A Victorian agricultural museum showcases the invention and development of some of the oldest farm machinery in the country
In the heart of Victoria’s Wimmera region and at the centre of vast wheat and grain growing area, lies one of Australia’s largest collections of historic agricultural machinery.
Across a 40-acre site, the Wheatlands Warracknabeal Agricultural Machinery Museum is home to hundreds of vintage horse, Kerosene, petrol and diesel-powered machines.
Located in Warracknabeal and run by the town’s Historical Society, the museum is a must-see for all farmers and historic enthusiasts, showcasing everything from vintage tractors and grain producing equipment to individual engines.
Given its location, the display has an overall theme of grain production, with a particular focus on the invention, development and modification of machinery to suit farming conditions both locally and nationally.
Hidden treasures
The idea for the Wheatlands Warracknabeal Agricultural Machinery Museum was born by local farmers in the mid-1960s.
“A lot of farmers from the surrounding towns such as Horsham, Donald and Dimboola wanted to keep a collection of the older agricultural machinery,” Warracknabeal Historical Society secretary Lesley Stephan says.
“It was almost like a tradition that once you purchased a new machine, you left your old one out under the tree, or an old shed.
“Since our climate is relatively dry, there was a lot of machinery around that was still in reasonable condition.”
Many farmers donated their older equipment, seeing it as an opportunity to contribute to a larger collection. As this gained momentum, so did the idea for the museum.
Warracknabeal was then decided as the location, since it was central to the Wimmera region, and the museum was established in 1973.
Something for everyone
In the museum’s early days, there was a lot of machine restoration involved, with some of the equipment being original farming items, including late 19th century threshers and early 1900s tractors.
The work done to preserve the machines has paid off in a significant way, with many of the machines still in great condition today.
Four sections make up the inside display at the Wheatlands Warracknabeal Agricultural Machinery Museum – tractors, harvesting, small engines, and transport – as well as three storage sheds and a collection of machines showcased on the outside block of land.
Lesley says some of the earliest machines in the tractor section were built between 1913 and 1916, with the rest of the makes demonstrating the development of tractors since that time.
“The tractor section changes from time to time,” she says.
“We were donated 14 tractors a couple of years ago that had been restored, so we put a few of those on display in the museum and some into the sheds.
“There’s some being restored at the moment, which will go into the museum when they’re ready.”
While there are too many to name them all, some of the highlights of the tractor section include a 1921 Lanz Bulldog – which Lesley says may be one of only two in Australia – a 1913 McDonald Imperial manufactured locally in Melbourne, and a 1916 Jelbart built locally in Ballarat.
The museum has also recently restored a 1925 John Deere ‘D’ model. Another intriguing tractor model at the museum is a 1928 Mercedes Benz OE type, which was donated by the company.
A custom-built ‘double header’ tractor is also a feature of the section, showcasing how two individual 1932 and 1938 Case L tractors have been combined into a larger machine.
This innovative Case tractor was built by three local brothers in the 1950s, as their previous crawler tractor was worn out and smaller wheeled tractors didn’t have the horsepower required or the capacity to travel over the same terrain.
Other brands on display include but are not limited to Allis-Chalmers, Deutz, McCormick, Massey Harris, Fordson, Austin, Caterpillar, Ronaldson Tippett, Huber, Twin City, Hart Parr, and H.S.C.S.
A range of strippers, threshers and headers, as well as a baler can be found in the harvesting section.
“Sometimes we plant a crop, and we get our old tractors to pull the vintage headers so we can harvest it,” Lesley says.
Of the small engine section, she adds many are ‘not so small’ and were used to power a lot of the equipment including threshers, winnowers and lighting.
As the name suggests, the transport section features a variety of equipment used to move around on-farm, such as wagons, buggies and gigs, but there also machines like seed drills, mowers and ploughs that feature.
While historic machines are the main attraction, it isn’t all that the museum has to offer. Since the overall theme is grain production, the museum also has an exhibit with over 1,000 samples of grain from 40 countries.
This display is known as the Don Wurfel Collection, paying tribute to the late local figure who started the collection.
“Don was born in Brim, 20km north of Warracknabeal and ended up moving to Pinnaroo in South Australia,” Lesley says.
“When his son moved back to Brim we were donated part of the collection, with the rest still on display at Pinnaroo.”
There are various other highlights in the museum grounds, including a workshop used by volunteers for machine restoration, a replica of the log “Smithy” hut in which Hugh Victor McKay produced his first stripper harvester in 1884, an old shearing shed used at rallies for blade and mechanical shearing demonstrations, and a log cabin that was originally a shepherd’s hut during Warracknabeal’s settlement .
Talk of the town
Every year on the Easter long weekend, the museum holds its Wheatlands Warracknabeal Vintage Machinery Rally, a significant event on the calendar for the town.
A collection of historic agricultural machinery is always on display, including live demonstrations of working equipment, a tractor parade, and a vintage tractor pull – a competition in which old tractors pull a heavy sled over a certain distance.
In addition, restoration enthusiasts from many parts of Australia exhibit their own collections of tractors, engines and machinery.
All of this is complemented by live music, catered food and drinks, shearing demonstrations, kids activities, and a vintage street parade.
“There’s quite a bit on at the Easter Rally and it’s part of Warracknabeal’s Easter Festival,” Lesley says.
“At our most recent Easter celebration, we featured Caterpillar for its 100th anniversary, and next year we will be featuring Massey-Harris tractors.”
Wheatlands Warracknabeal Agricultural Machinery Museum is located at 34 Henty Highway, Warracknabeal, 3393. For more information, call (03) 5398 1616 or visit warracknabealhistory.org.au/agricultural-museum