General News
13 June, 2026
Better farming train for settlers
VETERAN'S VOICES: Following World War I, in some cases, these new farmers, unable to cope with Australia's climate variations and lacking the capital to increase their stock or quality of life, simply walked off the land back to the large towns and cities from which they had come.
To help these new Settlers and their families, the ‘Better Farming Train’ was launched in Australia in 1924.
Its purpose was clear: to educate farmers to employ better methods in all branches of agriculture, to encourage the keeping of better stock, to improve conditions in the homes of the men on the land, and to generally raise the standard of every phase of rural life.
The train (225 yards (205m) of canary-coloured vehicles) was the strangest train that had ever left Melbourne.
Along each side in large black letters were the words ‘Better Farming Train’, an idea adopted from using such a strong colour to attract attention.
The train carried prize livestock, models of farm buildings and plants, food samples, novel feeding utensils, exhibits of top-dressed pastures, and a lecture room with picture-projecting equipment.
Its personnel included experts in every department of agriculture.
The train toured rural Victoria throughout the interwar period.
Exhibits on board encouraged farmers to adopt new scientifically tested farming methods.
Up to 15 carriages painted bright canary yellow made the train hard to miss.
Some of these included the Victoria car; sleeping accommodation for staff on board, dining room, kitchen, and shower.
The train transported 80 staff, including livestock handlers and experts across a range of areas to provide lectures and demonstrations, and teach classes to adults and youth.
Carriages were set up to accommodate fodder for stock, cattle trucks for bulls, cows, and heifers.
Some were fitted for pigs, models of stock feeding utensils, and veterinary exhibits.
Others included dairy utensils and herd-testing exhibits, as well as honey and hives.
Food samples and feeding, milk and its products, bacteriology of milk, tobacco and potatoes, exhibits of top-dressing of pastures, green fodders, grasses and clovers, noxious weeds.
One flat truck was fitted with boxes 12 inches deep containing actual sods of growing grasses cut from the field.
These grasses were taken from plots in different parts of the state.
Some had been top-dressed with artificial fertilisers, and others, for contrast, had not.
When the train arrived at a station, the carriages were opened to the public.
The livestock on board the train was walked out into yards, and the pasture plots were assembled.
The displays were accompanied by a series of lectures and demonstrations, with information on new agricultural initiatives and techniques.
‘Soldier Settlers’, new to the land, were particularly appreciative of the advice offered by the Better Farming Train.
After World War I, returned servicemen could purchase blocks of farming land under a nationwide war repatriation program.
In Victoria, almost 12,000 soldiers took advantage of the ‘Soldier Settlement Scheme’, but only 20 per cent had any farming experience.
Some had never set foot on a farm.
There were specific carriages on the Better Farming Train dedicated to women and girls.
These offered information and classes on needlecraft, cookery, and infant health and welfare.
Settler women were helped by lady demonstrators in household affairs to assist the farmer’s wife.
One visit by the train attracted nearly 20,000 women, and featured lectures on baby welfare and mothercraft.
Events such as these helped isolated women make community connections.
The women banded together, forming baby health centres and mothers’ groups, and assisting one another during harvest times.
Women were told that housework and homecraft were not ‘mere drudgery, but can be, and should be, a most fascinating field of activity’.
Leaflets on the safeguarding of milk, infantile complaints, and other subjects were distributed.
A model cot was particularly admired by the visiting mothers - the cot resembled a large meat safe fitted with a mattress and was ‘absolutely flyproof, hygienic, and secure’.
The importance of method in cooking and the correct weighing were discussed.
A healthy diet was emphasised, with recipes for curry casseroles, celery cream soup, scones, and sausage rolls.
The importance of ‘making do’ was imparted.
Exhibits of simple milk coolers made of kerosene tins were on display, as were samples of slippers made of old felt hats and articles of interest made from sugar bags.
Public health was high on the agenda, with a focus on hygiene in rural areas.
Magic lantern slides and films covered topics such as ‘The Spread of Disease’ and ‘The Danger of Flies’.
Visitors were shown practical first aid, such as the immediate treatment of snakebite and other bites or stings, and how to treat sunstroke.
Pamphlets dealing with the more common health subjects were distributed free.
Some of those on disease include diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever, dengue, infantile paralysis, consumption, typhoid fever and venereal disease.
Leaflets outlining methods of controlling flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches were handed out.
Devices for improving the sanitation of both country dwellings and townships were also on display.
A district health officer accompanied the train and could be consulted ‘with regard to rural sanitation, the prevention of disease and the promotion of Health.’
Families came for a ‘day out’, and there was something of a ‘country fair atmosphere’ when the train arrived in town.
The farmers themselves were active participants, grateful for the advice the experts imparted.
Between 1924 and 1935, the Better Farming Train made 38 tours throughout regional Victoria and was visited by about 250,000 people.
Tours were cut back during the economic downturn of the 1930s and reluctantly disbanded in 1935.
