Australian History You Can Feel and Explore

Step back in time and live the folklore of yesterday’s Australia in every piece of collection at the Award winning Historic Village Herberton, an entire village containing more than 50 original buildings with intact interior displays, shops and stores re-created as they were over 100 years ago, original machinery and vehicles and thousands of antique items. Visitors are given a sense of being in a real township back in the days.

No drinks in the Pub

Back to school

The old school which dated back from 1881, was apart from the Elderslie House our favourite building. It really takes you back to the old days in the class room. Apart from the wooden stick, We would love to spend a day back to school again in that period of time. The beautiful maps which are decorating the walls, the wooden benches, the vibe, it has something special.

The most authentic and stylish chemist

Another stunning building with a very warm, cosy and authentic vibe was the Chemist. With the shiny mahogany walls and floor, the colourful medicine bottles all neat and sorted on the shelfs and the cottage style outside, this place would be the perfect place to live in with a little renovation 🙂

This place offers unlimited opportunities for amazing photography, seriously we kept on making pictures. Everything is beautiful over here, the buildings, the views ( everything is a bit uphill )  the gardens and beautiful flowers everywhere.

You can spend an entire day absorbing it all so plan on taking your time. At first we thought it would take us a couple of hours to explore it all ( and we are fast travellers ) but we literary got lost in time and at the end we spend almost 4 hours to see and experience it all and it wasn’t that busy.

Lunch at the Bakerville Tearoom

We also took our time to enjoy lunch at the Bakerville Tearoom. Also an original building which is absolutely great inside and out. The Tearoom  serves delicious homemade pies, scones, sandwiches and great coffee. All very reasonable priced and the BLT was massive!

And even the high chairs are antique! We had to ask the service staff first if we could actually use them or that it was only for display 😉

History of the Herberton Village

Back in the 1950s, many items were being sold off for scrap metal. Old buildings were being condemned for demolition. Collector Harry Skennar had a vision to preserve history for generations to come. He set about creating The Village back in 1973, bringing the first building, Elderslie House, onto the site beside Wild River.

The Elderslie House is absolutely gorgeous! As soon as we walked in we were imagine it being our house and started discussing how we would design it. We would love to reno one of those ` old ` cottages one day. But first we are on a mission to find the perfect place to buy a house.

Anyway, before we get sidetracked to far, the Elderslie house `s interior is actually totally furbished with eye to details, so it really looks like someone is actually still living here.

After the Elderslie House many more buildings and everything antique followed.

With the exception of the Tin Pannikin Pub, everything in the village dates from Herberton’s foundation years and almost all the buildings are as they were originally constructed. Regular maintenance keeps them sturdy and secure and in some cases modern lighting, safety grills, screens and steps have been installed for visitors safety.

Check out below slide show for some of many different items displayed at Herberton Historical Village.

The village owes its existence firstly to Herberton’s pioneers and then to a long list of dedicated residents who followed them. It exists today because of two couples – inspired collector Harry Skennar and his wife Ellen and owners Craig and Connie Kimberley who continue the tradition and restoration with the support of the local community.

Over the years the Village got extended more and more and while still collecting things from the early days, it might even grow bigger and bigger in the future.

Kids and Dogs at the Herberton Historical Village

Dogs on leads are welcome and have free entry.

The Herberton Historical Village is a great attraction to visit together with the kids, young and old. We are pretty sure the older kiddos would love so learn more about Australia`s history and have a look in all the old buildings. For the younger children there is a great little play area in the newer part of the park, when you cross the river via the bridge to the Herberton old railway line.

Sem also loved all the colours of everything he saw in the old buildings, the flowers and the homemade kids sausage roll !

Don’t worry about getting tired of all the little steps and hills or the impressions, there are places to sit everywhere. In or outside every single building was a chair or a bench to sit on and rest, feed your baby or just sit down and relax.

How to travel to the Herberton Historical Village

At only 90 minutes from Cairns, the Herberton Historical Village is a must see on a day trip from Cairns or during your stay in the Atherthon Tablelands.

At approx 750m above sea level, the Atherton Tablelands climate is cooler and fresher than the coast. So it is also a nice trip to escape the hot and sticky summer days at the coast.

If you are staying in the Atherton Tablelands, like we did, and want more time to discover every single corner of the Herberton Historical Village, they also have the opportunity to buy a 3 day return pass.

More about the Herberton Historical Village

Want to learn more about the history of the Atherton Tablelands and the Historic Village Herberton on an all day exclusive guided tour? The Heritage Tour offers a rare glimpse into the region’s pioneering history with a number of historical stops along the way. Departing three times a week from Cairns, with pick-up on the Atherton Tablelands available.

Wedding, Functions or Photoshoots are also possible.

For more info, actual opening times and entrance fees look at Herberton Historical Village`s website.

www.historicvillageherberton.com.au

Make sure you have a look on their social media as well!

Instagram and Facebook

We would love to Thank the lovely Herberton Village staff for inviting us to experience this amazing place!

Our visit to the Herberton Historical Village was complimentary, although all the opinions and information are our own.

Photography as always  © by woody world packer