St Arnaud - Bible Museum and Butterfly Garden - Wimmera

St Arnaud - Bible Museum and Butterfly Garden

The Bible Museum contains more than 1500 Bibles, together with models and artefacts associated with the Bible message. There are educational displays of many types, including the history of the Bible in English.

The Bible collection has original Bibles that were printed 400 years ago, as well as the most recent modern editions. The majority of the Bibles are in English, but many other languages are included: there are Bibles from every continent, and many islands: Australian Aborigine, Eskimo, Hebrew, Greek, and hundreds more.

The Bibles in the collection range in size from large Victorian 'Family' Bibles, to miniatures that require a magnifying glass to read them. Their bindings include covers made from vellum, velvet, olive wood, mother-of-pearl and tin, as well as the more common leathers. Some of the Bibles have brass buckles, many have gilt edges and many are beautifully illustrated. The collection also features models, including a large scale 'Ark of the Covenant', musical instruments, oils, models and lamps - all included in the one hour free guided tour!

The Bible Museum includes a Bible Plant Garden, which has trees mentioned in or related to the Bible, such as a Cedar of Lebanon, Pomegranates, and a 100+ year old Holm Oak, and Papyrus reeds, and more.

However, the star attraction in the garden is the Butterfly Garden. Metamorphosis, the word describing the transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly, was taken from the Greek New Testament text by early biologists.

At the Bible Museum we breed butterflies to show the metamorphosis transformation to visitors, demonstrating the change that the 'Word of God' can have in a believer's life. We regard it as the 'spiritual' message of the museum. Visitors are able to watch the whole butterfly life cycle. They see butterflies hatch, in season, then release them out into the garden, where they set up territorial zones around nectar flowers and caterpillar host plants.

Bible Facts & Figures

The word "Bible" simply means book. It comes from the Greek and Latin words for book, which is "Biblia". "Testament" means covenant or contract. "Tanakh" or "Mikra" are the Hebrew words for the Old Testament.
The Bible was originally made up of books written in 4 languages; Hebrew, Chaldee, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The entire Bible was written over a 1500 year span.
Methuselah was the longest lived person in the Bible, reaching the age of 969 years. "Methuselah" is also the name given to the long lived Monarch butterflies who migrate from Canada to Mexico.
The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours. It has been recorded onto vinyl records, cassettes, CD's and mp3 by actors such as Gregory Peck, David Suchet (Poirot), Johnny Cash, Derek Jacobi and Sheila Hancock.

Opening Hours:

Opening Times for Museum
The Butterfly Garden is open from November to May and various species of butterflies can be seen, depending on the time of year. We try to have Monarch or Wanderer butterflies from November to May, but this very much depends on the weather.

Cost:

Free Admission