Development of the Vintage Machinery Group

During the 1960s and 70s, farming and manufacturing were changing and re-tooling with new machinery. Ted Stephens and a few others who greatly admired this superseded technology wanted to save it from scrap heaps. Ernie McCann, then President of the Royal Geelong Agricultural and Pastoral Society (RGAPS) encouraged them to form the Vintage Machinery Group (VMG) and demonstrate vintage machines at the Royal Geelong Show.

Their first venue was under a tree which turned out to be subject to flooding. Their first major project was to save a large steam engine from a Corio Bay dredge, then being scrapped. Geelong’s biggest crane lifted the engine out of its housing, and heavy transport brought it to the Showgrounds. The group restored it to become a showpiece of VMG’s operating machines during Royal Geelong Shows (October 16 – 19, 2026 https://royalgeelongshow.org.au/) and Classic Truck and Machinery Shows (January 10 & 11 2026). See  https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/events/calendar/item/8de1ae9bfd80613.aspx.

The dredge’s steam-driven engine has been joined by other rare engines and machinery including ones that were once common on farms and in Geelong’s industries – tractors, traction engines and sawmills. The collection is housed in the Vintage Machinery Pavilion, which the group built for themselves in stages as the collection expanded. The VMG’s sixty volunteers restore the machinery and run up to 13 machines from a single steam boiler during the Royal Geelong Show and Classic Truck and Machinery Show, a tremendous achievement. Ted Stephens is still a member of the VMG Committee (and the GSM) is very proud of the organisations.

The group meets every Tuesday night, and more regularly before the October and January Shows. For these events they are often joined by displays from the Geelong Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (GSMEE). They are also encouraging a Women in Steam Group who are active participants in restoring and running the VMG machines.