Our Story & Timeline

In 1859, a group of curious individuals formed the Queensland Philosophical Society. Three years later, in 1862, they opened their first public display in the Windmill on Brisbane’s Wickham Terrace, and the Queensland Museum was born.

Today, Queensland Museum is the keeping place for the State Collection, a magnificent assemblage of 1.2 million cultural objects, natural history specimens and geological treasures and more than 14 million research items. Every year, we bring our collections to life through fieldwork, contemporary acquisitions, world-class research and a dynamic program of exhibitions, workshops, talks, lectures and major events including World Science Festival Brisbane.

Queensland Museum is a museum without borders, committed to engaging with communities across Queensland and beyond through five public sites, a state-wide education loans service, virtual museum online and best-selling popular publications. Our Museum Development Officers provide best-practice, professional support for arts, cultural and collecting institutions across the state, while branch museums including the Lands, Mapping and Surveying Museum in the Brisbane CBD and Earth Sciences Museum at The University of Queensland provide access to niche components of the State Collection.

With generous support from industry, academia and government, Queensland Museum is a celebrated and valued cultural and scientific leader, collaborating with community to foster a better understanding of our place in the world.

Timeline

1862 – Queensland Philosophical Society founded the Queensland Museum in Brisbane on 20 January, operating from a room set aside in the Windmill

1868 – Moved to the Parliamentary building in Queen Street, Brisbane

1871 – The government assumed primary responsibility for the museum

1873 – Relocated into the old Post Office building

1879 – First purpose-built museum building completed, William Street, Brisbane

1899 – Moved to the Exhibition building

1982 – Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying opened in Woolloongabba, Brisbane

1985 – Closed the museum’s home of 86 years, Brisbane’s Exhibition building

1986 – Queensland Museum opened in the heart of Brisbane’s cultural precinct

1987 – Queensland Museum Cobb+Co opened in Toowoomba

1987 – Queensland Museum Tropics opened in Townsville

2000 – Queensland Museum Tropics – brand new, landmark building opens on Flinders Street in the centre of Townsville

2001 – Queensland Museum Cobb+Co Stage 2 development is completed to expand activities and services to the community

2002 – Queensland Museum Rail Workshops opened in Ipswich

2003 – Sciencentre in George Street closed and reopened at Queensland Museum, South Bank in 2004

2010 – Queensland Museum Cobb+Co The National Carriage Factory expansion project is completed

2012 – Queensland Museum celebrates 150 years of connecting and collecting

2014 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Deep Oceans from 28 March 2014 to 6 October 2014

2015 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Dinosaur Discovery: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous from 27 March 2015 to 5 October 2015

2015 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Medieval Power: Symbols & Splendour from 11 December 2015 to 10 April 2016

2016 – Queensland Museum hosts the first World Science Festival Brisbane

2016 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Dinosaur Discovery: Lost Creatures of the Cretaceous from 21 June 2016 to 9 October 2016

2016 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Hadron Collider from 9 December 2016 to 25 April 2017

2017 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum from 23 March 2017 to 28 January 2018

2018 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives from 16 March 2018 to 26 August 2018

2018 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Monkeys! A Primate Story from 29 September 2018 to 28 January 2019

2019 – Queensland Museum opens a newly refurbished 1000 square metre exhibition space on Level 3

2019 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition NASA – A Human Adventure from 15 March 2019 to 9 October 2019

2019 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Spiders! The Exhibition from 6 December 2019 to 4 May 2020

2019 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Antiquities Revealed from 20 December 2019 to 27 April 2020

2020 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition I Do! Wedding Stories from Queensland from 18 September 2020 to 21 February 2021

2020 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators from 20 November 2020 to 3 May 2021

2021 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Brickman Wonders of the World from 18 June 2021 to 30 January 2022

2021 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Island Futures: What Lies ahead for Zenadth Kes? from 25 June 2021 to 25 April 2022

2022 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Disney: The Magic of Animation from 24 June 2022 to 22 January 2023

2023 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Dinosaurs of Patagonia from 17 March 2023 to 2 October 2023

2023 – Queensland Museum opened a new exhibition Jurassic World by Brickman^® from 18 December 2023 to 14 July 2024