The National Cartoon Gallery @ The Bunker, Coffs Harbour

The National Cartoon Gallery is housed in a unique building, a combination of an original underground World War II bunker converted in 1995 to an exhibition space, together with a second upstairs gallery, completed in 2021 with funding from the NSW Government. This now well-known and iconic building, replicating a post WWII Nissen Hut design to align with the design of the bunker below, is about to reopen with a whole new offering to visitors. Downstairs in the Bunker gallery are regularly changing cartoon exhibitions curated from the Gallery’s collection. With a history of playing a role in communications in war time the gallery continues to provide a communications role, through the genius and humour of generations of cartoonists. The upstairs gallery will soon host the National Holden Motor Museum, a significant collection of Holden Motor Cars, some dating back to the 1950s, and throughout the decades till the recent demise of Holden car production. The museum includes a broad range of Holden memorabilia from over the years. This has been made possible by the generous support and donations from local businesses. Today the original bunker houses the Bunker Cartoon Collection with over 23,000 cartoons from leading Australian and international cartoonists. Visitors may now also view the outside of the original underground bunker through a large window display, adding to the attraction of your visit.