History & heritage

One of Queensland’s most loved events in the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular, the richest Clydesdale Show in the Southern Hemisphere will this year be held in Beaudesert, taking over the showground on the weekend of June 14 and 15. The announcement was celebrated today by three magnificent harness horses – Billy, Bobbi and Bluey!

The storied 150-year history of the Towong Turf Club has been encapsulated in a new book by local author, Dixie Coutts, which is to be launched on the eve of this year’s Towong Cup. ‘Towong Turf Club Tales’ tells the story of an institution that grew from races on the river flats before the turn of the 20th century to become a significant piece of the heritage of the Upper Murray.

When South Australians were trying to turn their estuary into a freshwater dam in the 1940’s, the Mulloway natural migration was devastated. Now, Australia’s only freshwater estuary hangs like a noose around the neck of the Murray Darling Basin, consuming huge volumes of freshwater to raise an artificial lake height for yachting, and an attempt to dilute the Southern Ocean, under the fundamentally flawed Murray Darling Basin Plan.

John Williams. "The black clouds had been building up all day. It was going to be a dry storm and the air was full of heat and electricity. The rolling clouds tumbled over a solid layer of still air. You could hear the pods of the desert banksias popping as the temperature soared to 42 degrees ..."

A group of Light Horse enthusiasts will head off on a 700km trek next month to commemorate the birth and death of General Sir Harry Chauvel, one of Australia’s most distinguished and decorated army generals. A leg of the Chauvel Border Trail Ride will be from Cudgewa, over Keelangie and on to Tallangatta, recognising the journey men and horses from the Upper Murray took to serve in WWI.

Brett McNamara. They say that you can’t be what you can’t see. For a small country town Kyogle punches above its weight when it comes to sporting talent, achieving greatness and inspiring the next generation ... One treasured piece is a framed piece of Olympic history – Athol McQueen’s 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games blazer.

The decision by the Australian Government to include the Victorian Goldfields on Australia’s World Heritage Tentative List after 35 years of advocacy, creates significant tourism, economic development and community benefits for a large part of regional Victoria covering 15 Local Council areas and their Visitor Economy Partnership regions.

The community of Booligal provided the money to build St Alban’s Anglican Church in 1899 with the help of a bequest, and have maintained it for more than a century. Now the Diocese wants to sell it and there are fears the meticulously kept building could become a hunting lodge for pig shooters.

Once again, the “Cargill Cares Cropping for the Birchip Community” program has come to the rescue of the Birchip Cemetery Trust.

Glyn Rees. With a last puff from a machine exhaust the 2025 and 30th Allora Heritage Weekend chuffed out late Sunday afternoon after the final Grand Parade signalling the end of another amazingly successful event highlighting history from a past era and the Australia Day weekend on the Southern Downs.

Quambatook was busy over the Australia Day long weekend as farm machinery enthusiasts of all ages descended on the town, travelling hundreds of kilometres to view, and in some cases, bring their own machines to display at the Quambatook Heritage Machinery Association’s Harvest Working Machinery Display and Vintage Tractor Pull.

Heather Fleming. A new book detailing the story of the Modern Merino sheep in Australia was launched at the Grampians Estate Cellar Door at Great Western last weekend. "Collinsville and Beyond: a pastoral history of the Modern Merino," was written by Chris Guthrie, well known breeder, classer and consultant from Rich Avon, near Donald.

The Allora Heritage Weekend is on again this Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th ... For the two days there’ll be continuous action with displays and demonstrations of vintage and veteran cars and trucks, motorcycles, historical machinery, stationary engines and many interesting antiques.

This February, the Wycheproof Railway Station will transform into a space of storytelling, healing, and connection as part of the “Visions of Tomorrow” workshops and exhibition. Guided by Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk artist Tanisha Lovett and Barkindji Ngiyampaa Maligundidj artist Tracy Wise, the “Visions of Tomorrow” initiative provides up to ten participants with an opportunity to explore artistic traditions, reflecting on their own connections and local history.

The Victorian Goldfields Railway (VGR) is asking the public for assistance to find stolen vintage equipment and will be sourcing funds after a devastating break-in last week. Castlemaine Police were called out to Muckleford Station after a VGR volunteer worker discovered the theft of equipment and railway fittings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars...

This weekend the Quamatook Tractor Pull Complex will be a hive of activity as farm machinery from yesteryear is fired up to work as the Quambatook Heritage Working Machinery Association holds their annual harvest working days event ...

This story starts in about 1880 when the residents of the small rural community of East Laen, about 10km southwest of Donald, decided to build themselves a Methodist Church. Not much is known about this Church, but we can assume that it was a small wooden building, probably with a galvanised iron roof.

Rachel Hagan. A little island off the coast of Edithburgh is about to be in the World Heritage spotlight, and locals hope this will be a catalyst to get more funding to properly care for it.

Check the thermometer and smile, if you are a glider pilot, that is: Central Australia in summer is the world’s best place for flying without an engine. It’s Alice where world distance and speed records have been set for decades.

It is a sensational time of year to enjoy a trip on the heritage train between Maldon and Castlemaine and adjustments have been made to ensure maximum safety for passengers and residents ... Dolphina Truter and Paul Carnes from Ballarat enjoyed a ride in First Class last weekend as a spur-of-the-moment outing and both were full of praise for the experience.