Soak Up Melbourne’s Spirit At The Art & Heritage City Collection
Take a free guided tour of the City of Melbourne’s Art and Heritage Collection store, located in the historic and iconic Melbourne Town Hall.
From memorials to quirky artefacts like a bottle of Moomba spumante, the Beatles’ 1964 visit and Queen Victoria Market photos, this Town Hall exhibition celebrates both the grandeur and the everyday life of Melbourne.
On this unique Melbourne Town Hall tour, explore this exceptional capital city collection, recognised as the finest in Australia for its rich stories and heritage.
Melbourne City Art & Heritage Collection
It’s like stepping into a fascinating new world at the City Collection, a meticulously curated compilation of 13,000 items capturing the essence of Melbourne’s identity.
With a mix of outdoor and indoor pieces, contemporary and historical artefacts, the collection offers a captivating glimpse into the city’s diverse narratives.
All 16 rooms across the entire fourth floor have been refurbished as an open display collection ready for the public to discover. Public viewings are available on certain days and times only and are accompanied by a guide.
The best way to describe the collection is eclectic! Each of the objects and displays fall into nine categories:
– Moomba/Olympics/public art/street art
– Managing our city
– Melbourne photography
– First Nations artists
– Books and plans
– Miscellaneous Melbourne
– Council and ceremonial
– City gifts
– Reliquary
I suppose I’ve always had in the back of my mind the hope that there must be somewhere an archive of relics from events that have shaped our City.
No idea really… but surely the Council has deemed some things worth preserving… things that have moved Melbourne’s community pulse over the decades.
Our Seniors-in-Melbourne adventure has enlightened me. Melbourne does have a Heritage and Art Collection and it’s free and very interesting to check it out.
Some thousands of items of civic memorabilia have been brought out of hiding and are housed in the City Gallery, which also happens to be the 16 rooms that make up the entire 4th floor of the Town Hall.
The Collection guided tour is an exploration so varied that there surely will be something to quicken your heart.
Each room covers a different theme ranging from Moomba Royalty photos and robes, Olympics souvenirs, Sister City gifts, streetscapes and architectural drawings, photography, books and plans. It would be very easy to while away a few hours in this place.
Having a bit of experience in my younger years of drafting maps, I was particularly interested in the many drawing cabinets and being able to pull out the drawers and see plans that are preserved there, looking just like they would’ve, pre-computers.
On one table there was a big folder that housed large-scale maps of each City block. The cadastral base had corrections and annotations, hand-penned in ink and pencil to record any updates. This was an original working drawing, I touched it and could almost smell the ink and sense the draftsperson leaning over the table with a steady hand and an eye for detail.
– Chris
I was glad to be able to hop on a tram to get to the Town Hall for the Art and Heritage Collection tour up on the 4th Floor. And once again we had the fabulous Jim show us around this amazing treasure trove.
It was thrilling to see the costumes of the Kings and Queens of Moomba and to see photos of some familiar faces of the 60’s and 70’s. Like Molly Meldrum, Rosemary Margan, Bert Newton, Frank Thring, just to name a few.
Who would know that there was a room full of “gifts” given to the city of Melbourne? And another fascinating and surprising collection of old protest signs.
– Terrie
Melbourne Town Hall Tours
You can discover the history and explore more of Melbourne Town Hall on a free guided tour.
On this tour, visitors explore its grand chambers, intricate corridors, and opulent ballrooms filled with stories of historic events. Tours run at 11 am and 1 pm on select days, and bookings must be made online in advance.
Read about our experience on the guided Town Hall tour here.
Entry and Accessibility
To book a free tour of the Art & Heritage City Collection, you need to submit a request online here. As it’s a council building, there is a security scan upon arrival, you need to present photo ID and check in any large bags.
Tours run on Tuesdays from 11 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Thursdays from 9:30 am -10:30 am and Fridays from 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm.
Accessibility features include ramps, lifts, and accessible toilets. Auslan-interpreted tours are offered on various dates.
Getting there is easy via several trams or buses servicing its central location on Swanston Street. Flinders Street Station is a mere 300-metre walk and various parking lots are close by.
Tidbits for Melbourne City Collection
- The City Collection is accessible via tour bookings only, which last around one hour;
- Bookings must be made online in advance;
- Tours run at 11 am and 1 pm every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (except public holidays);
- We also recommend the Melbourne Town Hall building guided tour;
- Ramps, lifts, and accessible toilets are available;
- Auslan-interpreted tours are offered on various dates;
- Flinders Street Station is 300 metres away, and various buses and trams service the area;
- Car parking options nearby.
Melbourne Town Hall
90/130 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
City of Melbourne
03 9658 9658, [email protected]
