Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology

Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology

Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology, The Abbey Place, Caboolture QLD, Australia

Watch history come alive at the Abbey Museum Caboolture near Brisbane, you’ll step back in time through an anthropological porthole. Learn how ancient people lived, from lords and ladies to clergy and peasants. See artifacts which were part of people's everyday lives long ago, and astounding objects of rare beauty. Learn about medical technologies, politics and what people thought about education and religion.

The Abbey Museum Caboolture near Brisbane in the Moreton Bay Region offers a truly educational and fascinating journey into the past.

The Abbey Museum Collection

A treasure house of world history, the museum’s collection spans 500,000 years of civilization.

Cast your eyes over an Egyptian Death Mask, a rare armoured shoe from Olympia, medieval illuminated manuscripts, stained glass fragments from Winchester Cathedral and everyday objects of medieval life such as weapons, woodwork and pottery. With over 4,000 objects on display, the Abbey Museum houses Australia’s largest collection of medieval artifacts and antiquities.

Looking to make the experience fun for the children? The Abbey Museum offers a free activity book for every child on admission. Watch their enthusiasm as they make their own anthropological discoveries!

Museum Tours, Groups and Facilities

The experienced and passionate volunteers at the Abbey Museum will make your trip informative and memorable with guided tours of Abbey Church running Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am. Tour, bus and school groups are welcomed by prior arrangement. The Abbey is one of the most engaging museums near Brisbane and is a perfect attraction for all ages!

The museum has the following facilities to make your visit more enjoyable:

  • Car parking close to the museum
  • Bus parking close to the museum
  • Ample parking for caravans, camper trailers and large mobile homes
  • Parking for the disabled
  • Toilets for the disabled
  • Guided tours available
  • Grassed picnic area with shade
  • Public toilets

Abbey Medieval Festival

Held annually during the second week of July, the Abbey Medieval Festival is the living embodiment of medieval life. It showcases all the sounds, smells, vigour and colour of the medieval age. With spit roast meats roasting on open fires, re-enactment camps, minstrels, jousting, mock-battles and music, it’s a medieval celebration unmatched in its authenticity and sheer scale.

Watch as lords and ladies parade in their finery, knights fight for their honour and gypsies dance to hypnotic drumbeats. Wander through the markets and partake in medieval fare or down a glass of mead.

Love to learn more about how people in the Medieval Ages dyed cloth, made shoes, ground wheat, cleaned armour, made swords and tanned animal hides? The festival hosts over a hundred scheduled workshops, displays and performances over the 2 days. Passionate re-enactors and skilled crafts people from Australia and overseas display their knowledge, answer questions and share a little slice of medieval life with you.

If you love history, have children who are currently studying medieval history at school, or are simply looking for an excuse to dress up or for a good reason to leave the house, don't miss this truly unique and fascinating event! There’s no other quite like it and it’s one of the best festivals near Brisbane.

The following facilities will make your visit to the festival grounds even more enjoyable:

  • Bus pickup and drop off to the front gate
  • Public toilets
  • Toilets for the disabled
  • Food vendors
  • ATM machines at front gate
  • Express lane for pre-purchased tickets

Please note that the Abbey Medieval Festival is an outdoor event.

If you love festivals and museums, come back to visit The Abbey Museum another time, for one of the best day trips from Brisbane.

Explore Australia’s largest collection of Medieval artifacts and a Festival with a difference at the Abbey Museum.

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Acknowledgement of Country - We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waterways of the Moreton Bay Region, the Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi, Jinibara, and Turrbal people and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise the ongoing connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original custodians of this land.