Queensland Museum North Bank precinct to double in size under new masterplan

The Queensland Museum's South Bank campus will double in floor area under a new masterplan approved by the state government, with a $360 million investment set to deliver a natural history wing, a First Nations cultural gallery co-designed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and an interactive children's discovery centre.

The expansion, to be built in two stages between 2026 and 2031, responds to what museum leadership described as a fundamental capacity mismatch — the institution receives 1.4 million visitors annually but has been working with its 1986 exhibition floor space. More than 60 per cent of the collection is in storage and has never been on public display.

Museum chief executive Jim Thompson said the natural history wing would house the complete megafauna collection, including the museum's internationally significant fossil assemblage from Riversleigh, a UNESCO World Heritage fossil site in north-west Queensland. "Australians deserve to see the full story of this continent's natural history in their state museum," he said.

Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch said the project was the most significant investment in Queensland's cultural infrastructure since the Performing Arts Centre was built in the 1980s. The First Nations gallery will be operated under a co-management model with a Traditional Owner advisory council holding meaningful curatorial authority over the content.

Public consultation on the design will open next month, with detailed designs expected to be finalised by late 2025.

This article was compiled by AI from the sources linked above and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.