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Denman and District Heritage Village

Denman and District Heritage Village

Denman and District Heritage Village

Located in Denman a small town in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, the Denman and District Heritage Village has an extensive and unique exhibition made up of objects and artefacts. Donated primarily by local Jeff Wolfgang, the exhibits are housed in a beautiful, new building that opened in November 2023.

Run by a staff of volunteers, the museum is bright and spacious with lots of room around the displays. Unlike many local museums, this one is not over-crowded with exhibits getting in each others way. It was easy to move around and view all of the items on display.

With its location in a farming district, it’s not surprising that there is a lot of farm equipment, from the first Caterpillar dozer to old cheese making presses and butter churns. A significant portion of the items on display are cars. For a small museum, it’s an impressive collection and worth the visit in itself.

Obviously passionate about the museum, the volunteer staff were great to talk to, with stories about the displays and their history.

Farm Equipment

Cars

1906 Darracq 7hp

1910 Brush Penny Car

1927 Whippet

Buick

1938 Standard

1934 Austin 7

1958 Gogomobil

1900 Locomobile Steam Car

1913 Sunbeam

1930 GMC Truck

Toy Cars

Toy pedal cars
Toy pedal cars

Motorcycles

Motorcycles
Motorcycles

Maitland Steamfest 2023

Steam traction engine

Maitland Steamfest 2023

This took place on 29 and 30 April 2023 in Maitland, New South Wales. Maitland Steamfest 2023 was a festival of steam and industrial heritage. The festival celebrates Maitland’s rich steam and industrial history, which dates back to the 19th century when the city was a major coal mining and railway centre. Featuring a diverse program of family friendly entertainment, with a steam theme (well generally but not always) it was a great day out.

Train Rides

Several historic steam engines made their way to Maitland for the festival, providing rides around the Hunter Valley’s nearby towns. Starting at the Maitland train station, we arrived just in time to see the Garratt 6029 leaving. The photo below shows how well maintained the train is despite its age. It was great to be able to get close while it was running, but the noise when it let off steam was deafening.

Steam Locomotive Beyer Garratt #6029
Steam Locomotive Beyer Garratt #6029

The Rally Ground

Across the road from the train station, the rally ground had displays of antique machinery such as traction engines, portable engines and steam rollers. Most of the steam engines were running and demonstrating how they operated. Several were also driving around a loop track outside the rally ground.

Steampunk and Town Crier

We found several steampunk enthusiasts wandering through the grounds, along with a town crier who were all happy to pose to photos. They also had a display tent selling steampunk themed merchandise. They all seemed to be having a great time and staying in character.

An area was set aside where blacksmiths demonstrated their skills, which apparently are in high demand again and is a growing in popularity as a profession again.

Vintage Military Display

One of the not quite steam related display was a large collection of military equipment in the middle of the rally ground. They were a great addition to the other displays and had a huge crowd looking at them. With no barriers, we were able to get very close and see inside most of them.

What Did We Think of Maitland Steamfest 2023?

We had a great day out at Steamfest because of the relaxed atmosphere and variety of thing to see. All things steam from trains to traction engines and steampunk people.

Our photos are available for purchase on

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Gunnedah Rural Museum

Gunnedah Rural Museum Entrance

Gunnedah Rural Museum

Arriving at the museum we were greeted by a happy volunteer who gave us a map of the layout and told us to help ourselves to a tea or coffee.

With our travels we have found rural museums occupy old houses, so are quite small. Not the Gunnedah Rural Museum, it takes up several large industrial size sheds with its huge collection. Its extensive collection covers farm equipment like tractors and harvesters, cars, old children’s’ toys, old household goods and a Coca Cola bottle collection. There was even an old dentist’s chair. Walking around, you would think no one in Gunnedah had ever thrown anything out.

If you are interested in rural life in Australia from the late 1800s to late 1900s this is a fantastic place to visit. We particularly liked the tractor and car collection, as they were extensive and in good condition. The museum also has a model railway out the front for rail enthusiasts. We really enjoyed this laid back huge museum.