Rockhampton Heritage Village in Rockhampton, Queensland | Performance & event venue

Rockhampton Heritage Village

Locality: Rockhampton, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 4936 8680

Address: 296 Boundary Road 4702 Rockhampton, QLD, Australia

Website: www.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/heritagevillage

Likes: 5937

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Arts and entertainment
• Performance & event venue
• Community museum

24.01.2022 National Library deems local Australian Country Hospital Heritage Assn. significant. You may not be aware that the website www.achha.org.au, has been classified as a website containing information of on-going historical significance. Having obtained approval from our local hospital volunteers, the National Library of Australia periodically makes a backup. Should anything unforeseen occur a snapshot in time of the website will be permanently available through the National Library. The most recent backup was on 7 January 2020. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/149853

22.01.2022 THEN and NOW KALAPA SCHOOL In 1914, an ‘open air’ school for 30 pupils was built to service the communities of Woodend, Bushley and Sandy Creek. This school was opened on 8 June 1915 by Mabel Gwendoline Wellings, the first teacher. By December of that year the three blinds had blown out leaving almost all of the interior of the school exposed to the weather. In 1916 it was decided to build a new school (the present structure) which was occupied in February 1918.... In 1934 the school changed its name from ‘Woodend’ to ‘Kalapa’ since the neighbourhood was commonly known by that name. Kalapa is Aboriginal word for wasp or hornet. The school closed in 1996. Today, students from schools as far away at Mackay, Emerald and Gladstone visit the Village to experience a class session with ‘Sir’a very strict Master indeed!! See more

19.01.2022 THEN and NOW St Peter's Church St Peter’s Roman Catholic Church was built in 1911 and was situated at Gracemere, west of Rockhampton. It was used for services until 1993 and then gifted by the Rockhampton Catholic Diocese to the Rockhampton Heritage Village. The church was relocated in one piece with only the high roof being removed.The church had been vandalized with broken window and holes in the floor. St Peters’ is no longer consecrated, since it does not have a permanent congregation. However, the church is still used for weddings, mostly with celebrants. People enjoy singing in the church to due to the wonderful acoustics in the building.

18.01.2022 Volunteer David Bock is our resident train enthusiast! Not only is he the engine driver for our miniature railway, but he also works on our model train layout, creating scale models of Heritage Village buildings to alternate with the existing Christmas snow scene. So far he has built four buildings and he is onto his fifth a model of the hospital. David has been working patiently at home for many months on the buildings and his work contains intricate details such as pews in the church and rain tanks outside cottages. The model train was previously located at the Mater Hospital and Sister Maria arranged for it to be donated to the Heritage Village. The layout is located in the Lakes Creek Railway Station. Nice work, David!

17.01.2022 THEN and NOW Dingley Cottage The cottage was built in 1911 and occupied by the Dingley Family. Until 2009 it was situated at 234 Denham Street, just down from the Rockhampton Girls Grammar School and occupied by Alice Dingley. The cottage has been fully reinstated as it was while Alice lived there with the original furniture and fittings. It was never connected to electricity and was lit by kerosene lamps and heated by a large fuel stove. Does anyone remember Alice?

14.01.2022 THEN and NOW LAKES CREEK RAILWAY STATION Lakes Creek is named after and early seaman who was named Captain Lake and a small fresh water creek that ran through the area.The Emu Park Rail Line opened in 1888 to service the Lakes Creek Meat Works and the sea side town of Emu Park. The first railway station was originally situated across the road from where the heritage listed Lakes Creek Hotel stands today and when the new station was built, it was renamed Berserker Rail Statio...n. A building contract for a new Lakes Creek Rail Station was awarded on 9 July 1900. The stationmaster’s house was located on the hill opposite the station. Two Purrey Steam Trams similar to the one at Archer Park Rail Museum had a service fourteen times daily to the Station. These trams were put into service between 1924 1925, transporting the meat workers and general public to and from town. The tram service ceased in 1930 in favour of buses. The trams were able to carry 40 passengers in the main unit and 50 passengers in the trailer. Bill Head was the last stationmaster from 1969 to 1992 and his father was stationmaster for 3 years prior to that. During this time, Bill remembers that there were two or three cattle trains each day and more on the weekend. Bill had an assistant and a porter when needed. When Bill retired, his job was advertised, but never filled. The Lakes Creek Railway Station moved to the Rockhampton Heritage Village on 5 August 2008 where visitors can now enjoy a ride on the miniature railway. See more

13.01.2022 THEN and NOW Rackemann's Cottage Lorna and Donald Rackemannn donated the cottage to the Village when they were retiring from their Marlborough cattle property. It had been erected on a 128 acre lot at Wooroolin and the Rackemanns moved it to Marlborough for sentimental reasons. It was purchased by the Rackemanns ancestors’, Hans and Ida Hansen, in 1908. when it only had two front rooms and front verandah. Hans considered the house to have been built on land that was too low... so he pulled the cottage apart, numbered each of the pieces and rebuilt it on higher ground. You can see the original numbering system used by Hans on the inside of the slabs next to the front door. Hans then added the two back rooms and the back verandah. They ran the property as a dairy farm, hand milking until they retired in 1947. They had four daughters, one only 7 months when they moved into the cottage. Hans and Ida who were both born in Australia lived in the cottage for over ten years. Hans’s parents had emigrated from Denmark and Ida’s from Germany. Ida was excellent at needlework and examples of her needle skills are displayed throughout the cottage. Even the curtains were decorated with her embroidery as well as the bedspreads and no doubt many other items. Following the sale of the property in 1996, this home was again shifted to Rockhampton, to its present location at the Heritage Village.

12.01.2022 THEN and NOW LAKES CREEK COTTAGE The cottage was built in 1910 as a miners cottage in Mount Morgan. Due to the closure of the mine it was then moved to Lakes Creek for workers from C.Q.M.E. Lakes Creek Meatworks. Some restoration work was required before the cottage was re-opened at the Village in 2014 and it is now the most ‘modern’ cottage in the 100 years represented on site.... Originally this was a modest 3 bedroom cottage but in later years the kitchen and dining room were added at the rear of the building. A breezeway separated the kitchen and dining areas from the main house. This had many advantages, most importantly ensuring that in case of fire, there was less chance that the whole building would be being burnt to the ground. In 2019 the breezeway allowed access via the construction of a ramp so that visitors with wheelchairs, wheelie walkers or prams could easily view the exhibit. This is the only cottage in the Village which is accessible to these groups due to the structure of the early heritage cottages with narrow halls and doorways.

08.01.2022 The Heritage Village will remain closed over the next 12 months while Rockhampton Regional Council explores options for a renewed business plan.

07.01.2022 THEN and NOW Arnold's Store This building was originally a soil testing laboratory for Rockhampton City Council. Its structure is very similar to Arnold’s store which was located opposite the Allenstown School. The shop was run by the two spinster Arnold's sisters. Does anyone remember their first names or any history associated with the store?

07.01.2022 This week is National Volunteers week and, as you know, we have a great bunch of volunteers here at the Heritage Village who work tirelessly on many aspects of the Village. While we are currently closed to the public and the volunteers aren’t here, we didn’t want to let this opportunity go by to give our volunteers a big THANK YOU!

05.01.2022 THEN and NOW KARL & WOODS WAGGON WORKS Karl (Frederick Karl) & Woods (John B Woods) were listed as coach and carriage builders in Derby Street, Rockhampton in the 1889 census. The word WAGGON is from the German spelling. No original plans could be found for this building so the plans were drawn up from a box brownie photo, by a local architect. The building currently houses a range of horse drawn delivery carts used in the early 1800’s which is very popular for school tours.

04.01.2022 Heritage Village - a timely reminder of who we are! These are the buildings and equipment that our ancestors used daily to carve out a new life in a challenging environment. From the days of early European settlement, they battled for survival on the gold fields, during two world wars, the Great Depression, the black plague and the Spanish Flu. In between they endured drought, floods, fires and cyclones which are all a testament to their resilience in the face of adversity. ... The Australian way has always been to ‘Adapt and Overcome’ and 'look out for your mates'. The Village and all its displays serve as a timely reminder that ordinary people overcome extraordinary challenges. [We’re closed at the moment as a safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but look forward to welcoming you to the Heritage Village in the future]. See more

04.01.2022 SHOW US YOUR PICS! We’ve seen some great photos of the Heritage Village that locals and tourists alike have taken over the years, and that got us to thinking. Would you like to show off your photos of the Heritage Village? Of course you would! While we’re still closed because of COVID 19, let’s have a virtual exhibition! Post some of your favourite photos in the comments on this post. We’d love to see them. Please make sure you own any photos you upload, and that if there’s recognisable people in the photo you have their permission.

01.01.2022 THEN and NOW Australian Country Hospital Museum The Country Hospital Museum building was formerly the Mt Morgan Hospital Nurses' Quarters. It was originally built as a Matron and Sisters' Quarters and was used to house nursing staff at the hospital. When it was no longer required, the building was donated to the Australian Country Hospital Heritage Association Inc. and is now fully refurbished. The new Country Hospital Museum was officially opened on 21 November 2009. The building houses a wide range of displays depicting the operation of an early 20th century hospital.

01.01.2022 THEN and NOW ROSEWOOD HOMESTEAD ‘Rosewood’ is a cattle property located at Wycarbah some 100 km west of Rockhampton. Rosewood Homestead comes from this property and was built in 1881 from iron bark timber felled on the property. It has beautiful pressed metal walls and an outdoor kitchen and bathhouse. This kept the main part of the house safe in case of fire from the wood stove. Around 1950, 32 volt power replaced kerosene lights and a party-line telephone was installed in ...1965 ending their isolation. In 1981 grid electricity was finally connected. However, the old wood stove was never replaced nor was there ever any running water connected. All water was bucketed from the house tanks. Two of these tanks are still connected to the homestead today. The homestead was transported to the village on 14 August 1995 together with some of the original furniture. Today it is not only popular with visitors but in high demand for weddings and photo opportunities. See more