Australia’s First Vietnamese Museum Opens in Sunshine
Vietnamese Museum Australia offers a permanent place to preserve and share the community’s stories —alongside a new public plaza honouring Brimbank’s Traditional Owners and multicultural communities.
Australia’s first museum dedicated to Vietnamese-Australian history has opened in Sunshine —following more than a decade of work by the community to establish a permanent home for its stories.
The Vietnamese Museum Australia was officially opened on Saturday, 17 October, by Museum Chief Executive Tammy Nguyen, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll, Federal Member for Fraser Daniel Mulino and Brimbank Mayor Virginia Tachos.
The opening marks a significant milestone for a community of more than 350,000 people of Vietnamese origin across Australia, including more than 121,000 Victorians.
The museum traces the experiences of Vietnamese Australians from migration and refugee settlement after the Vietnam War to the community’s achievements today. Many Vietnamese refugees arrived in Australia from the mid-1970s after dangerous journeys by sea. The new museum provides a dedicated place for those experiences and for later generations to share their histories in their own voices.
Tammy Nguyen said the museum would honour those who left Vietnam seeking freedom and a better future, while preserving Vietnamese history and traditions for generations to come. Her own parents made a six-day, seven-night boat journey to escape Vietnam.
The project received $9.7 million from the Australian Government through its Investing in Our Communities Program and $8.6 million from the Victorian Government, alongside community fundraising. Brimbank has one of Australia’s largest Vietnamese communities, with people of Vietnamese heritage making up about 17 per cent of the municipality’s population.
Wominjeka Plaza also opened beside the museum. The new public space honours the Wurundjeri people as Traditional Owners and celebrates Brimbank’s refugee and multicultural communities. Designed and developed by Brimbank City Council, the plaza connects RT Pollard Gardens with Durham Road and was shaped with input from the Wurundjeri Council, multicultural groups and Brimbank Youth Council.
Together, the museum and plaza create a place for people to gather and learn about the histories and cultures that have shaped Sunshine and the wider community. The museum is at 119 Durham Street, Sunshine, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm. (NQ)
Vietnamese Museum Australia and Wominjeka Plaza
Official Opening Ceremony
Saturday 17th October 2026
ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS
Smoking Ceremony
Daniel Ross, Wurundjeri Man
Welcome to Country
Uncle Andrew Gardiner,
Wurundjeri Elder
Traditional Gift Handover
Uncle Shane Charles and Aunty Lee-Anne Clarke, Brimbank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee, and Aunty Sinh Thi Khien, Vietnamese Elder
Flag Raising, National Anthems and Minute of Silence
National Anthems of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Republic of Vietnam
Musical Performance – ‘Quê Hương Bỏ Lại’
Vietnamese Museum Australia Choir
Official Welcome
Mr Bruce Mildenhall, Chairperson, Vietnamese Museum Australia
Address
Ms Tammy Nguyen, Chief Executive Officer, Vietnamese Museum Australia
Message
Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Official Address
The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Federal Member for Fraser, representing the Prime Minister of Australia
Official Address
The Hon Ben Carroll MP, Premier of Victoria
Official Address
Mr Evan Mulholland MP, Shadow Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Affairs, Member for Northern Metropolitan Region, representing the Leader of the Opposition
Official Address
Cr Virginia Tachos, Mayor, Brimbank City Council
Musical Performance – ‘I Am Australian’
Performed by Tina Cao and Eric Avery, with didgeridoo accompaniment by Uncle Shane Charles
Traditional Lion Dance
GDPT Đại Bi Quan Âm Lion Dance Troupe
Official Ribbon Cutting
