If it wasn't for the Equine Flu epidemic in 2008, we probably woundn't be presenting a major heritage event in 2011.

That unbelievable occurrence fired the passion in a like-minded group of enthusiasts and inspired them to present an event destined to become the premier heritage fair in New South Wales. That event is now known as the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair.

A local group of steam enthusiasts were approached at the very last minute by Oberon Agricultural Show to put on a display to fill the void left by the horse events being cancelled.  In six short weeks that group of enthusiasts pulled together a small display that included steam traction engines, classic cars, tractors and military vehicles. Some working demonstrations were organised and that was it.  That display certainly attracted attention, if fact it was the highlight of the 2008 Oberon Show.

It was realised that there was sufficient interest amongst Oberon’s population to warrant the establishment of an enthusiast’s club.  A public meeting was called and from that, Oberon Heritage & Collectors Club Inc was established.  The club is small but its members are very enthusiastic about their various interests.

The Club members decided that a priority for 2009 was to stage a show that was better than 2008.  It was also important that the show was staged more professionally than previously and the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair came into being.

The committee of the 109th Oberon Show was approached with an offer to stage the Fair in conjunction with their agricultural show.  It was an opportunity for them to get on their feet financially and they accepted it.  Our Fair was a conjunction event but totally independent of the agricultural show and they incurred little expense in having the Fair on their grounds.  It would benefit both organizations.

A sub-committee of the Club was formed to directly organise the Fair.  Planning got underway in July of 2008 and it set about inviting enthusiasts to come to Oberon and display their machinery and collections.

The organisers literally started with no budget at all and set about advertising the event anywhere that would accept publicity free of charge.  The organisers aimed their advertising at three distinct markets: serious enthusiasts, visitors and the residents of Oberon and district.  Eventually our marketing extended as far south as Wagga Wagga NSW, Dubbo and beyond in the west, Hunter Valley in the North and the Blue Mountains and Western Sydney in the East.

In February 2009, the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair linked with the Oberon & Villages Summer Festival as the key event to the month long festival and subsequently received the support of Oberon Plateau Tourism Association and benefited from Tourism NSW funding of that festival.  Along the way a little business sponsorship was picked up and importantly Oberon Council assisted with transportation of the larger machinery and allowed the use of their depot facilities.

The organiser’s targets were met immediately.  In 2009 visitor attendence at  the fair was very satisfactory and there were about 200 entries present at some stage during the three days of the fair from all of the targeted areas.

In 2010, entrants increased by about 10% with about 250 entries displayed at the rally grounds. Visitors numbered a healthy 2000

The organisers ran the Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair over three days in 2010.

The major event on Friday was the road runs for steam traction engines, classic cars and tractors.  For the cars and tractors, two different routes were set with a lunch destination at Tarana to Oberon’s north. The Steam Traction Engines trundled around the outskirts of Oberon and their lunch break was at the MDF mill owned by CarterHoltHarvey Pty Ltd.
Saturday’s activities included the largest Grand Rally seen in Oberon CBD for years with 135 participants covering all types of machinery.

The Bathurst Toyota Show’N’Shine was presented at the rally ground  on Saturday with judging in various categories and machinery demonstrations. The annual Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair tractor pull was conducted also on Saturday. Saturday evening was the night of the “Welcome Dinner and Awards Presentation." More than 55 awards were presented to an enthusiast crowd by Bruce Fitzpatrick, General Manager of Oberon Council and Shane Gilchrist, General Manager of Bathurst Toyota.

Sunday had more Show’N’Shine and machinery demonstrations and the tractor pull continued.

The 2010 Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair was a fantastic success both for the organiser, paticipants and most importantly for the village of Oberon.

Planning is now in hand for 2011 and once again the management team is investigating more attractions to introduce in line with the heritage theme of the Fair.

It is the management team’s aim to professionally manage the 2011 Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair and beyond, provide a rally ground, in due course, with first class facilities and make the Fair without peer.

We are well on our way to achieving our goals.

We believe that the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair is already the second largest Fair of its type in New South Wales and is rapidly becoming renowned as the premier heritage fair in New South Wales.