Laidley Pioneer Village entry April 2022

Laidley Pioneer Village blacksmith demonstration April 2022

The Laidley Pioneer Village and Museum is an historic

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

located in the town of Laidley,

Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Gatton and the Shire of Laidl ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, on the corner of Drayton Street and Pioneer Street. It portraits rural life in Queensland from the early 19th century.

History

The Laidley region was once the home of the "Kitabul People" before the arrival of Europeans in the early 19th century. Today, the Ugarapul People are the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the Lockyer Valley region. The Laidley Pioneer Village was the first museum of the heritage village type in Queensland when it was established in 1972. It is located on the site of a former resting paddock used for the horses of the

Cobb & Co Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19th ...

coaching business along the original transport route from Ipswich to Toowoomba.Brochure "Lockyer Valley Visitor's Guide", ''Lockyer Valley Regional Council''. Retrieved April 2022. The museum is run by volunteers and members of the non-profit organisation Laidley District Historical Society Incorporated.

Display

The village displays the lifestyle of the early pioneers in the area and the history of the timber and farming industries from the early 19th century. Displays include restored buildings, such as a tractor shed and the old shire office, post office and general store, the old police cells from the Laidley Police Complex, an old butcher shop and a fully furnished 110 year old year school (the former Blantyre State School). The buildings contain common items of use of the era, including household items, telephone exchanges, police handcuffs, butcher's and blacksmith's tools, furniture, vehicles and machinery. Buildings and items were collected from a wider area in

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

. The old Laidley Council Chamber building is now the entry to the museum. It was originally the administration office for local Government at the turn of the 20th century. The Pioneer Memorial Chapel can still be used for Weddings and other functions. The chapel was once the Blenheim Methodist Chapel, then the Berryman Baptist Church after being moved to Mount Berryman in 1942. It was moved to the Pioneer Village in 2009 when it was 124 years old. The church was restored and pews were received from the Mt. Sylvia Catholic Church and other furniture from St George's Anglican Church at Thornton. On display in the chapel are old religious books and a bible written in German.Brochure "Laidley Pioneer Village", ''Lockyer Valley Regional Council''. Retrieved April 2022. A cottage that was the home of the DesJardins family, pioneers who lived in Gehrkevale (now Mount Mort), was built in a way common at the time using

ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accu ...

for slab walls and a shingle roof. The outside walls were lined for warmth with hessian and then newspapers and journals glued on with flour and water paste. For preservation purposes, the roof has been covered with tin, but the shingles are still visible from inside. The agricultural collection displays vintage machinery and equipment, including a Linn Tractor (ca. 1928). The wagon display exhibits examples of German horse-drawn farm carts and wagons, as well as items of rural farming and industrial machinery. The carriage display shows examples of the early buggy and sulky era and tools used in their manufacture and maintenance. Other buildings and exhibitions include a pre-Medicare hospital, a dairy and bails, early 1900s fashion and accessories, war memorabilia, children's toys, photography equipment and portraits, and stationary engines and pumps. On Wednesdays, special occasions or upon request, visitors can see blacksmith demonstrations. The museum takes part in annual festivities, such as the Lockyer Valley Heritage Festival in autumn, the Laidley Spring Festival in September and Australia Day celebrations. It also has a school education program which invites school groups to participate in guided tours and creating project books.

Gallery

File:Laidley Pioneer Village farm machinery and wagons April 2022.jpg, Farm machinery and wagons, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village blacksmith shed April 2022.jpg, Blacksmith shed, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village buggy April 2022.jpg, Buggy, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village tractor April 2022.jpg, Tractor, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village farm hand tools April 2022.jpg, Farm hand tools, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village engine display April 2022.jpg, Engine display, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village post office store April 2022.jpg, Post office and general store, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village school April 2022.jpg, School, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village DesJardins cottage April 2022.jpg, DesJardins cottage, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village inside DesJardins cottage April 2022.jpg, Inside DesJardins cottage, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village milk cart April 2022.jpg, Milk cart, April 2022 File:Laidley Pioneer Village old gaol door April 2022.jpg, Old police cell door, April 2022

References

External links

{{commons category, Laidley Pioneer Village
Laidley Pioneer Village and Museum - Official website

YouTube channel of Laidley Pioneer Village and Museum

Luvya Lockyer website
Open-air museums in Australia Museums in Queensland Buildings and structures in South East Queensland Tourist attractions in Queensland Lockyer Valley Region Laidley, Queensland

History

Display

Gallery

See also

References

External links