Rachel Hagan, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

If you have only visited the iconic Harry Butler Red Devil Memorial and thought you have seen all Minlaton has to offer, you better turn back and make another stop to check out the Minlaton Museum.

Inside the historical 1889 building, the near 150-year-old history of the colonial town is jam-packed into two rooms, and set out to resemble the old Trehearne general store which once occupied the museum’s space.

Minlaton Museum chair Joyce Yeomans said visitors would encounter a range of objects that might seem strange to 21st-century eyes but were highly innovative for their time.

One of the most peculiar items in the museum, according to Ms Yeomans, was a wooden washing machine that she said she could not fathom.

“I never would have thought of a wooden washing machine,” she said.

“When I got married, I had a copper and a ringer, but not as antiquated as this.

“By the time you had put every load through, wrung it out and hung it out — it would take all day on a Monday.”

Another interesting piece is a small rocking bath for burn victims, where a nurse could move the water around the affected area without having to constantly move the patient.

“I was a nurse way back in the ‘50s, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“And when I looked at it, I wondered how anyone managed to get down on their knees and get in it.”

But, of course, if you go to Minlaton, you want to learn more about Minlaton’s biggest celebrity, pioneering pilot Captain Harry Butler.

“He was a hero in his age, but I think it’s become more apparent as time has gone on and he has become a legend,” Ms Yeomans said.

The museum has an entire room dedicated to Butler, and even holds clothing members of the community were wearing while they were watching Butler do his maiden flight over Spencer Gulf in 1919.

And if you would like to take a piece of Minlaton home, the gift shop offers a range of locally made products, such as tools from the YP Blacksmiths and Lost Skills Association. The funds raised support local community groups and put a small and much-needed contribution back into the museum.

“Through that small percentage is how we generate funds to help maintain the building,” Ms Yeomans said.

The museum was always looking for more volunteers and would be a great place for someone who loved history or who simply wanted to help, she said.

Museum volunteer Ann Williams said she got involved through the local history group and was really drawn in after her mum told her about the day Harry Butler crashed his plane.

“I’ve found out a lot more of my family’s history, also about my own granddad working here in this building,” Ms Williams said.

“My distant relatives actually had the business here before Trehearne, it was called Peterson and Co.

For more information, visit: https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/minlaton-museum/.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 23 December 2024.