 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James and Mathew
Darwin, Australia47 contributions
Nov 2022
A great little museum, but very disappointing that a short film being shared focussed on emotional blackmail history - a woman weeping over alledged events hundreds of years ago - more importantly, no narrative of why the prison was there, the fact that Aboriginal men and boys built the place which in itself was the focus of reform prisons of the time, they learned skills. I noticed several British visitors were taken aback by the blatant display of racism towards them in the short film, people whom had nothing at all to do with any of it, subjected to hatred towards their homeland. This type of emotional behaviour is appalling and needs to be reversed fast. I enjoyed my visit, except for the heavy, downing atmosphere created by the short film, and at the end of the day, prisoners go to prison for something - where are these stories? Do we celebrate all prisons and their inmates? Just some food for thought, please provide a more balanced account of things - please.
Written 9 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
burnsbeachbaby
Burns Beach, Australia799 contributions
June 2021
Worth looking in this small museum, gives a perspective on the early days and the hardship on our indigenous people.
Written 8 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Koon
Seoul, South Korea24 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
A small grain house converted to a museum to show the dark side of British colonisation. Locals seemed regretful if the past and that is probably why this unsavoury past was portrayed. Unknown to the "new" masters, aborigines were incarcerated for what they had been doing. Sadly, they were banished to this place under harsh conditions. Similar to various places in Europe, these visits served to remind us the sinfulness in our nature. Lest we forget how we could mistreat others if we are not mindful.
Written 29 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
- How much time would you recommend spending at the museum?
- Is it still worth visiting, if you also go on one of the coach tours around the island? (Bayseeker Island Tour, or Discover Rottnest Tour)
- Are souvenirs sold there?
Written 16 August 2019
Which hours on a weekday and weekend is the Rottnest Island Museum open?
Written 1 January 2017
Hi Andrew the Museum is open 10am till 3pm seven days a week.
Written 5 January 2017
Showing results 1-2 of 2
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing