The Victoria Barracks is one of Brisbane’s oldest buildings and was first built in 1864. Most of the buildings that can still be seen today date from around Federation at the beginning of the 20th century. In recent years parts of the unused barracks have been converted into a dining, shopping and cinema precinct, where you can sample some excellent Australian fusion food in a historically rich setting. The military section of the barracks is under the control of the Army History Unit and the Queensland Military Heritage Foundation.

Within the museum there are army paraphernalia and artifacts dating from the Boer War at the end of the 19th century through to the 1970s. You will find old army uniforms, photographs, medals, a wide range of weaponry and memorabilia. It provides a fascinating glimpse at life in the Australian army and the contributions that diggers from South East Queensland have made to national and international security. Since the barracks is still officially in use as a Tri-Service Institution, it is not open to the public during the week: opening times are Sunday 1pm to 4pm or at other times by appointment only. The barracks is on Petrie Terrace in Paddington and there is no entry fee.

The Queensland Police Museum provides the chance to sneak a peek into the world of policing. With displays that cover the beginning of the Queensland Police in 1864 through to the present day it is a valuable historical record of the state as well as a chance to learn more about one of the most dramatic and intriguing of careers. Test your abilities as a gumshoe by collecting clues and trying to solve a murder at the museum. If you have ever thought that you could take on the best of Law and Order or CSI, then this is your chance to learn about forensics and how clues can be linked together to find the criminal and solve the mystery.

There are 25 displays in the museum and they cover Queensland Police history, famous state crimes, detective techniques, history of women in the police force, transport and operational systems. There is also a research library where you can visit and find archived data dating back to 1864. The museum is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. It is also open on the last Sunday of the month and features guest speakers from the historical, crime, forensics or policing world.

The Museum of Brisbane is run by the city council and is dedicated to showcasing the different faces, historical and contemporary, of this sub-tropical state capital city. You will find fascinating displays dealing with the social history, built environment, natural, visual arts and design aspects of the city. The ethos of the museum is to present installations that guide the visitor towards developing an understanding of Brisbane’s people and communities and how they have worked together to create the city that you see today. It also encourages visitors to envisage the city that Brisbane will become in the future.

Favorite exhibitions tend to be those that highlight well known people or events and shine a light on facets that are previously unknown. Past favorites have included installations on the Whiskey Au Go Go fire bombing in the 1960s; the Mayne Family who endowed money to begin the University of Queensland and Lady Diamantina Bowen. The museum tends to feature many temporary exhibitions that run for a period of between six and eight weeks. In 2012 the museum moves from its temporary location to a newly renovated and extended site at the top of Brisbane’s City Hall. The museum is open every day between 10am and 5pm and is only closed on Anzac Day and Christmas Day. Entry is free.

The Queensland Museum is part of the arts complex at Southbank just across the river from the CBD. The museum has been a part of the Queensland landscape for more than 150 years and has previously had homes at the Old Windmill, the Parliament Building, the Old Post Office and it was housed at the Exhibition Building for 86 years until it moved to its current site in 1985. To celebrate the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2012 it was extensively refurbished in order to provide Queenslanders with even better tangible access to their past and give visitors a clearer understanding of where the state has been and where it may go in the next 150 years.

There are more than one million artifacts in the museum’s collection, but popular permanent fixtures include: the dinosaur garden; a German AV7 tank; Captain Cook’s compass, Queensland aviator, Burt Hinkler’s aircraft from his solo flight from England to Australia in the 1920s and indigenous artifacts from the 19th century. The museum is open every day from 9.30 am - 5.00 pm. It is closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day and on ANZAC Day from 1.30 pm. General entry is free, but there may be some exhibitions that charge a small fee.

The Queensland Maritime Museum is located at the Kangaroo Point end of the Southbank Parklands and was opened in 1971. Located on the banks of the Brisbane River it is home to a vast collection of Queensland and Australian maritime historical documents and artifacts. Since Brisbane has always been a bustling port city, there is a lot of valuable historical information to be gleaned on a visit here. The museum is divided into different exhibitions that focus on: Navigation, Lighthouses, Ship Models, Marine Engines, Vessels, and the Dry Dock. The library onsite has extensive archived information relating to pearling, immigration, shipwrecks, commercial ships and yachts.

The Dry Dock at the museum is one of the most important signs of Queensland’s colonial past. It was proposed in 1870 and building began in 1875 by 1881 it was functioning. It was also of strategic importance during World War II when it was used by the major allied defense to service around 50 submarines amongst other navy vessels. Visitors also get to board the Diamantina, which was a Queensland built WWII vessel and you can see how navy officers lived and worked on deck. The Queensland Maritime Museum is open every day from 9:30am to 4:30pm.