York Residency Museum

Colourful ‘Welcome to Noongar Country’ banners greet you and introduce the cultural heritage of the local Ballardong Noongar people.

Why the earliest settlers came here and what they did is illustrated through the Residency’s superb collections and numerous hands-on activities including dress-ups in our Victorian Photographer’s Studio.

Current displays include:
‘Convicts Arrive’.
A glimpse into the lives, hardships and struggles of the men who were unwilling emigrants and the Pensioner Guards who accompanied them. See the original convict-built foundations in a dramatic floodlit viewing hole in the floor of the original kitchen.
‘Four Women’s Stories’
Reveals what life in the bush was REALLY like for women from 1870 to the present day. A totally original perspective on Wheatbelt womens’ lives told through the Residency’s gorgeous costumes, textiles, personal possessions and furniture – and their own words from historic diaries and quotes.

Watch a short film about traditional Avon Valley chaff-cutting on TV, or play croquet on the rose-lined lawn. Take a wander along the ‘Noongar Six Seasons Garden Walk’ or have a coffee in the Settler’s Kitchen Garden courtyard. A warm welcome awaits you at this very special heritage experience.

Open- 1pm -3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11am – 3.30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays, Closed Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Guided tours / homemade teas available for 10+ persons by prior arrangement. Contact the Curator Carol Littlefair.

Shire of York residents is FREE. Adults $4 / Seniors $3 /Children $2. Concessions for groups of 10+ within usual opening hours.

Outdoor shaded picnic seating area for 50 people. Toilets. Gifts for sale. LOTS of hands-on family activities. Local historic photograph database available to view on computer. Teacher’s resource pack.