Transport Museum and Rolls Royce Foundation QLD

Transport Museum and Rolls Royce Foundation QLD offers a focused look at Rolls-Royce and Bentley motoring, aircraft engineering and transport history in Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast. The Coolum Showroom occupies a 620-square-metre air-conditioned space, with displays covering notable engines, model cars, archival material, books and a collection of special motor vehicles. Next door, Carroll’s Transport Depot adds a further display of 25 vintage and collectible cars.

A major centrepiece is a 1967 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, identified by its original registration ZSF 570. The showroom also includes seven Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars, along with nine notable Rolls-Royce engines. The aviation side of the collection includes Merlin Mk 135, Avon Mk 26 and Tay Mk 650-15 aero engines. The Tay turbofan, donated by Alliance Airlines, is displayed on a purpose-built frame and is accompanied by information about its service history and use in aircraft including the Gulfstream and Fokker 70 and 100.

The foundation’s broader purpose is to preserve the heritage of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the work of their founders and related printed material, while supporting public education and the study of mechanical engineering. That gives the showroom a strong archival and engineering focus, rather than being only a display of polished cars. Visitors can also see material connected with Len Shea, a Sunshine Coast local and former RAAF navigator, including service records, photographs and uniform. His wartime story adds a personal dimension to the collection.

The showroom is open on the first Saturday of each month from 7am to 10am, alongside Sunshine Coast Cars & Coffee and the German Bakehouse across the road. It also opens on the first Monday of the month from 9am to 1pm, with other visits available for groups by appointment. Admission is $10. It should appeal most to motoring enthusiasts, aviation and engineering followers, history-minded visitors and organised groups, with enough variety for anyone curious about how luxury cars, aircraft engines and local stories connect.