7 Under-the-Radar Museums in Melbourne

The Heide Museum of Modern Art celebrates the legacy of the Heide Circle, an art collective of modernist painters in Melbourne active from the 1930s to 1950s. It's only due to its parkland location in Bulleen in Melbourne’s outer northeast suburbs that this museum doesn’t see more visitors. But make the journey out to the Heide and you’ll be met with insightful permanent exhibitions of contemporary art and modern art, a large sculpture park along the Yarra River, and the latest temporary exhibitions.

Don’t miss: A select few works by Sidney Nolan—one of Australia’s most impactful artists—such as Kelly at the Mine and Bathers.

Local shoppers may be dulled to its presence, but seeing the Coop's Shot Tower inside Melbourne Central shopping center under a special glass cone is likely to leave most visitors to Melbourne with questions. What’s a lot less obvious than the tower is the Shot Tower Museum, hidden inside the building’s second floor and accessible through the R. M. Williams. There, you can learn about the tower’s history, why such a tall tower was necessary to make lead shot, and the complicated task of preserving the tower from local development.

Don’t miss: It’s hard to miss anything in this small museum, but don’t forget to look up to see what the tower looks like from the inside.

Trams have been a fixture on Melbourne’s streets and have literally helped shape the city since the 1880s, making them a part of the city’s identity worth exploring at the Melbourne Tram Museum. Located at the Hawthorn Tram Depot in the city’s inner eastern suburbs, the museum provides exhibits on the history of trams in Melbourne and hosts 20 fully restored tramcars from across different eras of the city, including one of the first electrified trams in Melbourne and cable trams used in the early 20th century.

Don’t miss: The vividly designed Karachi W11 tram that was accessorized for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games by specialized Pakistani craftspeople.

This art museum on the campus of the University of Melbourne mirrors the university’s eclectic breadth and depth of academia within its wide-ranging art collection. The Ian Potter Museum of Art—colloquially known as "The Potter"—was founded in 1972 to manage the University of Melbourne Art Collection, which extends from Australian Indigenous art and 19th-century landscapes to international pieces, both contemporary and antique. Frequent exhibitions at the Ian Potter Centre ensure there’s always something for visitors to engage with.

Don’t miss: William Strutt’s Bushrangers, Victoria, Australia 1852 is considered to be the university collection’s most significant early Australian painting.

While there are various heritage buildings and houses around Melbourne still standing, Villa Alba in the suburb of Kew stands apart thanks to its lavish interior. Walking through this historical house—open once a month to visitors—you can see the stately painted interior given to each room during its original construction and decoration in the 1880s by art decorators, the Paterson Bros. Outside, the garden has been restored to its original glory.

Don’t miss: With its careful hand-painted designs on the ceiling and over the window, the drawing room inside Villa Alba is the house’s standout feature.

One of Australia's best aviation museums, Moorabbin Air Museum takes visitors through the history of flight with its collection. Found all the way out at Moorabbin Airport in the city’s southeastern suburbs, this museum has more than 25 aircraft on display, with a special focus on Australian-made aircraft. Not only can visitors see the museum’s collection of antique and modern aircraft, they can even sit inside the cockpits of several of them.

Don’t miss: Be sure to see the Bristol Beaufighter. Among the museum’s collection of warplanes, this one is the last of its kind in the world with working engines.

This free, immersive exhibition within the Arts Centre Melbourne complex of Southbank showcases Australian contemporary music through interactive digital experiences and displays with meaningful objects from the Australian Performing Arts Collection. At the Australian Music Vault learn about the history of the Australian music scene, the roles musicians have made in shaping Australian society, and how the “Australian sound” has shaped genres to define local takes on hip-hop, electronic music, and of course, rock.

Don’t miss: Each year, the Australian Music Vault celebrates the winner of the Ted Albert Memorial Award with a special exhibit on the award recipient’s contributions to Australian music.