Talking Machines gives a voice to dormant farm machinery

Talking Machines reaches across generations to give a voice to dormant farm machinery and capture the story of Australia's industrial past. 43 videos capture the machines that transformed Australia's agricultural production across the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries.

See long-retired machines at work digging, cutting, shearing, sorting, harvesting and more. Hear from people who still remember using them, as they recount how Riverina's unforgiving landscape was turned into a food bowl.

11 Museums across the Riverina region of NSW contributed their machines and knowledge to the project, which was coordinated by the Museum of the Riverina, in Wagga Wagga.

Accompanying the films are education resources targeted at Year 9/10 (Stage 5) history students. The resources tie in with the Australian National Curriculum, and are a unique look at how the Industrial revolution played out within Australia.

Specialist resources have also been prepared to complement the Stage 1 and 2 History and Geography NSW Syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum.

Watch the videos

Education Resources

Talking Machines is a partnership between The Museum of the Riverina, The Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Museums & Galleries of NSW, the Wiradjuri Language & Cultural Heritage Recovery Program (Charles Sturt University), Oral History NSW, award-winning local filmmaker, John Riddell, regional cultural and educational consultants and 11 community museums across Eastern & Western Riverina.

The participating museums are:

• Batlow Museum
• Cootamundra Heritage Centre
• Greens Gunyah in Lockhart
• Junee Broadway Museum
• Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga
• Pioneer Women's Hut in Tumbarumba
• Temora Rural Museum
• Tumut Museum
• Weethalle Whistle-stop Arts Centre & Museum
• Wyalong Museum
• The Up-to-Date Store, Coolamon.

Talking Machines is supported by Regional Partnerships Funding from Arts NSW.