Founded as an initiative of the State government in 1983, and with the museum opening on 23 November 1986, the Migration Museum in Adelaide is the oldest museum of its kind in Australia.[4] The museum aims to promote cultural diversity and multiculturalism, which they define as including aspects of ethnicity, class, gender, age and region.[5]
The museum has a full program of activities including education programs for school groups, public events and family friendly fun.[7] A memorial wall at the museum reflects an acknowledgement of the various communities who have sought refuge in Australia, while Settlement Square portrays the arrival of many families and individual settlers and a Reconciliation Plaque notes that the land on which the museum is built was first occupied by the Kaurna people.[8]