Museums in and around Mildura
Discover the history of the Mildura region at historic houses, museums, and see restored steam trains and paddleboats.
Rio Vista
Wander through the rooms of Rio Vista, an historic house overlooking the Murray River on the edge of Mildura city, and imagine life in the nineteenth century. Built in 1889 by W.B. Chaffey, in Queen Anne style, the house features original furniture and fittings. Work is currently underway to restore the Rio Vista mansion to its original condition.
Red Cliffs Historical Steam Railway
Take a seat in the restored Lukee Skylark steam train on the first Sunday of each month and experience this traditional form of travel along the Red Cliffs Historical Steam railway.
Chaffey Wine and Horticultural Museum
Established in 1888 by the Chaffey Brothers, Chateau Mildura has played an important part in the development of the Australian wine industry. See the fascinating collection in the museum, which includes items used in the earliest days of the Australian wine industry, such as traditional winemaking equipment, a collection of rare early wine bottles, bar corkscrews, advertising material and more.
PS Ruby
P.S. Ruby turned 100 in 2007. Find out about this historic riverboat, its recent renovation and visit it at its home in Wentworth.
Langtree Hall Museum
The Langtree Hall Museum was built in 1889 as Mildura's first public hall. Used as a skating rink, then court of petty session, as well as newspaper printing office, the hall is now a museum displaying historical local memorabilia. See the large collections of international dolls, and musical instruments. LINK to business listing
Old Wentworth Gaol
The Old Wentworth Gaol is the oldest of the Australian-designed gaols. It was built during 1879-1881 and operated until 1927. Visit to see how prisoners and their guards lived within the walls of the prison.
Pioneer World Museum
Discover Wentworth's heritage at this museum that has a collection of more than 30,000 artifacts. See one of Australia's biggest photographic collections documenting riverboats, historic local buildings and replicas and fossils of Australia's mega-fauna.
Psyche Bend Pump House
Take the self-guided walk to the historic Psyche Bend Pump, the oldest intact irrigation station in Australia. George and Ben Chaffey, engineers from Canada, were invited by the Victorian Government to set up an irrigation system in 1889. They cleared land and dug channels then placed huge pumps at Psyche Bend where water was drawn from the Murray and pumped to Kings Billabong. From there it was distributed throughout the area. The Chaffeys gave birth to one of Australia's biggest and most important vine and fruit growing districts.
Kow Plains Homestead and Cowangie
Built in the late 1870s, the Kow Plains Homestead is the oldest building in the municipality. It has been restored as part of a preservation program of historic sites and buildings that has involved the whole town of Cowangie which stands on land that was once part of Kow Plains Station, first leased in 1859. Historic buildings that have been restored along the main street, Dayman Street, include the bank, general store, baker's oven, bush nurse cottage and church. The UNESCO award-winning homestead is located on the border of the Murray-Sunset National Park, 100 kilometres from Mildura.
Big Lizzie
Big Lizzie is a 45-tonne machine that was brought to Mildura in 1918 to clear mallee scrub. It is the only one of its type in the world, with its unique wheel traction and carrying capacity of 80 tonnes. You can see Big Lizzie at Barclay Square in the centre of the township of Red Cliffs.
Millewa Pioneer Village
Developed and maintained by the descendants of the original pioneers, this reconstruction of an early twentieth-century village is located in 12 hectares of local bushland. The village shows how the early settlers lived and includes hands-on displays of memorabilia and buildings.