Burke Museum and Beechworth Historic Precinct

Beechworth’s Burke Museum and Historic Precinct make up one of Australia’s best preserved historic sites. Once the government centre for a vast goldfields region, this collection of nationally significant buildings tells the story of how Australia grew and prospered.

The Burke Museum is Australia’s oldest regional museum. Originally built as the Beechworth Athenaeum, the museum was dedicated as a memorial to the explorer Robert O’Hara Burke after his death on the Burke and Wills exhibitions in 1861. The museum shows objects from the famous expedition, as well as exploring the history of Beechworth.

The adjacent Historic Precinct contains the old Beechworth courthouse, telegraph station and treasury buildings. Here you can stand in the dock where Ned Kelly stood, visit our famous Ned Kelly vault museum or send a telegram to anywhere in the world from our telegraph station.

The precinct buildings have been registered by Heritage Victoria, the National Estate, the National Trust and the Indigo Shire Council's Planning Scheme. For more information visit the Burke Museum.