Longmire Wagon

c. 1896
Overview

This is a horse drawn table top farm wagon that was owned by the Longmire family

Historical information

This wagon is a tabletop farm wagon that was manufactured in Peterborough South Australia c1896 and transported by sea to Albany by the Longmire family where it was used firstly on their family farm in Katanning and later in Busselton.

In 1894 Mr Longmire Senior (grandfather of Robert Longmire) came to Western Australia from South Australia in search of newly opened farming land. He selected some land at Carrolup near Katanning and then returned to his family in South Australia. In 1896 he returned by ship with his family and possessions, which included farm implements, this wagon and two teams of horses. Unfortunately, some of the horses were lost at sea in a storm which forced him to break in extra horses on his arrival at Albany. Once the horses were ready the family used this wagon to transport their possessions to their new blocks of land at Katanning where they developed a farm. This wagon was used on the property and when tractors replaced horses the wagon was converted to be tractor drawn. When Robert Longmire moved to Acton Park in 1950, to develop a dairy farm, he used this wagon to transport his equipment.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-124-2022.7
Item type
Material
Contextual Information

Tabletop wagons were the heavy lifters in the wagon world. Large table-top wagons were first built in Australia in the 1890s in response to increased agricultural production and road improvements. They were larger than the flat-top wagons that they replaced, and their long platform tops were sometimes slightly concave to help keep wheat sacks or wool bales in place. Turning the wagon and horses was made easier by the swiveling pony wheel assembly which sat underneath the front of the wagon. The number of horses required to pull the wagon depended on the weight of the load and the road conditions but typically, one horse was needed for every tonne of load.

After it was replaced by a motorised truck this wagon fell into disrepair on the property at Acton Park until Geoff Lord arranged for it to be moved to the Busselton Museum where Society volunteers restored it to its former glory.

Place made
Peterborough
SA
Australia
Year
c. 1896
Primary significance criteria
Historic significance
Comparative significance criteria
Object’s condition or completeness
Related Objects

Related Objects

Busselton Historical Society

Busselton Historical Society

Organisation Details
View Collection
Item Feedback

Longmire Wagon
Longmire Wagon

Scan this QR code to open this page on your phone ->