Eden Killer Whale Museum

The museum's centrepiece is Old Tom himself, an orca whose partnership with the Davidson family whalers on Twofold Bay became one of the most remarkable stories in Australian maritime history. The killer whales would herd humpbacks into the bay and alert the whalers, then claim the lips and tongue of the catch as their reward. Old Tom's skeleton, on display since 1930, shows the teeth worn flat from holding harpoon ropes.

Beyond Old Tom, the collection includes ship models, harpoons, whaling logbooks, Aboriginal artefacts, and domestic items from nineteenth-century Eden. A small theatre screens footage about the whaling era, and the viewing platform offers sweeping views across Twofold Bay.

The museum is entirely volunteer-run and community-owned, which gives it a warmth that larger institutions rarely match. Allow at least 90 minutes to do it justice.