Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is Tasmania’s leading natural and cultural heritage organisation. It is a combined museum, art gallery and herbarium which safeguards the physical evidence of Tasmania’s natural and cultural heritage, and the cultural identity of Tasmanians.

TMAG is Australia’s second-oldest museum and has its origins in the collections of Australia’s oldest scientific society, the Royal Society of Tasmania, established in 1843.  The first permanent home of the museum opened on the corner of Argyle and Macquarie streets in 1863 and the museum has gradually expanded from this corner to occupy the entire city block.

The TMAG precinct is one of Australia’s most historically significant sites.  Included in the precinct is Tasmania’s oldest surviving public building, the 1808-10 Commissariat Store; the Private Secretary’s Cottage, built prior to 1815 and originally adjacent to old Government House; and Tasmania’s first federal building, the 1902 Custom House.

TMAG cares for the State Collections of Tasmania: almost 800,000 objects as diverse as fossils and fine art. The collections represent the essence of our society’s values and are a major reference point for Tasmanians to gain a greater appreciation of what it means to be Tasmanian and to understand their place within the global community.