Last week on Instagram I took you to Samford Village in Moreton Bay region, north-west of Brisbane. Probably the first European settler in the Samford district was Archibald Young whose application to lease land in the area to run cattle was accepted in 1855 and he called it Samford Run. Below are photos from a walk I took some time ago, notes come from the “Samford Village Heritage Trail” brochure.

Samford District Historical Museum

The main building, once the residence of the Albany Creek State School’s headmaster, was moved to this site in 1984. The Museum opened in 1986. The original Ferny Grove Railway Station was relocated to the museum in 1988 and other buildings, including a replica of the 1872 school, constructed with adzed slabs and split shingles, contribute to a contemporary appreciation of 19th century building materials and techniques. Other replicas include the Samford Garage which was once one of the busiest places in town servicing both mechanical and horse-drawn vehicles and supplying fuel right across the region. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

Samford Railway Station

June 29, 1918 was a milestone in Samford’s history and a large crowd gathered for the official opening of the Mitchelton to Samford section of the Enoggera-Terrors Creek railway extension. The official opening was signalled when a steam locomotive pulled into the station, breaking a tape held across the line. The railway station and yards were bound by Main Street and Station Street. Parts of the original site are now occupied by the Samford Museum, Rural Fire Brigade and sewerage works. The main station facilities occupied the site where the toilet block now stands. The line was soon very busy as the surrounding dairy farmers sent cream to the Kingston Butter Factory three times a week; while timber, logs, cattle and fresh produce were railed to the state capital most nights. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

Samford Valley Hotel

The valley’s first licensed premises were established near the Samford Run homestead just north of the hotel’s present location. This enterprise has survived fire, a move, extensions, renovation as well as several changes of name and ownership over the past century. The original public house was called the “Samford Hotel” but, after being relocated in 1918 to better serve a growing trade from the railway station, it was aptly renamed the “Railway Hotel”. However, a new publican reverted to using the hotel’s original name. Yet another publican operated the premises in the early 1950s under the name the “Golden Valley Hotel”. As is often the way with the hospitality industry, the license changed hands a number of times since then with the latest owner re-naming the premises the Samford Valley Hotel in 2003. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

English Scottish and Australian (E.S.&A.) Bank

Although the E.S. & A. Bank served the people of Samford with distinction for many years, it will be forever remembered as the scene of the first armed robbery to occur in the valley after World War II. It happened around high noon on October 11, 1948. One of the three staff members had gone home for lunch when the remaining two were held up at gunpoint and locked in the airtight vault so that the robbers could make their getaway. Estelle Nelson, whose family owned the on-site shop and post office, became suspicious of the activity at the bank and notified police before releasing the two employees from the vault soon after the robbers had fled. She was able to provide a good description of the offenders and their getaway car and the culprits were subsequently apprehended and arrested. Another resident was able to identify the driver of the vehicle involved. In 1970 the E.S. & A. Bank merged with the ANZ Banking Group and continued to operate on this site until it moved across the street in 1978. Various other businesses have traded from the building until the present day. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

Samford Farmer’s Hall

Even during World War I – or maybe because of it – it seems the good citizens of Samford knew how to have a good time. An over-crowded ball at the Samford School helped a group of farmers to realise that a bigger venue was needed for social events. A building committee was formed and a hall – lying unused in Lutwyche on Brisbane’s north side at the time – was purchased. The hall was demolished for transportation and re-erected on its present site with the help of local farmers. The aged ironbark stumps and sections of the original crows ash floor can still be seen. The hall was operating soon after the arrival of the train service in 1918. Dances were held every Saturday night and regular events included visiting theatre troupes and concert parties. The hall was also used by the local community, notably the Methodist Church who organised an annual Christmas tree at which every child in the district received a present from Santa. Restorations and extensions to this fine hall were completed in 1993 and the venue is still used by many community groups on a regular basis. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

Williamson’s Butcher Shop

Although the butcher’s shop had a number of owners it was generally known as Williamson’s Butcher Shop after that family operated it for more than 30 years. The Williamson family arrived in Samford in 1934 to manage the shop. They soon purchased the business as well as a house in Progress Street and a sixty hectare farm opposite the Samford Cemetery. They set up their own slaughter yard on the farm and killed all their own meat. Filling standing orders and those received daily from surrounding farms, was a huge job. The family would work each night making mince, sausages, dripping and the like. Orders were sent out early the next morning with milk-carriers and the packages needed to be well wrapped in newspaper as crows and magpies would often swoop in search of a tasty meal. The Williamsons sold the business in 1967 and it saw three more operators before the butchery was closed and the premises was leased to other tenants. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

RSL Memorial Park

Throughout the war a “Comfort Fund” operated in the valley to receive donations from residents of the district. The fund was used to provide off-shore fighting forces with items such as unbleached calico underclothes as well as knitted socks, balaclavas, scarves or mittens and food hampers at Christmas. Money remaining in the fund at the end of the war went towards the purchase of land for the RSL (Returned and Services League) Memorial Park in Samford. Additional funds were raised in the community to complete the land purchase and to establish a meeting room which was re-located and repaired by volunteer labour in the late 1940s. The century-old schoolmaster’s house from the Samford State School was moved to the site in 2002, restored by volunteer labour and officially opened in 2006. The site remains a memorial park and each Anzac Day since World War II, the local RSL has held its services here. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]

Samford Garage

The Samford Garage quickly became a landmark of the early Samford community. It undertook a variety of functions servicing Samford’s many horse-drawn vehicles as well as the burgeoning motor industry. During the tough times of the 1930s it was not uncommon for farmers to settle their accounts with produce such as bags of potatoes or pumpkins. In the latter days of World War II the garage sold two 44-gallon drums of petrol a week. The mechanic was always busy keeping a large number of milk pick-up trucks on the road so that daily services to the sixty two dairy suppliers in the district were maintained. When this locally-owned business was eventually bought out by Golden Fleece, the lease remained with the family who had operated the original garage. Caltex took over the lease in 1985 and the current service station opened for business in 1992. [Samford Village Heritage Trail]