{{Short description|Australian collection of telecommunication equipment}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2025}} thumb|The National Communication Museum in Hawthorn, 2025 '''National Communication Museum''' or '''NCM''' is Australia's national museum of communication which showcases technologies of the past and present. It is located in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, adjacent to Swinburne University of Technology, and is housed in a historic 1939 telephone exchange building.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} National Communication Museum |url=https://ncm.org.au/about |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=ncm.org.au |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Homepage {{!}} National Communication Museum |url=https://ncm.org.au/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=ncm.org.au |language=en}}</ref> It opened in September 2024.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Kelly |date=2024-09-21 |title=Australia's newest museum features a 90s mobile phone – and will be launched by a humanoid robot |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/sep/21/australias-newest-museum-features-a-90s-mobile-phone-and-will-be-launched-by-a-humanoid-robot |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Melbourne's First Major Museum To Open in 25 Years Has a Neon Phone Booth, Robots and a Cyber Cafe |url=https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/art-and-design/article/melbournes-first-major-museum-open-25-years-has-neon-phone-booth-robots-and-cyber-cafe |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Broadsheet |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=National Communication Museum, Attraction, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |url=https://www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/melbourne/see-and-do/art-and-culture/museums/national-communication-museum |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Visit Victoria home |language=en}}</ref>
It is located on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.<ref name=":0" />
==History== The museum was given seed funding from Telstra which enabled them, over a number of years, to acquire collections of communications paraphernalia which are deemed to be of cultural significance to Australian audiences.<ref name=":1" /> In presenting this collection the museum aims to explore the relationship between humanity and technology and make audiences think about what its future may be.<ref name=":2" />
The exhibitions on display include a fully interactive cyber cafe, reminding users of the 1990s which can be used to 'surf the web', play retro games and chat on MSN Messenger.<ref name=":2" />
It replaced the Victorian Telecommunications Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Communication Museum |url=https://victoriancollections.net.au/organisations/national-communications-museum |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Victorian Collections |language=en}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:The front reception area at the National Communication Museum in Hawthorn.jpg|The front reception area at the NCM, 2025 File:The cyber cafe (internet cafe) at the National Communication Museum 03.jpg|The cyber cafe (internet cafe) at the NCM, 2025 File:Electromechanical Speaking Clock Mark 2 at the National Communication Museum 01.jpg|Electromechanical Speaking Clock Mark 2 at the NCM, 2025 File:The Assman Speaking Clock at the National Communication Museum.jpg|The Assman Speaking Clock at the NCM, 2025 File:Assorted photos from the National Communication Museum 01.jpg|Commodore PET 2001 at the NCM, 2025 File:Assorted photos from the National Communication Museum 02.jpg|Garfield phone on display at the NCM, 2025 </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{coord|37|49|21.21|S|145|2|11.17|E|display=title}} Category:Museums in Melbourne Category:History of telecommunications in Australia Category:Telephone museums Category:History of science and technology in Australia Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Boroondara Category:Telecommunications museums Category:2024 establishments in Australia