NEW SOUTH WALES’ PREMIER HERITAGE FAIR
11TH FEBRUARY-13TH FEBRUARY 2011
Calculating days to go
News
Vintage Fair is in the running for an award
From the Oberon Review 5th August 2010:
"The Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair has been nominated in the NSW Industry and Investment Events and Tourism award category for the 2010 NSW/ACT Regional Achievement and Community Awards.
The annual awards program is an initiative of Prime Television and the Comonwealth Bank and provides regional communities with an opportunity for statewide recognition and the chance to showcase their contribution and achievement towards development within their communities. With fantastic prizes, the awards reward the hard working people of remote and regional areas in NSW and the ACT."
Mayfield Garden Sponsors Road Run
NEWSFLASH!
The owners of Mayfield Garden, one of the largest privately owned cool climate gardens in the world and located right here in Oberon NSW is to sponsor the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair Road Run on Friday 11th February 2011.
The garden will be the destination for the "Mayfield Garden Run" and is being opened especially as a private viewing for the entrants in our traditional Friday activity.
Being a private garden, Mayfield Garden is normally opened to the public twice a year in May and September to take in the Autumn colours and the Spring growth.
The only way to take advantage of this special private viewing is to enter the Mayfield Garden Run with your classic vehicle and entry will be strictly by the entry ticket; there will be no exceptions.
The management team is excited about forging this special partnering sponsorship with the owners of Mayfield Garden for 2011.
More about this wonderful event will be made available shortly.
Keep an eye on our website for all details about this fantastic garden and the public opening in May as part of the Oberon & Villages Summer Festival. A Mayfield Garden page will appear on our website in the next few days.
Do not miss this garden.
As we say in Oberon "Simply Spectacular!"
Why not become a friend of the Fair?
No doubt you enjoy reading about the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair and you must sometimes wonder about becoming involved without having to commit.
Here is a great opportunity to make the Fair your own.
Why not become a friend? Friends support the Fair for all sorts of reasons but their common thread is their love of all things heritage.
Read more about becoming a friend by clicking on the Friends Membership page.
You can readily download an application form that can be mailed, faxed or emailed to the rally organiser at David@HighlandsSteam.org.au
Come on, be a real part of the Fair!
Exciting times in the Steam World in Oberon NSW
The Rail Steam partner of the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair has been busy since February 2010.
Oberon Tarana Heritage Railway group (OTHR) recently took delivery on permanent loan two passenger carriages dating from the 1800's. These have been added to the growing array of rolling stock located at Oberon station.
Even more exciting news was the purchase of two 73 class diesel engines that will ply the historic Oberon line initially between Hazelgrove and Oberon NSW. The engines are in excellent condition and ready for work. Both engines and carriages are the backbone of OTHR's proposed tourism rail transport.
Services will begin as soon as the works to the level crossings are complete and necessary paperwork in place.
The OTHR is undertaking one of the largest tourism projects in the Oberon, Bathurst and Lithgow council areas.
We are hoping that the trains will be running by February 2011 when the 3rd Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair will be presented at our rally grounds adjacent to the historic Oberon station. The rail line runs right by the rally grounds.
The official OTHR website can be accessed by our Links page.
Badge Collectors Note
There are a very limited number of Rally Badges from the 2010 event for sale while stocks last.
Rally Badges are priced at $10.00 each
Limited Edition Badges.
These badges are colour reversed to the entrants badges. 45 were minted and we currently have 16 on hand. All come with a certificate of authenticity signed by the rally President and Rally Organiser and are individually numbered.
Priced at $20.00 each
Rare Rally Badge.
These badges feature a red banner in place of the normal black banner. 5 only were minted and we have 1 left. The badge comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by the Rally President and Rally Organiser and is numbered 2 of 5.
Priced at $60.00.
Badge collectors will be aware that these badges are in limited supply and when they're gone, they're gone forever from general sale.
Contact the Rally Organiser via the "contact us" page to order and organise payment. Alternatively send a cheque/money order and mailing details to PO Box 470, Oberon, NSW 2787
Don't miss this offer!
New feature announced for the 2011 Fair
In keeping with the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair management team's determination to constantly refresh the Fair, we today announce the first of the new features confirmed for the 2011 Fair.
Oberon's own Wood Guy, John Smillie, will present "Oberon - Timber Town, an active history of the village's timber industry."
The village of Oberon is one of New South Wales' major sources of timber for the housing industry in Australia and Overseas and the major souce of employment. We are home to some of the largest 'state of the art' timber mills in Australia.
John is promising an event second to none showcasing the old art of the timber cutter to modern harvesting techniques.
He promises many surprises that will have you talking for ages.
More later....
If you want to talk to John about timber or think you have something that will add to his event, please contact The Wood Guys. Their link is on our links page.
48 & FJ Holden Owners Club (NSW) Inc files a report
A report on the 2010 Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair has been filed in the club magazine "The Distributor" March 2010:
"Friday 19th.
Setting off from the service centre at about 7.00 AM and picking up more cars at Glenbrook, we headed into some drizzle and fog. A comfort stop at Blackheath - very cold - then over the mountains to beautiful sunshine. We arrived at Oberon around 9.00 AM and checked into our motel, then off to the Rally Grounds to collect our goodie bags and receive instructions about our lunch run to Tarana. On the way to Tarana, the countryside was looking so green after all the recent rain, but unfortunately Ray's car decided it wanted to stop and admire the scenery. Bonnet up, heads under and in the end most of us continued on our way and left Ray, Ian, David Stephens and Howard to fix the problem. Once again the ladies (and their male helpers) at the Rural Fire Shed excelled themselves in providing a lovely lunch, a glass of local wine, tea, coffee and delicious slices. The bush mechanics had lunch when they joined us later. Back to Oberon, feet up at the motel, then dinner at Cafe Savanna, very nice indeed with good company and lots of laughs.
Saturday 20th.
Back to the Rally Grounds at 8.30 AM, line up the cars and put up the tents which was entertaining for those who watched! Lots of vintage & classic cars, tractors, steam engines and stationary engines. The parade through the main street was a wonderful sight with hundreds of people lining the way. The rest of the day was spent doing what we do best - sitting and talking , and of course looking at the other exhibits.
Dennis did a short interview with the local radio station. Packed up tents and left the grounds about 3.00 PM with many of us showing a bit of sunburn. Back to the motel to get ready for the Presentation Dinner at the RSL. We enjoyed a buffet dinner and entertainment (I still can't get the Sao song out of my head) then time for the presentations. Our Club had a wonderful result with three winners -
Geoff Smith 3rd for Commercial Vehicle Original
Ian Young 1st for Commercial Vehicle Restored
Jeff Magnoli 3rd for Commercial Vehicle restored.
They were presented with a framed certificate. Congratulations to all three winners.
Sunday 21st.
No need for an early start, Ken and Cathy left first, then the others by 10.00 AM, Jim and Pam to Goulburn and the rest back to Sydney, except Dennis and I; we decided to have another day in the country and headed home on Monday. Like last year we had beautiful weather all weekend.
Congratulations to David McMurray and his team for a great and well organised event."
Ann M334
What did Barbara Preston & Val McKenzie think of the Fair?
Barbara Preston & Val McKenzie had plenty to report on the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair.
The following is their report as told to the Wellington Antique Engine Society Newsletter for March:
"The Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair held on 19th, 20th & 21st February in Oberon was a great success for the organisers.
This was the third year of the Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair. In previous years the event was held in conjunction with the Oberon Show but this year it was a separate event and held on the grounds of the Oberon Leagues Sport and Recreation Club. The 2010 event had 250 entries displayed at the rally grounds with approximately 2000 visitors.
Friday saw a good line up of various tractors and trucks head off to Tarana. From Tarana the trek took them to O'Connell through to Mayfield and back to Oberon. Meantime the steam engines had a free run on the streets of Oberon to promote the Fair.
A grand parade was held through the central business district during Saturday morning with 135 participants. These included vintage machinery of all types including traction engines, tractors, trucks, cars and army vehicles. A large audience was kept enthralled as, led by pipe marching bands, the vintage cars and trucks started at one end of the main street, whilst the tractors, steam engines and assorted vehicles started at the other end of the street.
The rally grounds featured numerous machinery displays, tractor pulls and machinery demonstrations.
Barbara Preston had her first try at 'pulling' with her steam traction engine, Sooty, and had an okay run on her first try. However her second run turned out a good consistent pull.
The weather was excellent and late February is considered the best time to hold such an event.
Clubs having displayed included: Bathurst Historical Society - cars, Australian Historic Motor Club - 20 cars, 48 & FJ Holden Owners Club - 16 cars, Lithgow Vintage Motor Club - 15 cars, Mountains Cruizers Club - 10 cars, Mini car specialists - 10 cars, Army vehicles - 9 Jeeps as well as other vehicles, the Sydney Antique Engine Club, the Berrima District Old Machinery Club, the Cherry Capital Collector Club ( Young), the Maitland Steam & Antique Machinery Association, the Hunter Valley Vintage Farm Machinery Club, the Oberon Society Heritage Railway and the Wellington Antique Engine Society.
A 'welcome dinner' was held on Saturday evening with the presentation of more than 55 awards. Congratulations to John & Barbara Preston who were awarded 1st prize for the best Steam Traction Engine Restored for their Fowler engine.
Oberon was a great rally and members should keep it in mind for next year. The dates for the 2011 Highland Steam & Vintage Fair are the 11th 12th &13th February so note in your diary for and unforgettable weekend in Oberon."
Henri Hendriksen reports on the 2010 Fair
As reported in the Lithgow Vintage Motor Club Inc magazine "Running Board Rag" (March issue) submitted by entrant Henri Hendriksen.
"And what a wonderful weekend it was. Nicki and I went for the full three day weekend.
It was our 28th anniversary on the Saturday. We took the Buick, which was our reception car on our wedding day in 1982. We arrived at the grounds in Oberon at about 10.00 o'clock. It was a sunny but windy morning. We met a few new and known people. At 11.30 AM we drove off with about 25 cars along Duckmaloi Road (then onto) Jenolan Caves Road. At Hampton (turned in) to Rydal Road and then left onto Sodwalls Road to Tarana.
We had an outstanding lunch at the Tarana Bush Fire Station, including some wine tasting. About 10 tractors came 15 minutes later down the Hazelgrove Road.
About 2.00PM we drove back to Oberon via Mutton Falls Road and Lowes Mount Road. We arrived back at the Leagues grounds about 2.45PM.
A few more steam engines and stationary engines had arrived. It was a relaxing afternoon from then on.
At about 5.30PM we had a nice BBQ organised by the Rotary Club with the proceeds donated to charity.
We stayed at the Highlands Motor Inn for the night.
The next day we arrived at the Leagues grounds at about 9.00AM. The other cars of the Lithgow Vintage Motor Club arrived about the same time. The club came with 15 cars, which I thought was a good effort. Peter came with his Land Rover to celebrate his car's 60th anniversary. He had it dressed up with birthday decorations.
The weather was even better than Friday.
Today about 250 entrants came to the show with the widest variety of machinery I have seen for a long time. There was a good variety of vintage and classic cars.
The tractor section was interesting too.
At 10.00AM most of us left for the street parade. I think I wore about 2000 miles off my clutch because (of) the slow pace we went up the hill through the main street.
I must say that a lot of people came to the main street to have a look.
Most of the traction engines and tractors came to the street parade. We all moved back to the Leagues ground for lunch and admiring the cars and machinery.
The tractor pulls where good to watch. The steam traction engines are the better choice for pulling I found.
At the stationary engines were a good variety of applications. There was an engine driving a saw bench, an engine driving (a) water pump, an engine with a DC generator, an engine driving a forge blower, and many more.
At about 4.00PM we left the grounds and visited the RSL Military Museum. It had only just opened. Not very big but still interesting. We spent about an hour there.
We then went back to the motel to get ready for the presentation night.
The presentation was at the Oberon RSL club. The dinner was excellent, I must say. It was a smorgasbord style dinner with a large variety of food. We had a nice country style band playing mostly Australian traditional style music and their own written music.
Then the presentations started. There were lots of different classes and hence prizes. Ian Wilkinson had Second Prize in the most original commercial vehicle and Merv Paterson had second prize in the most original classic vehicle. A good evening with some good socialising. We walked back to the motel at about 10 o'clock.
The next morning we drove back to the grounds at about 9 o'clock. About half the cars were at the grounds but still all of the statonary engines and traction engines. We still had a lot of visitors coming to have a look at the attractions.
The weather was of the same quality as Saturday. We still had a good talk with different people. We had a nice BBQ lunch supplied by the Rotary Club and at about 1 o'clock we returned home. We drove back through Tarana and Rydal. I must say at the moment the countryside is very green and beautiful.
We had a very enjoyable weekend. The Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair was a success. We thank the organisers for the effort."
Rally Grounds confirmed for 2011
The Highlands Steam & Vintage Fair will be presented again in 2011 at its grounds at the Oberon Leagues, Sport and Recreation Club, home of the famous Oberon Tigers.
The grounds are superb for the event because of their locality, great conditions and facilities.
Just ask anyone who attended the 2010 Fair or have a look at "What regulars are saying" page.
The 2011 Highlands Steam and Vintage Fair is an event not to be missed.
Mark your diary early for this one!