The Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne is a heritage-listed, internationally recognised museum documenting the life and work of composer Percy Grainger, with collections spanning music, sound technology, instruments, ethnography, art and design. The collection and archive support teaching, research and collaboration with researcher access by appointment.
Collection highlights
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Percy Grainger, c.1902 oil on canvas, 99.2 x 83.6 cm
Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny (1864-1947) -
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Organ chimes No 5504, n.d. (1900-1920). Nickel-plated steel, wood
J.C. Deagan Inc., Chicago -
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Mde May Hammond, couturier, Belgrave. Silk, tulle and velvet beaded evening gown belonging to Rose Grainger, 1906.
Percy Grainger preserved most of his mother's extensive wardrobe following her death in 1922. This significant collection, which includes gowns by Chanel and Worth, provides insight into fashion trends of the upper-middle class during the Edwardian era. -
Wax cylinders. Edison Company, United States
400 recordings of English, Danish, Rarotongan (Cook Islands) and Maori folk singers are held in the collection. -
Heavy laden : Japanese girl with child
Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938). One of the artist's favourite images, this work exists as a lithograph, a colour etching and drypoint, a three colour half-tone print and a monochrome drypoint. -
Meissen monkey orchestra (Affencapelle), 1863-1900, porcelain, glazes, gold lustre
As well as Meissen pieces, the porcelain and ceramics in the collection includes items by Royal Copenhagen, Royal Doulton, Willow Pattern (various makers), Japanese porcelain (Meiji period), Mamluk and Ottoman pottery and painted tiles by Ella Grainger. -
A colour chord twenty-one stringed flat sound box from the Hirschfeld Mack collection at the Grainger Museum -
Ian Bonighton, In Nomine, for tape, percussion and optional organ, first performed 1973. Excerpts. Grainger Museum Collection 2017/23/2/11 -
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Upcoming Events
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2026 Grainger Symposium: Percy Grainger's 'Legends'
2 December 2026 - 3 December 2026
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Penelope Thwaites AM - The More, the Merrier
3 February 2027, 6pm-7pm
Plan your visit
Research
Search and request material that can be viewed in the Research Room, explore Research Residencies and further resources
For researchers
Learn
Explore the Grainger Museum’s tertiary program, utilising the Museum’s exhibitions and permanent collection to spark new inquiry and creative work, across the disciplines.
For students
About Percy Grainger
Learn more about Percy Grainger, the composer and inventor at the heart of the Grainger Museum.
Who was Percy Grainger
About the Grainger Museum
Discover the history and origin of this unique autobiographical Museum.
Find out more about the museum