Australiana Pioneer Village, Heritage-listed open-air museum in Wilberforce, Australia
Australiana Pioneer Village is an open-air museum in Wilberforce spread across extensive grounds and featuring over 20 historical buildings moved from different locations in New South Wales. The collection includes homes, a church, a school, and other structures that show what settlements in the region looked like.
Bill McLachlan founded this village in the late 1960s because many old buildings in the area were being torn down as the city grew rapidly. He rescued these structures by moving them to the site and saved local history from disappearing.
The site shows how people lived and worked in the 1800s, with reconstructed workplaces like a blacksmith shop and post office that visitors can explore. The buildings give a sense of daily life and the skills that mattered to communities at that time.
The visit works best if you allow time to walk through and explore the individual buildings at your own pace. Comfortable shoes are worth wearing since the grounds are large and involve considerable walking.
One of the homes here is Rose Cottage, one of the oldest timber houses in the country, showing how early settlers lived. The site also has a working museum train that takes visitors on rides through historical wooden carriages across the grounds.
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