The Australian Motorlife Museum is a not for profit volunteer organisation with Authority to Fund Raise as a Tax Exempt Charity that began in the early 1990’s with a group of veteran and Vintage motoring enthusiasts building the Illawarra Motor Museum with the sole purpose of showcasing the Veteran and Vintage cars to all Australian and international visitors. With the inclusion of more exhibits there was a need expand so we moved into the new building with a new name to include “Motorlife” which was chosen from an early magazine publication so as to cover not only the main exhibits, the cars, motorcycles and bicycles but also the technology that helped change the face of Australia during the late 1800’s and so you will see a very wide range of exhibits from tools, gramophones, typewriters, scales, telephones and more, with a lot of the exhibits resorted by our volunteers or on loan from members and friends.

The Illawarra Museum Wollongong is a two storey heritage building housing a vast collection of furniture and objects from the Wollongong region dating from the Nineteenth Century to the present day. The ground floor displays a schoolroom where you can sit and reminisce on the best days of your life, and an exhibition of the changes in Wollongong throughout the years. Venture into our courtyard and see how people lived before electricity in our kitchen and laundry exhibits. Experience rural and farming lifestyles with our exhibits including the Stockman's Hut, Air Raid Shelter and a Blacksmith's shop. Our Farm Shed displays agricultural, dairy and farm tools as well as several horse drawn vehicles, including a milk and bread cart and ploughs. The second floor exhibits a bedroom and parlour displaying the lifestyle of the more prosperous households during the Nineteenth Century featuring furniture used and donated to the museum by local families.