Gwoonwardu Mia - Gascoyne Aboriginal Heritage and Cultural Centre

I have been to a number of indigenous cultural centres around Western Australia, so I was keen to visit Gwoonwardu Mia. The centre is located on your way into town, on Robinson Road, just before the Babbage Island Road turnoff. You can't miss the large building encased by carved steel panels. The entrance however is a little more difficult to locate. The main visitor's car park is to the left of the building, but the entrance is actually tucked around to the right. The centre is open to the public from 9:30am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday (closed Saturday and Sunday).The entrance is just past the cafe, in the gallery shop. to get through to the interpretive centre you go through the gallery shop out the doors to the ethnobotanical gardens, representing the five local language groups, and then to a smaller side door. The interpretive centre, Burlganyja Wanggaya, is worth the admission fee ($10/adult & $5/children), with impressive interactive displays, such as the Sky Dome, which showcases a timelapse video of a starry sky, with commentary about the ancient art of stargazing for the Aboriginal community, and the exhibit on the incredible giant, burrowing bees. I thoroughly recommend you spend the time listening and watching each of the stories (both good and bad) about the history of Gascoyne Aboriginal peoples - it was captivating.The gallery shop and the cafe however really don't do the centre justice. They were poorly laid out and weren't that inviting. The staff were almost non-existent and not that helpful at all. Which is a shame as both the gallery and shop have the potential to be an asset to the centre rather than an afterthought.

The place is beautifully designed with meanings and aesthetic. The museum connects you with direct testimonies by videos to the history of the region.If you want to listen to everything you'll have to stay at least 2 hours.I don't think kids will enjoy it, for teenagers and up.Nice art exhibition and gift shop.I liked the cafe with its patio.

We really liked the displays and explanations, but it's a pity I couldn't take any video to add to our overseas experience to share the story with folks back home. The VR exibit wasn't working, and the person that was helping everyone just disappeared, so we had to just leave. Google is asking to add photos but we don't have any.

The staff here were amazing, they took us to the interpretive centre explaining different elements along the way. After we went through met us again and then explained the different plants in the court yard. Very knowledgeable. Making it a wonderful experience.

This centre combines an information centre about the local First Nations people, their stories and history in a well designed display and a small art gallery. The art gallery was not particularly compelling but the information centre was very good. A nice cafe is also attached to the centre.

Very happy to visit the center and learn about local history in Carnarvon. This is an interactive place where you can learn stories about elders. Very moving. Thank you to the kind staff members who guided us.

Visited Gwoonwardu Mia this morning - what a truly excellent experience. Very moving to walk through and read and hear all of the stories in the cultural display. Loved the interactive table with all the photos etc. Star was an amazing host and made our visit magical. Thank you for the experience tasting the grevilla honey. Would absolutely recommend a visit, so worth it.

It is a must if you are interested in culture.The staff are excellent very motivated to assist.We have visited many around Australia and this one compares with the best.The display is a balanced factual account of Aboriginal culture and history.Children will be very impressed with the interactive display which is first class.The entrance fee is very reasonable.There is a display about burrowing bees, it is an intriguing fact.It will be time well spent.Highly recommend a visit.

We visited on the first day of a ten day solar eclipse event schedule. The staff were tremendously engaging and friendly. The VR experience is a must - very informative and spectacular. We also enjoyed the art lesson with a local artist sharing her dot-painting skills and wonderful life stories. A great way to spend the afternoon for adults and children alike.

Inspiring and well curated, informative exhibition. Thank you for sharing insights into your culture, connection to the land, the importance of local languages and your resilience and strength in the face of the terrible trauma that came with settlement. Highly recommend visiting! The gift shop also has beautiful colourful art from local artists