Draught Horse & YesterYear Festival

The Mont De Lancey Draught Horse & Yesteryear Festival is a popular event showcasing draught horses, steam machinery, woodturners, and working blacksmiths who create vast items.

This event provides a glimpse into lost trades of yesteryear while offering visitors an insight into how people lived and worked then. There will also be entertainment and performances throughout the day.

The festival takes place at the historic property purchased by a pioneer named Henry Sebire in the 1860s, who migrated from the Channel Islands to Melbourne. Sebire is a significant figure in local history as his produce helped feed Melbourne’s population, which multiplied because of the gold rush. He built a house out of bricks himself, and once it was finished, he took his family from Collingwood to reside in the house.

Several generations of the Sebire family lived in the area until 1993 when it was donated to a non-profit trust run by volunteers. The 80-acre estate, Mont De Lancey, has been converted into a heritage site and farmland.

Visitors may also take one of the tours to learn more about the homestead, gardens, and historic timber slab kitchen. It also houses a blacksmith shop, a vintage engine shed, and a museum displaying vintage clothes, tools, radios, old photos, kitchen appliances, and much more.

The event takes place from 10am to 4pm, and the entrance fee for adults is $15, while kids are free. The Draught Horse & Yesteryear Festival is held at the Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead, just an hour’s drive from Melbourne within the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley.