The National Trust of Western Australia

This WA Day long weekend, see a different side of WA with a visit to one of our heritage places.

Whether you're travelling around the state, or staying close to home, discover timeless stories and experience history where it happened.

Before you go, check our website for opening times: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vKNN_0

Join Patricia Ryder, the Community Engagement Facilitator for John Curtin Gallery, for a special guided tour of the "Once Known" exhibition, as well as a discussion on the colonial history of the Old Perth Boy's School on St George's Terrace, Boorloo (Perth).

The exhibition shows reproductions of the delicate and culturally significant artworks created by Aboriginal children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s.

In partnership with Curtin University for National Reconciliation Week, this meaningful experience offers a quiet space to reflect on our shared histories.

Visit our dedicated events page to find out more and book tickets. Two separate sessions are available to choose from - Wednesday 27 May (2pm) or Wednesday 3 June (10am): https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vwKWC0

If Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea had existed in Elsie Curtin’s time, it’s easy to imagine that she would have hosted a special one herself in the family’s modest home in Cottesloe, Perth.

Known for her warmth and generous hospitality, Elsie was the wife of wartime Prime Minister John Curtin and loved to serve tea and coffee to guests on pretty china, perhaps accompanied by her famous scones, which her daughter fondly remembered as “beautiful.”

This charming Chintz “Hydrangea” coffee service, c.1930s was probably part of a larger set that was owned and used by Elsie and possibly also her widowed mother Annie Needham who lived with the family.

Read the full story here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vwh5m0

📷 1: Chintz “Hydrangea” coffee set (partial), James Kent Ltd, Collection: National Trust (2010.3 a-l); 2 and 3: The coffee set on temporary display at The Old Observatory; 4: The Curtin family, 1942 (courtesy the John Curtin family, JCPML 00376/34)

💝 Happy National Volunteer Week! 💝

The National Trust is endlessly grateful for our incredible community of volunteers who collectively contribute more than 10,000 hours each year to help protect and care for our heritage places and bring their stories to life.

Without their generous donation of time, expertise and passion for everything heritage, we simply couldn't do what we do.

To find out more about volunteering for the National Trust, visit our website: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vnn540

Today is International Museum Day (IMD), celebrating the importance of museums as centres for "cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”

Organised by the International Council of Museums - ICOM since 1977, this year's theme "Museums Uniting a Divided World" focuses on how museums help to reduce inequality, promote peace and inclusion, safeguard heritage and share diverse stories and voices in ways that are respectful, accessible and sustainable.

What are some of your favourite museums here in WA and what makes them special to you?

Our heritage places allow you to discover history where it happened. Check opening times and book tickets online via the link in our bio or go to https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0vnmZ30.

🎉 The Australian Heritage Festival has kept us busy in the best way over the past four weeks!

From a free entry weekend and several community open days to ANZAC Day commemorations and special exhibitions, we have loved connecting with visitors to our heritage places across Western Australia.

We extend a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated staff, caretakers and volunteers whose care and commitment helped make the 2026 festival so memorable. We are also grateful to the many event organisers across Perth and regional WA who opened their doors to the wider community and brought their local heritage to life through a diverse program of events and activities.

But it's not over just yet! With the festival running until International Museum Day on Monday 18 May, there’s still time to get involved. Visit the official website to find out what's on near you: https://bit.ly/4wwav1w

📷 A selection of images from National Trust events held during the festival (images by Artshoot Media, our staff and volunteers)

You’re invited to slow down and step back into a time when busy hands and quiet minds combined to create beautiful works of art, handy tools, comfortable clothes, and cosy furnishings.

Join us at Peninsula Farm at Wu-rut Woorat this Saturday 9 May for our 19th Century Handcrafts Showcase. Watch as skilled artisans embroider, spin, craft wood, paint porcelain, knit, weave…and more!

Entry is free, with doors opening between 10am and 1pm.

Find out more via our website: https://bit.ly/42gytA8

📷 Woodcraft by Greg Miller from Wonder of Wood; painted plates by Anne Blake Porcelain Art

🏵️ ANZAC Day at the National Trust 🏵️

This Saturday 25 April, join us to celebrate and commemorate the ANZAC spirit at the following special events:

🇦🇺 Woodbridge at Mandoon: Enjoy a late morning screening of "Woodbridge at War", a 30-minute film about the impact of war on the Harper family who called Woodbridge home. Tickets are free, but bookings are required due to limited seating. To find out more and secure your place go to: https://bit.ly/48aGVnS

🌅 Peninsula Farm at Wu-rut Woorat: Our annual ANZAC sunset service on the banks of Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) in Maylands will commence at 5pm. All are welcome to attend. The Peninsula Farm Cafe will be open for takeaway light refreshments before the ceremony (until 4.45pm). Learn more via our website: https://bit.ly/4cZcMug

🎖️ANZAC Cottage: The Friends of ANZAC Cottage Inc invite you to join them for a special community event at ANZAC Cottage in Mt Hawthorn. The cottage will be open to the public from 4pm with the official service starting at 5pm.

We’ve all battled stubborn marks on a favourite pot. But can you imagine those that may have been there for 150 years or more?

A key component of the new interpretation at Strawberry Hill at Barmup will be the incorporation of artefacts with known provenance to the place. Where needed, conservation treatments are being undertaken to prepare artefacts for future display. Recently a collection of cast iron cooking pots and a copper bed-warming pan associated with the family of Sir Richard Spencer were the focus of attention.

We extend our sincere thanks to conservators Lorna Sweetwood and Claire Rowson of International Conservation Services - ICS who carried out the treatments to ensure their stories can continue to be shared. They have transformed these seemingly mundane yet highly significant artefacts to ensure their stories can continue to be shared with everyone who will visit Strawberry Hill when we reopen later in the year.

ICS is the Official Conservator to the National Trust of Western Australia.

📷 Images courtesy International Conservation Services (ICS)

Step into a hidden chapter of Perth’s history 🌿

Enjoy free entry to the East Perth Cemeteries at Martellup for one afternoon only, as part of the opening weekend of the Australian Heritage Festival. As you wander the peaceful, historic grounds, discover stories of lives lived, shared, and lost from its establishment as Perth's first colonial cemetery in 1829 until the closure of the (by then) eight cemeteries in 1899.

📅 Sunday 19 April
⏰ 2pm to 4pm (choose your preferred entry time)
🎟️ Free tickets (bookings required)

Book your free tickets via our website: https://bit.ly/483qOby

📍 East Perth Cemeteries at Martellup on Whadjuk Nyoongar Country