About
Celebrating Jazz History Since 1996
Founded in 1996 as the Victorian Jazz Archive (VJA), the Australian Jazz Museum (AJM) came about from the strongly voiced desire to preserve Australia’s jazz heritage, and for it to be readily accessible to musicians, collectors, donors and others throughout Australia.
In 2003 VJA was accredited as a Museum by Museums Australia (Victoria). In 2014 the VJA changed its name to Australian Jazz Museum – to reflect the Museum’s Australia-wide mission, collection and membership.
Mission
The Australian Jazz Museum mission is to Proactively Collect, Archive and Disseminate Australian jazz.
We are dedicated to the collection of anything related to Australian jazz, Australians playing jazz elsewhere in the world, and non-Australians playing jazz in Australia. Our collection includes Australian jazz materials from the 1920s through to the present, covering all jazz eras and all types of jazz.
Committee of Management
The Committee of Management and all A.J.M. staff are volunteers. As with all Incorporated Associations based in Victoria, the Committee of Management is sometimes referred to as the Board, Board of Directors, Committee, or Management Committee. The Committee looks after the Australia Jazz Museum’s affairs and has legal duties under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act of 2012.
James Morrison AM
Patron
Committee Members 2024-2025
Ian Rutherford
President
Noel McInnes
Vice President
Margot Davies
Secretary / Public Officer
David McDowell
Treasurer
David Canterford
General Manager
Mel Blachford
Collections Manager
Robert Ayres
General Committee
Span Hanna
General Committee
Lorraine McInnes
General Committee
Terry Norman
General Committee
Anne Thornton
General Committee
Hilton Vermaas
General Committee
Visit Us
Details
We welcome museum visitors 10 am – 3pm Tuesdays and offer group tours and school tours by appointment. We are closed on Victorian public holidays.
Our location is “Koomba Park”, 15 Mountain Highway, Wantirna, Vic 3152. We’re close to the intersection of Burwood Highway and Mountain Highway.
Most areas of the Museum offer full wheelchair/walking frame access. The phone +61 3 9800 5535 and email (info@ajm.org.au) are usually only answered when the museum is open.
Drop In Visits (free)
During visitor hours you are welcome to enjoy our current exhibit, listen to jazz, use our reference library, and borrow a book from our lending library (if you are a member). A guide will be happy to show you how jazz donations (recordings, videos, posters, etc.) are registered, processed, and archived. Plus you can visit our shop, which is full of great Australian jazz recordings, including many custom CD’s compiled by the AJM.
Group Tours ($25/person) and School Tours (free)
Group and school visitors enjoy everything that a drop in visitor would enjoy, plus: a comprehensive tour of the museum, including what goes on behind the scenes; lunch, afternoon tea, or light refreshments; and a live jazz performance by a jazz band (Feb thru Oct). Our minimum group size is 20 with a maximum of 30.
Members and friends are welcome to “tag along” with group tours, for the same per-head charge. Call the museum for upcoming group tours.
Tours can be scheduled by prior arrangement between 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, or evenings, any day except Saturday and public holidays.
Advance booking is essential.
- To book a group tour, contact the office on +61 3 9800 5535 on Tuesdays between 10:00 and 3:00, or email tours@ajm.org.au
- To book a school tour, contact the office on +61 3 9800 5535 on Tuesdays between 10:00 and 3:00, or email tours@ajm.org.au. If the school tour you are booking is for school musicians, you may also want to schedule a free school jazz seminar at the same time.