Beaudesert Museum Collections

Machinery and Vehicles

The Beaudesert Museum consists of an extensive collection of agricultural machinery and tools dating from 1840 to the present day, comprised of a "Bullock Cart" built and used on a local property in the late 1850s. Along with several smaller vehicles, milk floats, goat carts, pony trap, horse dray, plus a range of locally designed and constructed harvesting machines for many crops; cotton, grain, timber and dairy.

The collection also includes an array of internal combustion powered vehicles and farm machinery:

• a 1936 Dennis Fire tender in excellent condition
• a vertical steam boiler and numerous belt driven agricultural machines
• a Gutenberg Press and Type Setter
• a complete ''Vacreator'' courtesy of the now closed dairy along with a complete milking machine and creamery display.

The outdoor display of farm and transport machinery...

Covers a large area of the museum grounds and hosts an array of horse drawn as well as motorised vehicles, along with a faithfully restored bullock dray from a property located in Running Creek and originally built on the property.

The array includes steam powered; petrol powered and wind powered equipment, with several ingenious local designs and inventions showing the skills of early pioneering settlers who achieved much in face of adversity.

The indoor display of machinery...

Hosts a display of equipment of special merit, including the 1936 Dennis Fire Engine used originally in Brisbane ending its working life in Beaudesert and several small horse drawn vehicles of special interest. The adjacent space houses an array of printing machinery donated by The Beaudesert Times on the occasion of the modernisation of their printery.

Also displayed here is an array of dairy equipment, from local farm dairies as well as larger items donated by the Beaudesert Butter Factory of the ALBERT AND LOGAN DAIRY CO OPERTIVE on its closure. Also included elsewhere in the museum, extensive records of the operation and its shareholders.

Buildings and Structures

When you first arrive at the museum you will see a fully furnished, to the period original, "Slab Hut" built locally in 1876 and relocated to our museum. You will also find an original single person cell hut from Palen Creek Prison Farm.

A railway "Tent Hut" as used by Railway navies during the early days of Queensland Railway, houses a display of railwayana and original tools used during the construction of the Queensland Railway.

The Beaudesert Museum also houses the original Courthouse and Council Chamber from TABRAGALBA (later Beaudesert Council offices).

The 1840's pioneer slab hut in original condition was transported from its original home in the Kerry Valley, has been restored using original timbers hewn in the traditional way using original tools and faithfully reproduced in the interior with some original furnishings. Many traditional domestic artifacts including an original “Ant Bed Hearth“ within the original kitchen area, as well as a traditional laundry area with many fittings.

Other Special Interest Items

Some other items of special interest at the museum include:

• a collection of musical instruments and phonographs.
• a collection of early clothing, uniforms, wedding dresses etc along with a collection of early sewing machines.
• a collection of relics and written records relating to the "STINSON CRASH" of 1937, including some parts of the aircraft.
• a collection of ANZAC memrobillia including uniforms, weapons, medals, letters and photographs.
• an early school room collection.

Would today’s teachers and children put up with the conditions and rules portrayed here?

These exhibit just a small sample of our collection just to wet your appetite.
The collection holds in excess of 25000 items, with an equal if not greater number of archival records.