Melbourne Museum (Museums Victoria)

Keeper of a large share of the Murchison meteorite and of several of the giant Cranbourne irons.

Key facts

Where

Melbourne, Australia

Kind

Museum

Visiting

Public galleries

Museums Victoria holds the state of Victoria's natural sciences collections, including its meteorites.

On 28 September 1969 the Murchison meteorite fell as a shower over the town of Murchison, north of Melbourne. Museum staff went to collect it, and the museum keeps a large share of the 100 kilograms or so recovered. Murchison turned out to be one of the most important meteorites ever, a carbonaceous chondrite carrying dozens of amino acids and thousands of other organic compounds made in space.

The museum also has masses of the Cranbourne iron, a group of large irons found south-east of Melbourne in the 19th century; the largest Cranbourne mass is in London.

Highlights

• Murchison fell north of Melbourne in 1969 CM2
• Cranbourne giant irons Iron, IAB-MG

Related pages

Opening times, what is on display and access to research collections change over time, so check with the institution before you visit.