Western Australian Museum, Perth - WA

A gateway to Western Austrlia's natural and social history, from the beginning of the universe to contemporary times.

It's an amazing attraction, especially because it's free entry!

The first image shows the jaws of a White Pointer Shark (Great white). During whaling operations in the 1970's and earlier, many large White Pointer Sharks were caught near Cheynes Beach whaling station in Albany. One of the largest (the female form which these jaws were taken - was 5.6m (18ft 4ins) long and about 3m (10ft) across the outspread pectoral fins. It weight approximately 1,800kg (4,000lbs). You might be able to see thee replacement teeth behind the front ones: new teeth move forward as old ones are broken or lost. the largest shark caught at the whaling station measured 5.9m (19ft 6ins). A White Pointer measuring 6.4m (21ft) was caught near Cuba!

Housed in a series of stunning heritage-listed buildings you can explore the cultures and stories of the local Aboriginal peoples, the State's unique flora and fauna and the fascinating minerals, meteorite, megafauna and dinosaurs that once inhabited WA.

This was an interesting bit of rock: Folded Banded Iron Formation.

Although the rock was laid down as horizontal layers of sediment, more than 2,000 million years ago, very slow movement of the Earth's crust caused the solid rock to become intensely folded.

As you can imagine however, the animals were my favourite bit - and of course got the most photos taken!

Not much more to say except - go visit! and in the meantime, enjoy some piccies

At the entrance your are greeted by a life-sized Carnotaurus Sastrei - a large meat eating dinosaur. Several more-or-less complete skeletons have been excavated from 70 million year old rocks in Argentina.

The Skull of a Killer Whale

Common Spotted Cuscus

a slow moving possum uses it's strong grip and prehensile tail to climb and feed on fruits and leaves in the rain forest.

Great Glider

launching into a glide, the membrane of this gliding possum extends from the ankle to the elbow. It glides between the trees and feeds in the outer canopy on eucalypt leaves.

Laughing Kookaburra

Australian Kestrel

Carnaby's Cockatoo

Collared Sparrowhawk

Wedge-Tailed Eagle

Boobook Owl

Tawny Frogmouth Owl

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Little Corella

Splendid Tree Frog

They live in trees but are often found in rocky areas and caves.

Their call is a loud sustained buzzing sound. They are Western Australia's largest frog and can grow to over 12cm in length.

Northern Laughing Tree Frog

A medium sized (5cm) common frog of the Australian tropice. The call is a descending trill that resembles laughter. They are highly effective climbers as their large toe discs enable them to grasp branches, leaves and even shower blocks!

Emu Chick

Little (Fairy) Penguin

Honey Possum
...the little tiny animal next to this sign...

Pygmy Possum
...the even tinier animal next to this sign...

Tasmanin Tiger (with Rat Kangaroo)
The thylacine had become extremely rare or extinct on the Australian mainland before British settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several other endemic species, including the Tasmanian devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributing factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite its official classification as extinct, sightings are still reported, though none has been conclusively proven. It is believed to have become extinct in the 20th century