A BOLD plan to create the world’s biggest and most interactive mining museum — including an actual mine shaft — has been unveiled. It is former State architect Steve Woodland’s $100 million vision to attract international and interstate tourists to WA and help build on Perth’s personality and uniqueness.
Mr Woodland, who has been an architect for more than 40 years, believes the museum could be built from public and private funds, be housed in the old East Perth power station or on the Burswood Peninsula and be built in time for WA’s bicentenary in 2029.
“The Museum of Mining WA could offer experiences like no other in the world,” Mr Woodland said. “Immersive technologies can transport the visitor into the mining arena, where they can witness the sounds and shocks of a mining explosion, ride a subterranean train into the depths of the earth, be submersed below an oil rig rich in marine life and drive a Haulpak truck by remote control.
“It would be a unique fusion of learning and entertainment — a globally renowned, must-see destination.”
Mr Woodland, who is one of the principal directors of architectural firm Cox, has a long and distinguished affiliation with significant museum projects in Perth and around the world, including the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle, the WA Museum Geraldton and the Albany Entertainment Centre.
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