I’d never heard of the Mount Flora Museum, it’s well hidden in the northern suburbs. A free Wednesday afternoon (the only time that it’s opened) and a gold coin donation is all you need to discover this great spot for yourself. And as well as many interesting artefacts, there’s a playground and spectacular view of the coast from the roof.
If you are a lover of local history, Mount Flora Museum is a fascinating snapshot of life in the City of Stirling over the years. The setup is more than impressive, with the circular museum found in an old water tank!
Kids will be fascinated by many old household artefacts. They will most likely have to be explained to them, like scrubbing boards, meat safes and more. Luckily, I had my parents on hand to explain a lot to Little Chef (especially Nanna who explained doing the washing for a family of nine used to take days!). I know what many of the objects are, but for my parents they had first hand stories of using them. Goodness, life was hard work back in the 1940s and 50s!
There’s also a host of old photos from the area. It’s so interesting to see how much Scarborough, Innaloo and the surrounding areas have changes in the last 100 years.
There are various themed sections. World war two history, famous local people, haberdashery, the local area, market gardens of the past and all about local life in decades gone past. Little Chef was interested to see an old toy car just like his grandad used to have 60-something years ago!
Upstairs, there’s a kids corner where little ones can touch things like typewriters, abacus and telephones. There’s colouring in activities too. We had to explain to Little Chef how to use the old dial up telephone. He had no idea! It’s crazy how things can change in just one generation.
We visited during the school holidays. There was an additional children’s activity of making paper vegetables, aimed at kindy and pre-primary aged kids.
Take the steps up to the rooftop for a stunning ocean view on a clear day. During world War Two this was used as an observation post.
Outside, there’s a small sand fall playground to enjoy.
There’s a fireman’s pole, slide, climbing wall, bouncer, swings and bring a ball along to play the throwing game too or have a kick about on the grass.
There’s shaded picnic tables too, so bring a picnic!
Mount Flora Museum is a great little spot to spend an hour or so, particularly if you take grandparents along with you.
The Mount Flora Museum is found at Elvire Street, Watermans Bay.
Open Wednesdays, 1pm to 4pm (Also open by appointment).
Find more places to visit in Perth with kids here.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
