Pioneer Settlement
Swan Hill, Victoria
Coordinates35°20′53″S 143°33′54″E / 35.347937794683915°S 143.56505026521856°E / -35.347937794683915; 143.56505026521856
StatusOperating
Opening date1966

The Pioneer Settlement, in Swan Hill, Victoria, is Australia's first open-air museum, portraying life on the Murray in the era 1830-1930.[1] It opened in 1966 as the Swan Hill Folk Museum,[2] before being renamed, following a visit by the Queen in 1970.[3] It contains approximately 50 replica buildings, including Masonic hall, coach-house, post office, photographic studio, original 1895 kaiserpanorama,[4] and newspaper office.[5] The collection also contains numerous tractors – including the first tractor ever brought to Australia[6] – and historic vehicles, and two 19th century riverboats, including the 1876 paddlesteamer PS Gem.[5] This vessel was towed to the site in 1963,[7] and now functions as the main entrance and contains a restaurant.

The PS Gem was towed by the PS Oscar W to the Pioneer Settlement in 1962 following her sale for £4000 to the Swan Hill Folk Museum. She now exists as a static display within the compound.[8]) The PV Pyap operates daily cruises from the Horseshoe Bend Wharf within the Settlement. Original built in Mannum as a barge in 1896, the Pyap was converted to a paddle steamer by October 1897. Prior to relocation to the Pioneer Settlement in 1970, the Pyap was refitted with a 225hp GM671 Gray Marine diesel engine.[9]

In 1994 an act of Parliament brought the Settlement under the control of the Swan Hill City Council.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement Museum. - People and organisations". Trove. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Darian-Smith, Kate; Nichols, David (5 June 2017). ""How our forebears lived": the modern nation, its folklore and "living" heritage in twentieth-century Australia". Australian Geographer. 49: 199–217. doi:10.1080/00049182.2017.1327784.
  3. ↑ "Explore Swan Hill River Precinct" (PDF). Discover More.
  4. ↑ Cornish, Richard (1 March 2013). "Six reasons to visit Swan Hill". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Swan Hill". The Age. 30 September 2008.
  6. ↑ MORTON, CLAIR; Media, Australian Community Media-Fairfax (7 August 2012). "Newton's passion for vintage collections". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "PS Gem's 50th Anniversary Celebrations" (PDF). Swan Hill Rural City Council News. 1 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Gem". Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  9. ↑ Plowman, Peter (2005). Murray Darling Paddleboats. Rosenberg Publishing Pty, Limited. p. 64.
  10. ↑ "ALERT DIGEST 7 of 1994 - 7". www.parliament.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

35°20′50″S 143°33′53″E / 35.3472°S 143.5646°E / -35.3472; 143.5646

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