Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Australia Melbourne Fire Services Museum of Victoria

Fire Services Museum of Victoria

A firefighting museum housed in a historic station whose Lookout Tower watches over Melbourne.

Melbourne, Australia

Added By
James T. Bartlett
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Former fire station no 1 and its Watch Tower   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Ready for action…   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Dame Nellie Melba’s Donation   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The Watch Room   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The creepy elevator in the Watch Tower   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
  edwardhblake / Atlas Obscura User
The Watch Tower   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Skeleton Key cupboard   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located at the highest point in Melbourne sits the former Eastern Hill Fire Station No. 1, whose distinctive red and yellow 150 foot high Lookout Tower used to be manned by men looking out for smoke and flames across the city.

Today it’s home to a museum about the history of urban and rural firefighting in the state and throughout Australia. And the Tower is still used for training—though the creepy elevator is off-limits.

Inside the museum, among the uniforms, badges, gladiatorial steel helmets and impressive Victorian and Edwardian vehicles (including one donated by famous Aussie opera singer Dame Nellie Melba and later restored), is a can’t-miss attraction: the Watch Room.

The center of all communications, this room's red fire alarm rang out loud whenever a street-side, city or building alarm was activated or a call came in. Using a system of wires, switches, ticker tape and radio, directions and a location were given for the firefighters to race to once they’d retrieved the skeleton key from the cupboard.

A computer room for the steampunk generation, it’s amazing to think this converted hayloft helped keep the city safe for decades, let alone that workers lived here alongside stables, rode horse-drawn emergency vehicles, and ran into burning buildings wearing clothes and equipment that seem hopelessly inadequate today.

An all-silver fire suit with the memorable gold faceplate is on display at the museum, and the volunteer museum guides—all of whom are ex-fire service—recall how you’d emerge from it covered in what was like a fine dusting of snow. It was in fact asbestos.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade are based here today, and if you are lucky enough to get a quick look at their tech-heavy vehicles, you’ll be thankful the Great Melbourne Fire of 1897 is long in the past.

Related Tags

Fire Fighters Museums History Technology

Know Before You Go

Around the corner at McArthur/Albert Streets is a five-story mosaic mural of a million tiles called “The Legend of Fire.” It illustrates the Greek myth of how fire came to be unleashed, how it’s used in modern science and technology, and how it is battled when it gets loose.

Community Contributors

Added By

jbartlett2000

Edited By

edwardhblake

  • edwardhblake

Published

September 21, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Fire Services Museum of Victoria
39 Gisborne St
East Melbourne
Melbourne
Australia
-37.808906, 144.975444
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Pastor Sir Douglas & Lady Gladys Nicholls Memorial

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

Princess Theatre

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

The Limelight Department

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Melbourne

Melbourne

Australia

Places 54
Stories 4

Nearby Places

Pastor Sir Douglas & Lady Gladys Nicholls Memorial

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

Princess Theatre

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

The Limelight Department

Melbourne, Australia

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Melbourne

Melbourne

Australia

Places 54
Stories 4

Related Places

  • The museum includes tools like ink blocks and iron letterpresses, and even a foot-operated press called a Heidelberg Press that was used to print money.

    Old Homosassa, Florida

    Old Mill House Gallery & Printing Museum

    Explore the history of printing in this unique museum owned by a longtime printer.

  • The restored mill building.

    Alcoy, Spain

    Firefighters Museum of Alcoy

    The first firefighters museum in southern Spain is ironically located in an old textile mill that burned down in 1985.

  • Ye Old Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio.

    Dublin, Ireland

    Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio

    A former fortified tower now houses a collection of classic communications equipment.

  • The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum.

    Atlanta, Georgia

    Robert C. Williams Paper Museum

    One of the world’s largest collections of paper memorabilia chronicles 4,000 years of papermaking.

  • 19th century pump

    Los Angeles, California

    Los Angeles Fire Department Museum

    Formerly Fire Station No. 27, the museum is a hidden gem in the heart of Hollywood.

  • Ewing Township, New Jersey

    The Sarnoff Collection

    A surprising museum of 20th-century technology.

  • Smokey’s Fan Mail, 1979.

    Beltsville, Maryland

    Smokey Bear Archive

    The Forest Service's surprisingly sophisticated collection of wildfire prevention art features America's most beloved bear.

  • Kiosks on display.

    Stoke Heath, England

    National Telephone Kiosk Collection

    An ode to the classic piece of British street furniture.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.