About Us

The Wom­en’s Muse­um of Aus­tralia (for­mer­ly the Nation­al Pio­neer Wom­en’s Hall of Fame) and Old Gaol, Alice Springs.

A woman is walking down a sidewalk in front of a building.

The Wom­en’s Muse­um of Aus­tralia is ded­i­cat­ed to iden­ti­fy­ing and pre­serv­ing the place of women in Aus­tralian his­to­ry and shar­ing their sto­ries. We hold a col­lec­tion of over 2500 objects relat­ing to wom­en’s his­to­ry and achieve­ments, a library of sig­nif­i­cant wom­en’s lit­er­a­ture and his­to­ry and an archive of over 1500 extra­or­di­nary women who have shaped Aus­tralian history.


Locat­ed in Alice Springs, the Wom­en’s Muse­um was found­ed as The Nation­al Pio­neer Wom­en’s Hall of Fame in 1993 by Mol­ly Clark. Since 2007, the Muse­um has been locat­ed on the site of the NT Her­itage list­ed Old Alice Springs Gaol.


Across two exhi­bi­tion halls the Wom­en’s Muse­um cur­rent­ly hous­es four per­ma­nent exhibitions.


Old Gaol sto­ries are sen­si­tive­ly told in sep­a­rate men’s and wom­en’s cell blocks.

We are a non — gov­ern­ment, not for prof­it organ­i­sa­tion and rely upon the gen­eros­i­ty of our vol­un­teers, vis­i­tors, retail sales and grants to keep his­to­ry alive.

MIS­SION

  • To edu­cate, inspire and empow­er peo­ple by explor­ing the dis­tinc­tive his­to­ry and con­tri­bu­tions of Aus­tralian women.
  • To share the sto­ries and impact of the Old Alice Springs Gaol.


VISION

An empow­ered com­mu­ni­ty that recog­nis­es and under­stands Australia’s diverse sto­ries, and embraces a more inclu­sive future.


VAL­UES

  • Inclu­sive­ness – we val­ue diver­si­ty, and are com­mit­ted to shar­ing new ideas and stories.
  • Integri­ty – we always show respect and empa­thy, and act professionally.
  • Com­mu­ni­ty-focussed – we are com­mit­ted to our local com­mu­ni­ty and its place in the nation­al landscape.
  • Qual­i­ty – we aim to con­tin­u­al­ly improve and embrace pos­i­tive change. 


AIMS

  • cel­e­brate the pio­neer­ing women of Aus­tralia as well as the achieve­ments of Aus­tralian women who were first in their field, in a well-pre­sent­ed muse­um atmosphere.
  • estab­lish a muse­um record­ing the his­to­ry of the Old Gaol.

OBJEC­TIVES


  1. estab­lish a pub­lic muse­um for the pur­pose of recog­nis­ing and hon­our­ing pio­neer­ing women who con­tributed to the devel­op­ment of Aus­tralia, which will be open and acces­si­ble to all mem­bers of the pub­lic dur­ing usu­al and rea­son­able busi­ness hours;
  2. assem­ble, exhib­it, and pre­serve a col­lec­tion of pio­neer­ing wom­en’s arte­facts, pho­tographs and memorabilia;
  3. devel­op a research library of pio­neer­ing wom­en’s lit­er­a­ture, his­tor­i­cal records, and per­son­al manuscripts;
  4. pro­mote knowl­edge and under­stand­ing by the Aus­tralian com­mu­ni­ty of the spe­cial con­tri­bu­tion of women;
  5. fos­ter research into the role played by pio­neer­ing women in Australia;
  6. estab­lish muse­um dis­plays depict­ing aspects of the his­to­ry of the Old Alice Springs Gaol;
  7. research and col­lect rec­ol­lec­tions of prison life from for­mer staff and inmates;
  8. pro­mote the use of the Old Gaol premis­es by oth­er enti­ties to enhance the attrac­tion of the com­plex and to gen­er­ate income;
  9. devel­op rela­tion­ships and assist oth­er organ­i­sa­tions with sim­i­lar aims;
  10. have a safe and acces­si­ble com­plex for all visitors.