Old Treasury Building
Old Treasury Building
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Sitting at the top end of Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD, the Old Treasury Building is widely regarded as one of the finest 19th century buildings in Australia. The Old Treasury building was designed by nineteen-year-old architect JJ Clark and built between 1858 and 1862. The Old Treasury Building hosts the original gold vaults where gold bullion was stored during the gold rush era, as well as rare and historic documents from Public Record Office Victoria highlighting key moments from Victoria’s history. Come and explore the intriguing gold vaults! Tours are available on the last Sunday of the month for $15 per person. Tickets through the Old Treasury Building website.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Old Treasury Building and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
6,167 within 3 miles
Attractions
1,655 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
505 reviews
Excellent
239
Very good
214
Average
43
Poor
8
Terrible
1
Betula103
Australia7,855 contributions
May 2021
The museum in this wonderful Renaissance style building is particularly interesting because in addition to several ongoing exhibitions there are others which change from time to time. Presently the ongoing ones are about The Yarra River, Past Protests in Melbourne, Women working during World War Two. 'Wayward Women' from Melbourne's Past and Conscription during World War One. The website for the Old Treasury Museum lists the time-frame for these in addition to listing the ongoing exhibitions of which the one on 'Gold' is extremely popular. The building was actually constructed during the 19th Century gold rush. Part of the building not open to the public still contain offices. Entry is Free.
Written 3 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review Betula103! Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Written 9 July 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Glenn S
Melbourne, Australia180 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
What an unexpected delight! This spectacular old building on Spring Street houses a very interesting museum, which would be ideal for visitors to Melbourne (and for us, as locals, we also learned a lot about the history of Melbourne and Victoria). The staff and volunteers were very welcoming. A rear entry and lift make the museum fully accessible. Special exhibitions supplement the core historical timeline presentation. Enjoy!
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review Glenn! Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Written 5 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Swisshen
Perth, Australia2,354 contributions
Dec 2020
The Old Treasury building is a beautiful example of Renaissance Revival architecture. The wealth from the Gold Rush fueled the construction, with the idea being to house the new found riches. Sadly no gold was stored here because the vaults in the basement were completed after the gold rush had finished, instead they were used to store government documents.
Written 12 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review Swisshen! Glad you enjoyed your visit.
Written 11 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dimitris L
Sydney, Australia50,924 contributions
Apr 2021
The Old Treasury Building is a stunning 19th century building, completed in 1862. Now it houses some government offices, and acts as a functions venue as well as a museum exhibiting all sorts of items and information about the history of Melbourne and the state of Victoria in general. The most amazing "exhibits" are the original gold vaults where gold was meant to be stored during the gold rush era. However it is doubtful whether much gold was actually stored in the building, because by the time of its completion the gold rush was over! Also there are some rare and historic documents from Public Record Office Victoria that tell us some interesting moments about the history of Victoria. Entry is free.
Written 6 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review Dimitris! The vaults are one of the best architectural features of the building. Glad you enjoyed them!
Written 9 July 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,602 contributions
Dec 2022
The Old Treasury Building is one of Australia's finest public buildings remaining from the 19th century. It is built in Renaissance style, from sandstone. After over a century's exposure to Melbourne's variable climate and industrial pollutants, the exterior of the Old Treasury Building will be shrouded in scaffolding to allow for restoration to proceed in the first part of 2023. The interior will remain open. The Old Treasury Building is at the "Paris End" of Collins Street, Melbourne's main commercial thoroughfare. By the way, entry is free.
Written 3 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review 619jeffry! Hopefully the beautiful exterior will be revealed again soon!
Written 5 March 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Traveller
Melbourne, Australia17,413 contributions
Jan 2022
This place has reopened for the public to visit, after extended closures due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
My wife and I visited a few days ago, midweek at 10:30 am, after visiting The State Parliament Building. There were very few visitors during our entire visit. This is excellent for social distancing.
We found it interesting to view the various exhibits inside this museum, especially the gold vault in the very large basement.
My wife and I visited a few days ago, midweek at 10:30 am, after visiting The State Parliament Building. There were very few visitors during our entire visit. This is excellent for social distancing.
We found it interesting to view the various exhibits inside this museum, especially the gold vault in the very large basement.
Written 6 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review Global_Traveller_301! It's been exciting for us to be open, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit.
Written 20 June 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jeffryb
Keysborough, Australia366 contributions
Oct 2020
The Old Treasury Building dates from the time when Victoria was the gold capital of the world. Much of the gold was stored here. It ranks only second to Parliament House as a government office in Victoria's Era of Gold. It is now a Museum, dedicated to the era of Marvellous Melbourne.
Written 7 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review 619je! Hope you enjoyed your visit!
Written 11 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,602 contributions
May 2022
In 1851, the Great Australian Gold Rush took off. Soon, torrents of the precious metal were pouring into Melbourne. It was decided that a Treasury Building, with vaults to hold tons of gold, was required. Had the massive vaults been filled, the value would have been astronomical. Alas, the gold boom was tapering off by the time the Treasury Building was completed. Even so, the Treasury Building remains one of Australia's finest buildings constructed in Renaissance style. Entry is free.
Written 10 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review 619jeffry! The vaults are indeed impressive! I'm glad you enjoyed your visit.
Written 20 June 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ModernDayTimeTraveler
Chicago, IL358 contributions
Nov 2022 • Solo
In Melbourne for the first time for work and had a little time to kill. I always for local history museums if I can and this did not disappoint! I spent just over an hour here and was really impressed with the variety and quality of information. The volunteer who greeted me was incredibly friendly and shared some extra details about the building and the exhibitions. The best part is that it’s FREE! I definitely left with a better understanding of how Melbourne came to be and some important moments in its history. The replica gold nugget in the vault looks too big to be true. Could you imagine being the prospector who dug that up?!
Written 28 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review ModernDayTimeTravel! Glad you enjoyed your visit. The nugget is indeed a wonder to behold!
Written 5 March 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,602 contributions
Feb 2021
The Treasury Building is a renaissance style structure that was built to house the bountiful gold flowing from the Victorian goldfields, which was unfortunately running out when it was completed, and the massive vaults in the basement were never filled. The building housed public servants handling Victoria's money. The building now houses an interesting museum. Victoria's former Premiers also have their offices in the Old Treasury Building.
Written 18 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your review 619jeffry! Hope you enjoyed your visit.
Written 26 April 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing