32nd Annual Festival is 23 - 31 August 2008

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The Australian Heritage Festival is a re-enactment and a celebration of the pioneering lifestyles and skills of our rural forbears. From the sheep, bullocks and horses that accompanied the first settlers on the Darling Downs, through to the steam engines and tractors and trucks that transformed pasture into farmland - it is all there for you to see. Visitors can taste the food that sustained the early settlers, cooked as it was then on the open fire, experience the hardships of life on the land a century ago. You can see the wool come off the sheep’s back and be transformed into yarn, cloth and clothing. You can feel what it was like for the pioneering women to make a home in the harsh outback.
The Australian Heritage Festival started as a fundraiser for the fledgling museum back in 1976, and the immediate success of the community-run and volunteer-supported event has resulted in it becoming an annual event!

Festival a triumph for community spirit
Jondaryan Station and Woolshed - a link to pioneer history
Working like a pioneer to preserve skills
Powering the Pioneers
Riding the sheep's back into history
Governor to open Festival
Spectacular SportShear comes to Heritage Festival
Grand Parade a unique experience
Steam Wagon in Festival's Tractor Trek
Festival recounts the Australian Wool Story
Parade challenges Mother Nature's displays
Big end planned for history festival
Competitors gathher to round up a great weekend
Festival success puts Woolshed at Community's heart

The huge old woolshed, and 20 ha (50 acres) of land surrounding it, explodes into life for nine full days in late August with such things as :

Shearing demonstrations and displays,
Spinning, Weaving, Wool Crafts and Products,
Bullock Teams,
Whipmaking, Harness making, leatherwork,
Horse teams, Horse-drawn ploughing, Horse-drawn rides,
Steam Engines, Steam Rollers,
Sawmilling, Shingle splitting, Timberworking,
Old Tractors, Hot-air engines, Stationary Engines, Vintage Trucks and Cars,
Blacksmithing,
Sheep Dog Trials,
Swaggies, Bush characters,
Arts, Crafts, displays of old crafts
Cheese-making, Beekeeping,
Billy Tea and Damper,
Entertainment, Bush Poetry,

and much much more

The festival this year will focus on the interaction of Wool, Wheels and Work in the historical development of Australia.

The importance of wool to the development of the Australian economy and psyche will be highlighted by such features as:

The launch of the Australian Wool Story, a major new exhibition built around a significant collection of shearing and wool industry memorabilia acquired from 50 years of collecting by Hugh Tindall.

• The Queensland Sports Shear Championships on Saturday, 1st September
• Shearing demonstrations each day
• Sheep dog trials on both weekends
• Champion fleece displays
• Sheep breed displays
• A comprehensive wool products expo
• A fashion parade of woollen garments
• Wool crafts
• A "100 years of knitting" display
• A theatrical presentation focusing on the wool theme

Wheels will feature in the steam engines, shearing gear, windmills, motor vehicles and so many other mechanical devices that powered the wool industry in particular and rural life in general. Volunteer enthusiasts will man working displays of spinning wheels, weaving looms, pottery wheels, wood lathes, wagon wheels, tractors, vintage cars and trucks, and much more.

The work involved and achieved by our pioneers will feature prominently with:

• Bullock and horse teams that carted the wool
• Timberworkers and sawmills involved in getting the materials to build shearing sheds, homesteads, cottages and fences
• Blacksmiths who wrought iron into a multitude of fixings and tools
• Harness makers and whipmakers who made the gear to control the "horse-power" that was vital to the early expansion of the frontier
• Everyday underpinning household chores of milking, butter and cheesemaking, cooking in camp-ovens and wood stoves, making soap and beekeeping for honey
• Handcrafts that resulted in clothing and the decorative touches that made the house a home
• An "1890's Schools In" program celebrating the honing of the skills of the next generation of pioneering families

There will also be performances, exhibitions, demonstrations and displays illustrating how our forbears entertained one another, used their creativity and otherwise dealt with the pressures of a primitive pioneering existence. This will go on into the evening with camp-fire entertainment, food and licenced bar.

A full daily program starts at 9am on each of the nine days of the Festival, focusing around the Grand Parade at 12.30 pm that showcases all aspects of the Festival, and concludes at 4pm. Click here for the full program.

On the weekends there are extra activities such as Vintage Car Club Displays, Bands, Bush Poetry and Country Music.

Who runs the festival?

The Australian Heritage Festival only occurs because of the dedication and enthusiasm of hundreds of volunteers from all over Australia, and the local area. These people give their time, skill, and often bringing their own horses, bullocks, machinery, collections and crafts, and give their time to contribute to the event. Over the years a broad network of enthusiasts from all walks of life has developed and keeps growing. If you are interested to participate in the Festival as an exhibitor or volunteer, click here for an expression of interest, or email us for more information.

What does it cost?

Festival admission prices:

Group Discounts apply

How do I get there?

The Jondaryan Woolshed is 15 kilometres west of Oakey, 45 kilometres west of Toowoomba, in the heart of Queensland's rich Darling Downs. The sheep have long gone further west, now replaced by strip farming and cattle feedlots.

Greyhound Coaches connect to Jondaryan a number of times every day. Phone 13 14 19 for times and bookings. Phone 07 4692 2229, or ask at the Cobb & Co Roadhouse in Jondaryan to arrange for a courtesy car or bus to collect you from the Greyhound stop in Jondaryan and take you to the Woolshed.

Many charter companies conduct tours to the Festival. Arrange for your social group to come for a great day out. Discounts apply for groups.

• Go to the location maps for directions on how to get there.

Bush camping

Unpowered camping, caravan, and motorhome sites are available close to the Jondaryan Woolshed. There are two options of camping on offer, both with no power:
- Self-contained sites, for those motor-homes and caravans with their own amenities, water and power supply. We do not have blackwater disposal facilities or water supply, but can direct you to facilities in Oakey.
- Sites closer to shared Showers and Toilets, with a limited water supply.

Admission is additional to camping fee
Self-Contained:$10 per site (up to 4 people) per night.
Extra - $4.00 per person per night.
(Not requiring Toilets/Showers or access to water or power)

With amenities: $15 per site (up to 4 people) per night
Extra - $5.00 per person per night
(Toilets/showers available. NO POWER)

Bookings for camping are advisable to avoid disappointment. Phone 4692 2229 or email info@jondaryanwoolshed.com.

For those needing powered sites and a bit more comfort, there is a fully servicedcaravan park in Oakey only 15 minutes east of Jondaryan. Oakridge Caravan Park, phone 4691 3330.

There is also a camping reserve on the Oakey Creek at Bowenville, 15 minutes west of Jondaryan, with toilets only.

Evening meals, Licenced bar and entertainment will be available for campers on weekends.

Sponsors

Jondaryan Woolshed Historical Museum and Park and the Jondaryan Shire Council acknowledge the support of the Queensland Events Regional Development Program; Heritage Building Society; Petro Fuels and Lubricants and many other sponsors and supporters.