East Coast Heritage Museum

The East Coast


Inside Swansea’s original schoolhouse, this engaging little museum covers Aboriginal artefacts, colonial and convict history, whaling and the plight of the thylacine (including a tiger trap from the late 19th century). It's worth stopping in just to see the diorama of old Swansea, and eggs from the now-extinct Tasmanian emu.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The East Coast attractions

1. Morris' General Store

0.05 MILES

A multi-storey bluestone-and-brick special, the 1838 Morris’ General Store is the biggest object in Swansea. And it's still selling stuff – these days it…

2. Jubilee Beach

0.07 MILES

Swansea's central town beach (the smaller of two beaches here) is a fairly demure affair – shallow, with lots of seaweed. But hey, a beach is a beach if…

3. All Saints Anglican Church

0.11 MILES

There are many still-functioning historic buildings in Swansea, including the 1871 All Saints Anglican Church.

4. Waterloo Beach

0.24 MILES

The bigger of Swansea's two town beaches has more sand than the other one (Jubilee Beach), but the bay here is still fairly shallow and seaweed-prone. If…

5. Bark Mill Museum

0.39 MILES

Out the back of the Bark Mill Tavern & Bakery, this museum explains the processing of black wattle bark to obtain tannin for tanning leathers. The mill…

6. Spiky Bridge

4.37 MILES

About 7km south of Swansea is the rather amazing Spiky Bridge, built by convicts in the early 1840s using thousands of local fieldstones (yes, they're…

7. Spring Vale Wines

6.75 MILES

Down a looong driveway in Cranbrook, 15km north of Swansea, this winery is on land owned by the same family since 1875. The cellar door is housed in an…

8. Milton Vineyard

6.95 MILES

Milton is 13km north of Swansea, with tastings in an elegant, white weatherboard pavilion presiding over the vines. Sip some sparkling rosé and enjoy a…