The JK McCarthy Museum is a branch of the National Museum and Art Gallery. Located in West Goroka (at the back corner of the National Sports Institute) in the Eastern Highlands Province.
The Museum is named after a renowned patrol officer John Keith McCarthy who served in the Highlands region before becoming a member of the Old House of Assembly and a former member of the National Museum & Art Gallery Board of Trustees.
The Museum is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Goroka. It was established to complement the annual Goroka Show with the aim of documenting, preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of Eastern Highlands Province for future generations. The architectural design of the building depicts the traditional highlands round house. It was opened to the public in 1965.
A donation of 64 artefacts from McCarthy’s personal collection was the first collection of the Museum. The Museum now has a thriving collection of more than 6,000 objects displayed in its 6 galleries including Niugini Room, Giddings Gallery, Leahy Wing, Soso Subi, and Archaeology Room. .
The Museum is open for visits on Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm.