La Perouse Museum in Randwick 2031 is a stunning piece of Australian history. It’s housed in the original stone cottage where French explorer Jean-Francois de Galaup, Comte de Laperouse, and his crew stayed during their voyage around Australia’s coast. The museum has a permanent exhibition called Vistas which gives an overview of the expedition and explores La Pérouse’s legacy as an oceanographer.

This includes a fascinating reconstruction of the expedition’s voyage, recreated from Laperouse’s original diary entries. It tells the story of how they sailed from France, rounded Cape Horn, and made their way to Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. They set sail once again in April that year with a mission to explore the Southern Lands but were never heard from again after stopping at Vanikoro in July 1788.

The museum also features an exhibition called La Pérouse: Artist Seaman which looks at Laperouse’s legacy as one of history’s great explorers and navigators – combining artistic ability with scientific understanding. It explores his enthralling journey around Australia’s coast through paintings, drawings, and objects collected during voyages over 250 years ago. The show includes Australian flora he gathered for botanical research; sketches taken by expedition members, such as his map of Vanikoro and a drawing of the New Hebrides; paintings by Australian Aboriginal artists from Arnhem Land.

The museum also has temporary exhibitions that change periodically and explore many different aspects of Australian history in an engaging way for visitors.

Some of the highlights of visiting this place include:

• A visit to the museum’s Visitor Centre (open from Tuesday to Sunday) allows you a glimpse of Laperouse’s journal and equipment.
• The exhibition Vistas, which explores La Pérouse’s legacy as an oceanographer.
• The museum features an exhibition called La Pérouse: Artist Seaman that looks at the French explorer Jean-Francois de Galaup, Comte de Laperouse who is best remembered for his explorations in the Pacific Ocean during 1785–88.
• There are several exhibitions on offer (across three levels) that give visitors a fascinating insight into Australian life over more than two centuries. Favourites include One hundred years from now – Australia in 2035; Our land explores what it means to be Aboriginal and living on the land.
• La Pérouse Museum is a part of Randwick’s history that should not be missed – it’s only ten minutes away from Sydney on the bus or train!