Samford District Historical Museum

Resembling a mini historical village, the Samford Museum holds one of the most extraordinary collections of heirlooms, memorabilia and building styles of late 19th and early 20th century Queensland life to be found.

Set up by and staffed by a bunch of super-keen volunteers - some of who themselves are living treasures – this is a museum that is a labour of love, and it shows. And beyond the exhibits, make time to chat to the staff as they are full of recollections and yarns about the past that you won't see on the information plaques.

Highlights include the original Ferny Grove railway station (the museum is located on the route of the rail line that once ran through the district all the way to Dayboro) with its kitted out signal room and displays of the coverage of the 1947 Camp Mountain rail disaster, Queensland's worst, where 16 lives were lost on a picnic outing on Labour Day.

Children will love the Toy Museum with its dolls, match box cars, train sets and bikes of yesteryear and the rebuilt 1872 school room with shingled roof, satchels hanging on hooks by the door, desks with ink wells and slates, a dunce cap and a punishment chart from the days when milking someone else's cows on the way home was a cane-attracting misdemeanour.

Other treasures include a replica dairy, furnished railway worker's hut, a Golden Fleece service station, the old Grovely railway station packed with wartime memorabilia and an onsite working blacksmith whose business dates back to wartime.

The Museum has a fantastic BMX track for the littlies right next door, and John Scott Park has a great playground and it is just a hop, skip and a jump away.

There are free-to-use public barbeque facilities and public toilets near the playground, making it a wonderful spot to explore.

Images by Danella Perrins