8 - (uncaptioned) Better Farming Train

Fri, 08 Aug 2014 09:49:34 +1200

8 - Better Farming Train

More information (excerpt below) about the Better Farming Train can be found on the Victorian Energy & Earth Resources website.

The Better Farming Train steamed out of Melbourne for the first time in October 1924 bound for Gippsland. An engine towing fifteen carriages painted bright orange made a striking picture.

Each carriage was fitted out with agricultural displays. Pigs, cows, poultry, bees, dairy utensils, potatoes, bacon, tobacco, manure, fodder and pasture samples and a range of expert lecturers were among items of interest carried on the train.

The Better Farming Train was developed by co-operation between the Departments of Agriculture, Railways, Education and Public Health. It was a public education effort intended to improve farming techniques and raise agricultural production. The train made approximately thirty-eight tours of rural Victoria between 1924 and 1935. Each tour visited ten regional centres, with one day spent at each centre.