{"id":46335,"date":"2013-10-03T16:20:44","date_gmt":"2013-10-03T06:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=46335"},"modified":"2020-12-11T15:30:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T05:30:44","slug":"try-dairying-with-a-medieval-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/10\/03\/try-dairying-with-a-medieval-twist\/","title":{"rendered":"Try Dairying With A Medieval Twist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dairy<\/a>
Members of the Society For Creative Anachronism will be adding a medieval twist to the Queensland Dairy Industry Museum’s Open Day on Saturday, October 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"South<\/a>October 3, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Queensland Dairy Industry Museum will be holding an Open Day with a special medieval twist on Saturday, October 5.<\/p>\n

Between 10:00am and 2:00pm, the Museum will be running working displays of butter making, hand milking and shingle splitting.<\/p>\n

\"Dairy<\/a>
How is butter made? See the process at a working butter-making display<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’ll also be displays of antique engines, blacksmithing and a draught horse-driven grain grinder.<\/p>\n

Children can enjoy a puppeteer, a jumping castle and miniature ponies; and billy tea, damper and other light refreshments will be available too.<\/p>\n

And for some completely quirky and off-beat fun, members of the South Burnett’s Society For Creative Anachronism will be on the grounds in costume with medieval crafts and weapons.<\/p>\n

The Dairy Industry Museum is located at 2 Sommerville Street on the southern side of Murgon, just off the Gayndah Road, and it was established in 1988 to recognise the importance that dairying once played in the area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dairying began in the Murgon area in the early 1900s when the railway came to the town, and grew quickly after a local progress association successfully agitated for a railway goods shed in 1908.<\/p>\n

However, most milk and cream produced in the area at that time was railed to Tiaro. And to avoid losing suppliers to a new factory that had opened in Kingaroy, Murgon and Tiaro interests combined to open a butter factory at Murgon in 1913.<\/p>\n

Branch lines opening up the Proston and Windera areas in the 1920s expanded dairying production even further.<\/p>\n

And this, in turn, led to the enlargement of the Murgon butter factory in 1928 and later the creation of the Murgon Cheese Factory, which operated until 1995.<\/p>\n

The Museum is a treasure trove of historic buildings and memorabilia that chronicle all this history.<\/p>\n

Its large complex houses several historic buildings including Trinity House (c. 1893), an original Burnett slab construction homestead; Castra, the first house built in Murgon (c. 1904); the old Bank Of NSW building (c. 1906); and an old chapel (1932).<\/p>\n

The Museum’s collection includes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Newspapers from 1800<\/li>\n
  • Wage books, 1930 from the Butter Factor in Murgon<\/li>\n
  • All machinery used in dairy farming, from 1890-2000<\/li>\n
  • Large butter vats<\/li>\n
  • Cheese-making machines<\/li>\n
  • Powdered milk machines<\/li>\n
  • Butter boxes, cream separators<\/li>\n
  • Collection of old exchanges and phones<\/li>\n
  • Books dating back to the 1800<\/li>\n
  • A very large lapidary collection<\/li>\n
  • And much more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Admission to the Open Day is $5 for adults, and children under 12 are free.<\/p>\n

    You can contact the Museum by phoning (07) 4169-5001.<\/p>\n