Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival

President’s Message

On behalf of the Echuca Steam Preservation Society Inc, welcome to the new Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival, an event that encourages the younger generations, and those older, to be part of history.

Together we are trying to keep lost trades, skills and machines going for future generations, to appreciate and enjoy how they have contributed to the past.

After three years of no event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the newlyformed Echuca Steam Preservation Society Inc has taken the bull by the horns to revitalise the event, coming back with a new name and fresh layout.

We would like to thank the Rotary Club of Echuca-Moama for kindly handing over the reins, after more than 50 years of running a very successful steam rally.

Our thanks goes to all our sponsors and supporters from across the community, with special thanks to our event partner, the Moama Bowling Club. We simply could not have put on this event without the support.

There is a large team behind the revival, and I would like to extend my thanks to all my fellow members of the Steam Preservation Society, who have pulled the revival together in a fairly short period of time.

There have been people cutting wood, donating wood and looking after Rotary Park to get it ready for the event.

To the small engine guys, car club, blacksmiths and everyone who has worked to make the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival a success, thanks.

I would also like to congratulate the Campaspe Valley Miniature Railway for getting its railway back into shape after it was badly damaged by the recent floods. We are all looking forward to riding the train over the weekend.

Everyone in the community is welcome to be involved and come along to this weekend’s Steam Rally and ensure that it will run into the future for many, many more years to come.

Ed Gibson

Echuca Steam Preservation Society Inc president

What’s on this weekend

The Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival showcases Australia’s rich history and traditions.

The event highlights the machinery, vehicles and trades that built our nation, while reflecting on the skills and passions of the people who toiled in the spirit of yesteryear.

A vast array of mobile steam engines will be on display, including ‘Moses’ a 1920 Fowler Stump Pulling Traction Engine, a 1906 Buffalo Pitts 8HP Traction Engine, an Aveling 8t Steam Roller, and a beautifully restored Ruston Proctor four-horsepower singlespeed self-moving portable.

An array of small-scale workingmodel steam engines will be running from an original boiler, which is always popular with the kids as you can get right up close and see how a steam engine really works.

A collection of static steam engines are on display, where you can see how these incredible machines were built and operated. Visitors can also chat to the owners of the machines about their history and how many of these engines helped build the local area.

The ‘steam’ compound is surrounding Rotary Park Oval, you won’t be able to miss it.

All day Saturday and Sunday the Clydesdale and Working Horse Showcase will be plowing the fields and demonstrating the skills of horses and drivers in Rex’s paddock.

At the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival you will be able to discover trades, crafts and techniques from yesteryear and the artisans that are keeping the skills alive.

Outlaws Casting Ballarat will be demonstrating and making aluminium castings and plaques.

Count Laszlo Leather Art will be there with a range of handmade leather bags, pouches, books, belts, sheaths and quivers.

Traditional hand signwriter

Greg from Steady Hand Signs

Echuca will be demonstrating how to traditionally paint a sign, recreating the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival

logo by brush over the weekend. There will be blacksmiths performing smithing skills and making iron products in the onsite forge.

Many of the lost trades will have their wares on sale as well as a number of market stalls with handmade and boutique items such as engineering tools, Aussie bush hats, and giftware.

The Echuca and District Historic Vehicle Club is hosting a display of many members’ and guests’ vehicles.

The vehicles range from a 1906 Vulcan Phaeton, A-Model Ford, ‘61 Chevy Bel Air to a modern classic Toyota Corolla.

Echuca and District Historic Vehicle Club will be holding a public’s choice award over the weekend where you can vote for your favourite vehicle on display.

Pilot Michael Jones in his Pitts Special s1t 200-horsepower beast will do an aerobatics display at 1.30pm on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday.

In the kids’ zone, at the north end of the Rotary Park Oval, you will find face painting by Lavender Rose, Billabong Ranch Animal Nursery and the highly anticipated Schloss Good Ol’ Toys and Collectables.

The Campaspe Valley Miniature Railway Inc will be running train rides from 10am to 3pm each day.

Tickets for the train rides can be purchased at the train for $5 (cash only), with any child under five years old needing to be accompanied by an adult.

Echuca Model Train Club will have its Model HO set running, with a special layout just for the Steam Revival for the kids, and those who are kids at heart, to drive.

Down near the river near the miniature railway, the Echuca 1st Scouts Group will be displaying bush camping and cooking skills.

Drop by and say g’day and find out what Scouts is all about.

EMFM 104.7 is holding a live outside broadcast on the Saturday from 10am to 1pm from the event.

Live music on the main stage on Saturday kicks off with the Echuca Federal Band at 10am, followed by Bella A’Capella at 11am, Pete Gibson on the harp at 12.30pm and the sounds of Acoustic Box Dou will have your feet tapping from 3.30pm.

Each day from 12pm noon, the

American Hotel will host a licensed bar, with local beers and wines at the south end of the Rotary Park Oval.

To eat along with the American Hotel’s Harry O’s American barbecue, you will be able to sample country camp cooking at its best with scones, damper and a camp oven stew.

Boost juice, Tiamo Twin Flame Wood Fired Pizza, Let’s Do Coffee and snags and burgers cooked by the Kyabram Pony Club will round out the gourmet delights on offer.

From 4.30pm on Saturday, the displays will wind up for the day with the focus moving to the Event Hub for a food, drink and music gala.

On Sunday, the Clan McLeod Pipe Band will be marching through the crowd from 9am to 12 noon.

On the main stage, in the Revival Hub on Sunday, you will find Ryebuck performing from 10am, followed by Bill Barber from 12 noon to 3pm.

Parking for the Steam Revival is available at the Rose St entrance and along Rose St, Crossen St and Campaspe Esplanade.

Overflow parking is available via the Northern Hwy gate, exhibitor entrance.

Disability parking spots are available at the Rose St entrance.

Friendly dogs on a short leash are welcome, but remember to pick up after your pooch.

The Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival has been made possible through the support of event partner the Moama Bowling Club.

The event has been supported by the Murray River Council, Coolabah Turf, the Riverine Herald, Echuca Moama Tourism, Campaspe Shire Council, the American Hotel, Murray River Paddlesteamers Echuca, Haeusler’s John Deere, Echuca Paddlesteamers, Moama Pizza and Lashing by Bree.

The event runs from 10am to 7.30pm on Saturday, June 10 and 9am to 3pm on Sunday, June 11 at Rotary Park, Rose St, Echuca.

Entry to the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival is $10 for an adult, $5 for children aged 7–16, with children under six free and $30 for a family ticket.

• For more information or to book tickets for the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival go to www.steamrevival.org.au

Now this engine is gaining traction

Adam Fitton’s fully-restored four horsepower Ruston Proctor steam traction engine will hold pride of place at this weekend’s Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival.

Imported by the agency H.V. McKay, the engine was the first of five brought to Australia from England in 1920.

“They were sold and advertised as a self-moving portable, but it is only a single-speed traction engine,” Mr Fitton said.

“The traction engine came in to do road haulage, so they would have two or three gears.

“The traction engine that I have only has one speed, so it is a singlegear engine.

“It would be more commonly sold and advertised to farmers to have on their farm.

“They could have a large belt run off the flywheel to operate a pump or a shearing station.”

In the case of Mr Fitton’s engine it operated in a sawmill in Warwick in Queensland.

“The story goes that it needed some boiler and engine repairs, so it was taken to a blacksmith,” he said.

“The story that I’ve got is that the blacksmiths ended up burning down and the works were never carried out, with the engine being outside in the yard.”

The engine then found life as play equipment in a school grounds, before becoming a park ornament when the school closed down.

“And then it was retrieved by a gentleman who was into vintage tractors, he acquired it and it went on to his farm,” Mr Fitton said.

“When he passed away, a gentleman by the name of Peter McDonald purchased the engine and he had it for approximately 30 years in storage.

“Then silly old me thought it would be a great project, so I purchased it from Queensland and had it trucked down to Echuca.”

The four horsepower Ruston Proctor steam traction engine is not the first engine Mr Fitton has restored, but this was his biggest project so far.

Mr Fitton got involved with steam engines through his father, David Fitton.

“Dad has restored many engines and over the years, we have gone to the steam rally to support it and that’s how I got involved,” Mr Fitton said.

“I have restored quite a few steam engines, but it is the only traction engineered self-moving one, with the rest being portable steam engines.”

Over seven years the Fittons fully restored the steam traction engine, getting the engine operational again,

with assistance from boilermaker Anton Carter.

The first steaming of the engine was held in February this year.

The steaming was dedicated to the Lord family from Heyfield in Gippsland.

After meeting Tom Lord, at a steam rally, Mr Lord lent the Fittons specialised equipment that was needed to restore the engine.

“I didn’t know Tom a great deal, but his father, who has recently passed

away, was very much for supporting restoring projects like this,” Mr Fitton said.

“And his legacy was, as Tom said to me at the time, to loan equipment or knowledge to those that were interested in doing such projects.

“So when we steamed her for the first time, we dedicated that to Kevin Lord and his memory for loaning us the equipment to help bring her back to her original beauty.”

All aboard: Steam engineer Adam Fitton, rally co-ordinator Scott Spedding and president Ed Gibson are set for the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival.

ECHUCA MOAMA STEAM, IRON AND TRADES REVIVAL JUNE

SATURDAY,

10:00 to 6:00pm

Gates Open to Public

10:00 to 11:30am

JUNE 10

Live Music — Federal Band

Main Stage - Revival Hub

10:00 to 1:00pm

EMFM 104.7 Live Outside Broadcast

10:00 to 3:00pm

Face Painting by Lavendar Rose

Revival Hub

10:00 to 3:00pm

Animal Nursery — Billabong Ranch Revival Hub

10:00 to 4:00pm

Working Horses

Rex’s Paddock

11:00 to 12:00noon

Live Music Bella A’Capella

Main Stage - Revival Hub

12:00 to 7:30pm

Bar Opens — Amercian Hotel Bar

Revival Hub

12:30 to 3:30pm

Live Music — Ryebuck

Main Stage - Revival Hub

1:30 to 1:40pm

Aerobatics Display

Overhead

3:30 to 7:30pm

Live Music — Box Duo Acoustic

Main Stage - Revival Hub

SUNDAY,

9:00 to 2:00pm

JUNE 11

Gates Open to Public

9:00 to 12:00noon

Live Music — Clan McLeod Pip Band

Roaming

9:00 to 3:00pm

Working Horses

Rex’s Paddock

9:00 to 3:00pm

Animal Nursery — Billabong Ranch

Revival Hub

10:00 to 12:00noon

Live Music — Ryebuck

Main Stage - Revival Hub

10:00 to 3:00pm

Face Painting by Lavendar Rose

Revival Hub

11:30 to 11:40am

Aerobatics Display

Overhead

12:00 to 3:00pm

Live Music — Bill Barber

Main Stage - Revival Hub

12:00 to 3:00pm

Bar Opens — Amercian Hotel Bar

Revival Hub

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE

- BE SAFE - ENJOY THE REVIVAL

Children must be supervised, and dogs on short leads at all times. Please put rubbish in the bins provided.

This event has operating steam exhibits, vehicles, machinery and horses. Do not enter machinery or horse compounds under any circumstances. Please make sure you follow instructions from Marshalls.

If you are unsure of your safety, please ask one of our friendly marshalls for assistance.

Clydesdales to bring horsepower to the revival

Heavy horses have played an important role building Australia into the nation it is today, being used in days gone by for heavy farm work and in industries such as logging.

These days Prestige

Clydesdales owner Josh Taylor still has the breed of horse working on the family farm.

“They have got to earn their keep,” Mr Taylor said.

“On the farm they plow the ground ready for sowing, they then sow pastures for them to eat.”

Mr Taylor has his heavy horses growing their own food.

For this weekend’s Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival, Mr Taylor is bringing three of his purebred Clydesdales to take part in the working horse showcase.

Horses Bailey, Macca and Jimmy will be there earning their keep, putting on wool loading and different agricultural displays, as well as taking part in driving competitions.

“Driving competitions are obstacle courses that demonstrate the skills of the horse and driver,” Mr Taylor said.

“They depict what would have been done in the logging industry in particular, driving in amongst trees.

“Over the weekend everyone’s welcome to come up and pat the horses, with Macca available for a meetand-greet.

Clydesdales are a family affair for Mr Taylor, with his father, Brenton Taylor, having taken horses to the Echuca steam rally, now the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival, for more than 40 years.

“My father had Clydesdales before me, so I followed in his footsteps,” Mr Taylor said.

“We have been involved in the steam rally for... well,

I went to my first one as a baby and I’m now 39 and Dad still helps with the horses.

“He is the MC for the

Good Ol-fashioned fun

Schloss Good Ol’ Toys and Collectables owner Tim Schloss has been whittling and sanding wood since he was 10 years old.

Tim is bringing his handson, make-your-own toys to the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival.

Initially he started teaching people to make toys when local kids came into his workshop, asking him to teach them how to make their own toy swords.

“Children would come to me and we would make swords and I would take them through a whole lot of different woodworking skills,” Tim said.

“At markets, kids would come by and look at me finishing off my swords, because I never got time to finish everything off.

“They would start sanding and then want to choose the colour of the leather to put on their sword.

“They ended up bringing about this personalisation of the sword.

“It became, little by little, an event in itself at markets and bigger fairs.”

The activity is open to all

ages, from little kids to those who are still a child at heart.

Over eight different stations you will finish off your own sword, including sanding, naming, and blackening.

“Dads often like to hold the letter stamps while the little ones whack the end of it,” Tim said.

“Parents can be involved but primarily as support and guidance and the memorytakers.

“The idea is to encourage kids to get involved and learn a whole lot of skills.”

Most of the handmade toys Tim will have at the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival kids will be able to put their name on, sand, add gemstones to and finish off with leather handles.

Making your own sword is not the only handmade wooden toys Tim will have at the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival.

You will be able to purchase a range of Schloss Good Ol’ Toys and Collectables, including Castle on the Hill, wooden puzzles, hopping kangaroo and replica wood Kelly guns.

“I’ve got four different Ned’s adventure tools that he used to cart around with him, one is a replica of Betty, which they picked up at the Euroa bank,” Tim said.

“Then there’s the apprentice rifle that Harry Power gave him, a sawn-off rifle and the navy revolver and short pistol.

“They are all wooden toys that are burnt and made to look old, but not too close to guns, but they definitely look a bit the part and like an old rifle.

“I probably won’t have the workshop for those (Kelly toy guns), I will just have those all finished.”

You will find Schloss Good Ol’ Toys and Collectables in the kids’ zone, at Rotary Park Oval.

section, so will be on the microphone, explaining what we do and why we do it throughout the day.”

“The heavy horse

exhibitors for the weekend will be settling down to a nice Travla beer sponsored by Travla at the end of the working day,” Mr Taylor said.

Horseplay: For this weekend’s Steam Iron and Trades Revival Josh Taylor is bringing three of his purebred Clydesdales to take part in the working horse showcase.

Creative: Tim Schloss in action making the old school toys.

Old-fashioned fun: Schloss Good Ol’ Toys and Collectables will feature at the Steam, Iron and Trades Revival.

Home lighting plant to brighten the day

Steven Wright is hoping the Echuca Moama Steam, Iron and Trades Revival will be the perfect site to demonstrate his Rosebery home lighting plant.

Mr Wright, from Benalla, has been fascinated by old Australian machinery since he was a child.

“It is a 1950 32-volt home lighting plant that was used on farms before powerlines were built in the districts,” he said.

“It was originally petrolkerosene, starting on petrol and running on kerosene to provide lighting to homes.

“The ladies of the house could start these machines when the men were away mustering or shearing and it was just a simple matter of pressing a button.

“The machine would start and provide live voltage power to the house so that the ladies of the house didn’t have to light kerosene or acetylene lights, to check on the baby, I suppose.

“They could walk into a room and either pull a cord or flick a switch.

“There were also quite a few different appliances made for 32 volts such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, butter churns,

AUSSIE DAMPER RECIPE

A campfire classic

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cup self-raising flour

• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

• 2 tablespoon sugar, to taste

Method:

water pumps, that sort of thing.”

The four horsepower engine was assembled on February 22, 1950 at the Rosebery Engine Works, named after the Sydney suburb the factory was based in.

From there it was a part of a consignment of 20 engines shipped to Cameron & Sutherland Machinery Merchants of South Melbourne, where it was connected to a 32-volt Pyramid generator.

This home lighting plant should not be confused with ‘home light’ which was a different brand of generator sets.

Mr Wright’s home lighting plant was passed around the Ellis family at Chesney Vale near Lake Mokoan.

“As one family got a powerline built the lighting plant would go to the next in line,” he said.

“Then they got a powerline built and so it went on.

“It was retired from service in 1967 at a good

old mate’s place.

“Once they got a powerline built, this poor old lighting plant was stuck underneath a cypress tree and that’s where she sat for a long time and fell into a really bad state of disrepair.

“I knew it was there because my good old mate told me about it.

“And then one day I was looking for a project and I thought I’d see if my old mate has still got that lighting plant.

“So I got it and over a 20year period, I did bits and pieces to it.

“And then about eight years ago, I got stuck right into it and got it into the condition that it is in today, which is pretty nice.”

• 40 gram butter

• 1/2 cup milk, approximately

• 1/4 cup water (approximately)

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease an oven tray.

2. In a large bowl, sift flour, salt and sugar; rub in butter. Stir in milk and enough water to mix to a sticky dough.

3. On a floured surface, knead dough until just smooth. Place dough on oven tray; press into a 16cm round.

4. Cut a cross into top of dough, about 1cm (½-inch) deep. Brush dough with a little extra milk; sprinkle with a little extra flour. Bake about 45 minutes. Turn damper, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

How to bake while camping

5. Place a trivet in the base of a camp oven, if you have one; alternatively, the damper can be cooked directly on the base – you may need to elevate the oven further. Place the camp oven, elevated about 5cm, over hot coals to heat.

6. Place flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the butter; stir in milk and enough of the water to form a sticky dough. Knead dough on a floured surface until just smooth. Press into a 16cm round.

7. Cut a cross into top of dough, about 1cm deep. Sprinkle with a little extra flour. Place damper on trivet in camp oven.

8. Place lid on camp oven. Place hot coals on oven lid; most of the heat should be on the lid so the base doesn’t burn.

9. Bake damper for 20 minutes, rotating oven occasionally. Elevate further or reduce the coals underneath if the damper is browning too quickly on the base. Replace the coals on the lid with hot coals. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until damper is golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Highlight: Steven Wright with his Rosebery home lighting plant.