Gatton and District Historical Society
+61 427 971 666

P.S. We must not forget to thank all of the members of LAMA who bought their wonderful cars along for the public to appreciate. Thank You LAMA

Well, what a day. A huge thank you to all of the (over 500) people who wandered through our village today. We really appreciate your support of the village and of the new "Gatton Village Markets". They will be on again on Sunday 1st November and we will be open again for you to wander around. We must apologise for the Blacksmith Shop not being open today - we will try to have it open next month for your enjoyment as well as some of our other interesting buildings.We will have some images of today's big day posted ASAP

G'day everyone. Are you ready for our big open day? We are hosting the inaugural Gatton Village Markets and, to celebrate, we are having the village open for a free tour by all visitors, Just remember to sign in as you enter from the markets or at our main entrance in Freemans Road. The Logan Engine Shed will be operating with our showpiece Ruston-Hornsby Suction Gas Engine as well as the McDonald "Super Diesel" pumping water. The Blacksmith Shop will be operating too to just show you how things were "back in the old days". Don't forget to climb the little hill to check out Caffey Hall - our main Museum and the old Tuck Shop with all sorts of articles from days gone by on display. There will also be a grand array of vintage and classic cars provided by LAMA - check them out as you come in - See you all there tomorrow.

G'day everyone. Don't forget that we are hosting the inaugural Gatton Village Markets on Sunday from 7:00am to 1:00pm. The village will be open with free entry - we will have stationary engines running, lots of machinery and tractors on display and several other buildings open for you to wander through to relive some of the history of how life used to be in this great valley of ours. The local LAMA club will be putting some of their vintage and classic cars on display too. More details to follow this week. Book this Sunday in - don't miss it.

Here are a couple of pics of the annual Lockyer Antique Motor Association (LAMA) Tractor Trek held a couple of weeks ago. LAMA use our village as "home base" for the event. Even with the Covid-19 restrictions they were able to get the event up and running and had a really good turnout (55 tractors). Here they are getting ready to head out from the Village on the Saturday morning. After a day's trekking they camped overnight at Helidon and headed back to the village for a BBQ lunch on Sunday. Thanks to LAMA for the photos.

Just found these few photos from our Australia day event from back before the world became SO different. I particularly enjoy the pics of the Community Art Project as it progressed with input from all visitors old and young.

We have finally got around to installing a roof over our shipping container (used for storage). We luckily had all the materials available bar some screws and bolts. It ain't much but it does the job. The container is an old fibreglass refrigerated one which had a damaged roof. Every time it rained water just pooled on top and dripped through making a very damp environment.

This is a video of the pride and joy of our engine shed. It is a 1919 (we believe) Ruston Hornsby Suction Gas Engine. Rated at 19hp, Bore - 9", Stroke - 17". Low Tension Magneto Ignition. Currently running on LP gas although original gas production plant (visible out front of engine at end of video) is fully functional. The engine drives the original 4" 2-stage centrifugal pump. We understand that this was the first successful irrigation plant used in the Lockyer Valley. Kindly donated by the Logan family.

The Gatton and District Historical Society have a lovely little country church available for weddings, etc. Users are able to decorate it as they wish for their special day. It comfortably seats up to 70. The grounds offer extensive photo opportunities with an assortment of Historic buildings to use as a backdrop. We also have an air-conditioned function room (with kitchen) available for receptions, etc. which will seat approx. 50. Please email the Village at [email protected] for more info or to arrange an inspection. Please note - the guest numbers quoted above do not account for any COVID-19 restrictions.

Here is a presentation we put together after re-restoring our Fordson E27N Major back in 2016. Manufactured in 1948, 27HP @ 1200 rpm, 4 cyl in-line side valve, Bore - 4 1/8", Stroke - 5", Petrol/Kerosene, 267 cu in (4400 cc) Weight 4340 lbs (1968 kg)

I am continuing to load some videos of our engines (and tractors). They are a few years old but I will endeavour to post some newer ones when I can take them. Enjoy!

This video shows our McDonald type C after we made a new fuel tank and repaired the fule valve arm (the long arm you can see being gently opened by the side shaft. This engine has LOTS of compression. The piston has 7 compression rings. We now have it installed (with a new crank guard) operating an Ajax piston pump as a working display. The engine was made in 1928, Rated at 3HP @ 500 rpm, Bore - 4 1/8", Stroke - 6".