Busselton Museum in the Old Butter Factory

Star 4.7 (171 Google reviews)

Visit Website

Busselton Museum in the Old Butter Factory

calendar
Wednesday to Monday (10am to 4pm) Closed Good Friday & Christmas Day
Speak to a local expert
The Heritage Butter Factory and Busselton Museum has many display rooms packed with photographs, equipment and memorabilia which trace the family, social, civic, commercial and maritime history of Busselton. Everything from agriculture to whaling; from crockery, clocks and cameras to sewing machines, travel and transport are included. The one-hectare site is nestled on the banks of the picturesque Vasse River. A replica of the Jetty Rotunda enhances the vista and the exhibits demonstrate Busselton’s diverse agricultural, forestry and maritime history. Special attention is focused on the famous 1920’s Group Settlement Scheme.

Owned by the State Government, through the Agricultural Department, this Butter Factory was opened in 1918. In 1926 South West Dairy Produce Co-operative became the owners and the name changed to Sunny West. Development of the Group Settlement Scheme in the area caused a great upsurge in production, as there were 735 farms in the Busselton district by 1926. Then came the Great Depression of the early 1930s, the 1939-45 war and the boom period which followed. This boom saw the factory reach peak production of about 30 tons of butter per week. Before the days of refrigeration, the factory also operated an Ice Works, supplying the town of Busselton and local fishermen with much sought after ice.



High overheads during the offseason coupled with more efficient road transport caused closure of this and several other factories. Operations were then centralised at Boyanup. Busselton ceased making butter in 1952. A dried milk plant was installed, but a slump in overseas markets made the process unprofitable and production stopped. The premises served as a depot for trucks and tankers until operations ceased altogether in 1973.



The building was vested in the Shire of Busselton which then leased part of it to the Busselton Historical Society.



The Museum opened in 1975 and is now run entirely by volunteers. Tuesdays are set aside for this willing band of workers who collect Busselton memorabilia, maintain the artefacts and build new displays.


Amenities

Location

Busselton Museum in the Old Butter Factory

Old Butter Factory Complex, Peel Terrace, Busselton WA 6280, Australia

Reviews

Star 4.7 (171 Google reviews)
Michael Keating 09 February 2025

We popped in to the Busselton Museum and it was very interesting. Lots of different exhibits to view and full of local history and stories. Staff were really nice. It was reasonable hot in most of the building without AC but that's a minor issue. Well worth a visit.

Ahmed Metwally 29 January 2025

Super friendly and nice reception. And for its size, it has an amazing collections that tells a comprehensive history about Busselton and WA. Loved it! Highly recommend 👌

Erin Richardson 05 February 2025

Amazing worth a stop in volunteers run and the knowledge of them is just incredible a must stop look at place i would say !

Andrew Lewis 11 February 2025

Great customer service friendly staff. . Information and interesting historical pieces to view and peruse over. Farm machinery, timber mill model , butter factory workings and more. An awesome yesteryear collection of pictures and artifacts. Tuesday morning is closed for maintenance and repair jobs. Run by local volunteers. Great for school excursions