Beaudesert Historical Museum

The Beaudesert Historical Museum is one of the largest country town museums in Queensland, with over 10,000 artefacts covering the Scenic Rim region’s industrial and lifestyle heritage. From the humble Mother Potts clothes iron, to the large red Dennis fire engine, there is something for everyone.

A favourite photographic opportunity for visitors to Beaudesert Historical Museum is the Milbanks Pioneer Cottage. This cottage originally built in 1875 by Patrick Milbanks on his Kerry property, out of local hand hewn timbers, slats and shingle roof. It is furnished with a four-poster bed, large cedar sideboard and numerous articles that portray the life of the early pioneers. It was donated to the museum by Patrick Milbanks’ grandchildren and relocated to its present site in 1979.

Dedicated to the Fire Services by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Leslie Wilson, in 1935 it was considered to be the Rolls Royce of fire equipment. The Dennis Fire Engine was used in South Brisbane for twenty years before working for ten years in Beaudesert. It was donated to the museum by the local brigade after surviving a flood in 1965.

Their recently added Angels of Agriculture Display is being well received – a tribute to local bee keeper Mr Norm Rice and his pioneering work in relation to the role of bees in the agricultural world and the community in general.