South Australian Museum - North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000

A range of self-guided tours highlighting aspects of the South Australian Museum's diverse collections are available at the Information Desk.

Treasures from the Collections

A permanent self-guided trail highlighting some of the iconic priceless treasures drawn from the more than 6 million objects which the South Australian Museum holds within its collections.

The Kaurna Shield

Main Foyer

This rare Aboriginal artefact from the Adelaide Plains dates from the 1840s and is one of the few of its type held in any museum collection.

Benin Bronze

North Foyer, Ground Floor

Amongst the rarest and most valuable African items in the museum’s collections representing the pinnacle of West African state art developed between 12th and 19th century.

Wyrie Swamp Boomerang

Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery, Level 1

The world’s oldest known wooden boomerang having lain perfectly preserved in a peat bog for 10,000 years. Excavated from the Wyrie Swamp, South Australia in 1973.

Egyptian Column

Main Foyer, Ground Floor

The column is one of six excavated in 1891 at Nenneswet, 120km south of Cairo. One of perhaps eight identical columns which supported the portico of the Great Temple of Herishef erected by Ramesses II in the 13th Century BC.

Addyman Plesiosaur

Origin Energy Fossil Gallery, Level 3

A 120 million year old opalised fossil from Australia’s own age of dinosaurs. It contains stunning opal and represents a new species but cannot be named because important parts of the skeleton are missing.

Mawsons Puffometer

Science Centre, rear of museum, Morgan Thomas Lane

This puffometer was built and used by Mawson on his Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-14). It was used to measure the strength of gusts of wind at the 'windiest place in the world'. Mawson was carrying it when he was caught in a gust, becoming airborne, causing irrepairable damage to the instrument and bruising the handler!

Meteorite

Main Foyer, Ground Floor

The Mundrabilla Meteorite is the largest meteorite from South Australia weighing in at 2500kg it was found on the Western Australian side of the Nullarbor.

The Museum also offers free daily tours of its collections