Pioneer Settlement & Heartbeat Of The Murray Laser Spectacular — Attraction in Swan Hill

The Pioneer Settlement is owned and managed by Swan Hill Rural City Council. The Settlement was kicked off in 1963 with the arrival of the paddle-steamer Gem, formally opening to the public in 1966 and has been in public ownership since.

The Attractions are :

Heartbeat of the Murray laser spectacular Set on the banks of the Little Murray River, the world-class Heartbeat of the Murray is a 360-degree multi-media spectacular unlike anything ever seen in Australia.

Using water, light, laser, sound and special effects to tell the story of the Murray, you’ll be transported back 30 million years, before travelling forward through time to the Murray River as we know it today.

This state-of-the-art show is the first of its kind in the world to use a natural river environment and setting as the background.

The Heartbeat of the Murray laser light show has been made possible thanks to funding from the Federal and State governments, and Swan Hill Rural City Council.

Black Bess You can see, feel and hear our enormous steam engine, affectionately known as Black Bess, trundling around the Pioneer Settlement.

Built in 1920 in the UK, and weighing an enormous 28 tonnes, she was once paired with a similar machine to clear and drain swampy, bush covered land. She was even used to pull up large Mallee roots to make way for farming.

She was retired in 1946 and has spent many years at the Pioneer Settlement since. Most recently, she was restored over a six year period, coming back to life at the Settlement in 2014.

Jimmy Long’s Bakery Bakeries have long been an important institution in small towns, and in the Mallee it was no different. They were often the first business to be set up and would sometimes allow settlers to bake their own bread. They even had travelling carts to sell their wares.

Of course, early Mallee bakers also faced a number of unique problems, including unpredictable water supply, weather and flour quality.

This didn’t stop the pioneering spirit of the Long family, who ran their Swan Hill bakery from 1874 until the early 1900s. Thomas Long started the store, but died just two years later. Amazingly, his wife Elspeth kept the bakery going at the same time as raising the couple’s children — two-year-old Jimmy and baby Susan. When Jimmy was old enough he took over the bakery until the family moved to Melbourne around 1913.

Jimmy Long’s at The Pioneer Settlement was set up as a tribute to this stoic Mallee family and was once a working bakery too.

Now in the bakery, you can also see our 19th Century commercial aerated water machine and old fashioned wood-fired oven.

The Echo Print Shop Step back to a time before television, mobile phones and emails. A time when the newspaper was the prime source of information, when printed posters kept people informed of the latest events and when radio and television were the stuff of fantasy and far into the future.

You can also have your name printed on a 19th Century wanted poster – a great keepsake from your visit to the Pioneer Settlement.

The Pioneer Settlement’s Echo Print Shop was relocated to Horseshoe Bend from Newstead. It is a fully functional print shop and is regularly used to print posters and tickets using the original Chandler and Price treadle press.

Blacksmith Feel the heat as our blacksmith operates the forge, using fire and physical strength to create just about anything that can be made from iron.

Using a bellows, forge, hammer and anvil, the blacksmith made a wide variety of tools and implements, household goods and parts for horse drawn vehicles, as well as repairing agricultural machinery.

To simply shape, or ‘forge’, the iron it needed to be red hot, a temperature of around 800º C, but to weld to pieces together it had to be white hot, which happens about 1400º C. This makes the blacksmith’s shop a wonderful place to work in winter and quite the hot spot during a warm...

This is the first pioneer Settlement open air museum in this country & somehow ended up being lesser known than Sovereign Hill in Ballarat.

Definitely a must visit🏆👍🏼! Exceeded my expectations esp. the 30 mins Heartbeat of the Murray Laser & Light show projected on the Murray River which starts at 9 or 9.30 pm in summer. I did this the night before & the Pioneer Settlement & PS Pyap Paddlesteamer cruise the next day with an early start. Too much to squeeze all in on the one day. Multipass Tix (concession available) is the best way to go.

The Settlement showcases life & occupations of early colonial settlement in 1850s in this Mallee (arid-dry-red earth) region. Most of the buildings are relocated & restored buildings, historic agricultural equipments, wagons & carriages, household & occupational items in the actual setting. Intriguing to walk through the pre-fabricated cast iron house relocated from Sth Melb as I never got round to checking this out in its original site. Free rides on the horse carriage or vintage car driven by friendly volunteers who will give an overview of the buildings.

There is a lot of info to read & appreciate & all of it is absorbing if you are into history & reality. I did see a few overseas visitors walking around quickly with not much of interest. If you want Disney style make believe entertainment, you are definitely in the wrong place & country..!

Staff & volunteers are very helpful & obliging. Pretty quiet on weekdays but picks up on Fri & weekends. The Paddlesteamer PS Pyap runs only once at 2.30 pm on weekdays & twice on weekends. Byo lunch or there is a Cafe & excellent Spoons Riverside restaurant.

Swan Hill has a small population & volunteers esp. those who can demonstrate the bygone era trades are hard to find. Jim the Woodturner is a real vintage gem! So it is nothing short of amazing that this pioneer Settlement has been ongoing since 1966. Would be really good to have a guided tour & hopefully the gardens are more reflective of the period & better landscaped.

There are more interactive pioneering activities on weekends. On the day of my visit Friday - volunteer Blacksmith & Woodturner were on duty & very obliging with demo. The General Store & Draper are actual retail shops - I bought some hand made items. Check website for activities if you want to plan your day. A layout map will be given to you at the entry desk & this area has a limited gift shop & ice-creams.

It is not far from Swan Hill train station & town centre - just over one km. However, due to lack of foresight & town planning - there is no direct walkway over the train line. So you have to take the longer downhill route to walk here. Or get a taxi or sporadic bus. Plenty of parking across from entrance. As I got to Swan Hill by train - I walked & it was a real pain to walk back uphill after the night time Heartbeat of Murray Laser show. It is not well lit nor is there a proper footpath until you get to...

The Pioneer Settlement in Swan Hill is an amazing place. However, some reviews say that it is lifeless and the staff is rude. But that is not the case. It seems they just didn't find the right people. When I visited with my dad and brothers, we took a ride on the PS Pyap and then spent some time exploring the settlement.

The staff were very enthusiastic about their jobs and eager to show the younger generations how people used to entertain themselves in the past. They were happy to answer most questions and initiate conversations with visitors, particularly the volunteers in some of the stores. One staff member named Terry, who demonstrated rope making and butter making, helped us and let us try making rope and butter ourselves (and it tasted great).

If you visit the music store (#16 on the map), the volunteers might play the pianos for you and show you how a few things work, if you ask nicely. Just be careful when they move to the barrel organ, as it can be quite loud.

The industrial area is also worth checking out, as it showcases the development of many things we take for granted today, such as cars and houses.

The Heart Beat of the Murray is a light show that provides insight into the history of the Murray River and the Aboriginal people. The show includes a lot of flashing lights, so those who have epilepsy should avoid it. Other than that, the bubbles, smoke, water, and fire effects are beautiful and don't need any improvement. However, adding another bubble machine above the crowd could enhance the immersive experience.

Overall, the Pioneer Settlement is a great place to visit and provides a glimpse into life before technology. It's definitely worth the price and is only a 4 to 5-minute walk from the BIG4 caravan park. I had no issues during my visit and would...