Farmer Brown’s Wheat Farm Museum
By Della Steen (nee Brown) – April 2026
The Deep Christian Heritage of the Brown family
Back in 1929, George & Daisy Brown[1] packed up their seven children (aged 17 years old to 18 months old) with their wheat farming plant to move 300 miles (500km) from Grenfell in Central NSW, north to a 1288 acre (521 ha) block which had been cut out of “Tarriaro Station” near Maules Creek between Narrabri and Boggabri in northwest NSW. On their way through Boggabri, they stopped at the Methodist Church and asked the minister if he could come out to their home, one Sunday afternoon each month, to conduct a church service. The Browns became a light in the community.
15-year-old, Fred Brown on the Hart Parr tractor, pulling their farming plant from “Midlands”, Grenfell to the railway station, en route to Maules Creek in 1929.
By 1935, their oldest son, Jim was married to Edna – Jim and his brother, Fred, built a cottage at the other end of the farm for Jim & Edna. But when Jim went off to fight in WWII in 1940, Edna went home to Melbourne with their two children, Fred and his bride, Doris, then moved into the cottage. They had 2 sons.
Fred & Doris Brown were married in 1940 =>
When George & Daisy retired in the 1950s, Fred Brown inherited the farm and took over the church services, now held at their cottage on the family farm. Fred & Doris also conducted Sunday School every Sunday throughout the 1960s and ran a “Christian Endeavour” youth camp every October long weekend.
“And Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground…’” – Mark 4:26
Sadly, Fred went Home to the LORD in 1970, and the camps stopped, but Doris kept the church services running. When the Methodist Church became the Uniting Church Australia in 1975, the Uniting minister from Gunnedah happily drove one hour to lead the services at the farm.
Vicars started coming to the farm when the Boggabri Anglican and the Boggabri Uniting churches merged in the 1980s. Apparently, it was a highlight of their ministry because as each minister handed over the parish to the new vicar, they always recommended the services at the Browns.
Doris went into full-time care aged 93, in 2005, so their son, Syd & Joyce and his family, then ran the home church services.
Farmer Brown’s Wheat Farm Museum
George Brown loved machinery and this passion was passed onto his grandson, Syd. Over the years, Syd kept his grandfather’s and his father’s farming machinery with the thought of one day establishing “Farmer Brown’s Working Wheat Farm Museum” in his retirement. He added to the collection his own machinery from the 1960s and 1970s.
Syd & Joyce and their daughters on the Shearer CS-105 Header in 1976
When they celebrated the 80th anniversary of church services in 2009, Syd put on a display of ten tractors with their matching seeders/planters with a sign “Farming practices may have changed but God never changes” illustrating how much farming machinery had progressed over the decades.
Then in 2019, when they celebrated the 90th anniversary, the display was the same tractors with their matching headers (harvesters).
“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7
Grading the wheat after harvest in early 2000s. All these implements (except the Acco truck) are now on display in Farmer Brown’s Wheat Farm Museum.
Syd is now 82 years old, though, and has been recently diagnosed with dementia. He has declared that his daughters should have a museum clearing sale. It is set for Saturday, 16th May 2026. [PTO]
Five out of ten of the tractors which are on display at Farmer Brown’s Wheat Farm Museum lined up in early-2000s: Hart Parr; Massey Harris 55K; Case 900; Minneapolis-Moline G705; and John Deere 5010.
All these tractors (except the Hart Parr) were in regular use around the farm.
The heart of the museum will be the display of the ten tractors ranging from George Brown’s 1922 Hart Parr tractor (which had come with them from Grenfell) to Syd’s 1967 Minneapolis Moline G-705. Standing behind each tractor is its matching one-way disc plough, scarifier, combine (seed drill/planter), and corresponding header (harvester). A total of fifty implements. Additionally, there are about fifty other implements (wheat-, hay-, and sheep-handling equipment), wheels (rims, axels, steel wheels) and sundries (oil pots, grease guns, chains, cogs) – all to be auctioned off*. An opportunity for you to take home a piece of Brown family history.
Come on an Celebrate!
You are invited! Syd’s daughters are planning a celebratory day, with a BBQ by the Boggabri Lion’s Club, a stall of the famous Maules Creek CWA cakes, slices and sandwiches, and a barista coffee van – on Saturday, 16th May 2026. Auction starts at 10am.
Come on and celebrate almost-100 years of the life and ministry of the Brown family. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring your aging neighbour, for a fun-filled day of good old-fashioned Aussie country fellowship. All welcome!
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” – Psalm 126:5
*To view the catalogue and other auction information regarding the clearing sale, go to: www.kedesh.net/museum
[1] George Brown was the grandson of “Old Tom Brown” who had migrated from England to Australia in 1838 to “evangelise the colony” see www.OldTomBrown.orgComing
Kedesh 