This charming museum focuses on the unique history of West Melbourne, a traditionally working-class area and home to a high proportion of migrants. It's set in the grounds of Pipemakers Park, featuring a Discovery Park, a wetlands area and indigenous gardens, which re-create the landscape of the basalt plains and valley as it was before European settlement.
The museum promotes local participation in its program of documenting and interpreting the area's social, industrial and environmental history. It keeps oral histories on various topics, such as migration, the role of women, and the meat industry. Old-school exhibits of photographs, maps, drawings and text thumbtacked to a display board are highly accessible.
