Chrystie's Museum
Chrystie’s Museum is the accidental museum that started in 2004 in Tocumwal NSW
George Chrystie started collecting anything old in 1989 in the hope that one day he could sell them later in life in place of the superannuation that he did not have. He always ran his own business and there was no superannuation in place at that time. With George's many interests in anything old, his collection soon grew over many years.
George was born in 1939 and lived in Kinglake in Victoria all his life until he retired in 2003. He got his first car, a 1926 Buick (paddock) car, when he was 13 years old. He had never had any mechanical experience and his father told him he would not be able to get it going, but he was determined, so he saved his money, bought the car for 10 pounds, and proved his father wrong and got it going. He was working in the Kinglake sawmill at that time, and by the time George was 15, being the saver that he is, had saved 300 pounds out of his weekly wage of 11 pound, 3 and sixpence. With this money, he went halves with his father and they bought a 1956 grey Fergie tractor and worked it consistently every weekend, doing whatever he could to earn extra money.
When George was about 16, he took a fancy to a young lady (Jean Gardner) he met while doing a job on his Fergie for a local potato farmer, the farmer's daughter. Jean was working weekends at the local Devonshire tea cafe, so George went there every Sunday afternoon, had his Devonshire tea, and then drove her home on the back of his tractor. He had a saw bench set up on the tractor and that’s where she would sit. This happened every weekend for well over 12 months until George turned 18 and got his licence and bought a 1926 Chevrolet Capital 4 door sedan. After that Jean was no longer allowed to travel with him because her parents were very strict and did not like her travelling in motor cars. That was the end of the relationship.
He married his wife, Joan Exton (at 19) from a local potato farming family, in 1962. He was working full time for himself by this time, still with his Fergie, but he had also bought himself a chainsaw and was cutting and selling firewood and using the Fergie to cart it.
During all this time, George discovered he was pretty good at doing his own mechanical repairs so he bought his first truck, a 1942 Chevrolet, and started selling firewood in Melbourne as he could get twice as much money selling it down there. The sawmill he used to work for was buying logs from him as well, so he fitted his truck with a Ford 2 speed diff and made up a timber jinker for it and away he went, working the rest of his working career in the timber industry, buying and selling his trucks and tractors and doing most of the mechanical repairs himself. By the end of his career in the industry, he had employed five drivers for his trucks, two of whom were his sons, Anthony and Mark.
In the meantime, he had bought a small portable sawmill and worked it in his spare time and weekends. He was very good at this and was asked to go to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Chile to teach people the workings of the sawmill over three years. This was the highlight of his life and he met some genuine and interesting people in these regions.
George has a big passion for cars, and could probably name every make and model of car that was ever made. He used his knowledge of this to build his own speedway racing car and began racing all over northern Victoria. He built a number of cars during his speedway days, won many races, and got both his sons racing at age 10. Today his grandson Brody (now 24) still races and does very well racing all over Australia.
George says Joan, his wife of 55 years, was the backbone of his successful business, his rock. She did all the collecting of bad debts, paid all the accounts, did all the fetching and carrying for the business and all of this while bringing up three children. She worked hard, had the knack of making ends meet, and was great with the bookwork. During this time, George was secretly collecting anything that was old that he thought he would be able to sell at a later date to make money on.
Starts car collection in 1989 and retires to Tocumwal in 2004
In 2004, Joan and George retired to Tocumwal in NSW. They bought 4 acres of vacant land, built a big shed and put a caravan on the property and moved in. While they were waiting for the house to be built, they discovered that confined living was not for them so they bought a cottage in Tocumwal to live in while waiting on the building of the house. Meanwhile George started moving all his little secrets into the shed until it finally looked like a museum, so they decided to open it as a museum and it all went from there.
George started his collections in 1989. He bought a 1953 English Mk 1 Zephyr, 1 owner, for $800. He later bought another Zephyr, this time a Mk2, 1600 miles, 1 owner for $3000 and he hasn’t stopped collecting since. His big shed that he built before the house soon became too small, so he had to extend again and again, until it became what it is today. Apart from cars, trucks, and caravans, George's museum also houses motor bikes, push bikes, chain saws, cameras, toys, dolls, tools, lamps, fuel bowsers, pedal cars, woodwork tools, clocks & radios, glassware collectables, Royal Family collectables, and just about anything else you can think of.
Joan, George’s dearly beloved wife of 55 years, passed away early in 2018 and life for him has just not been the same since, although his passion for collecting remains the same. George also has a museum mascot, Cocky-Elvis, the bald cockatoo, has been a member of the family since soon after moving to Tocumwal in 2004. Many people that come back to the museum for a second or third time always ask after Cocky. Elvis is a very spoilt bird, has his own heater, and gets fed every time he squeaks.
Thank you for reading my story. George.
Places to visit and stay
https://finley.org.au
www.berriganshire.nsw.gov.au
www.booking.com/city/au/tocumwal
www.airbnb.com.au/tocumwal-australia
www.aussietowns.com.au/town/tocumwal-nsw
https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/berrigan-nsw
www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/the-murray/tocumwal
www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g529032-Activities-Tocumwal_NSW
Phone: (03) 5874 3358 Address: 139 Thorburns Rd, Tocumwal NSW 2714
Entrance fees: Adults $7, Pensioners $5, Buses $2 per person and Children are free.
George was born in 1939 and lived in Kinglake in Victoria all his life until he retired in 2003. He got his first car, a 1926 Buick (paddock) car, when he was 13 years old. He had never had any mechanical experience and his father told him he would not be able to get it going, but he was determined, so he saved his money, bought the car for 10 pounds, and proved his father wrong and got it going. He was working in the Kinglake sawmill at that time, and by the time George was 15, being the saver that he is, had saved 300 pounds out of his weekly wage of 11 pound, 3 and sixpence. With this money, he went halves with his father and they bought a 1956 grey Fergie tractor and worked it consistently every weekend, doing whatever he could to earn extra money.
When George was about 16, he took a fancy to a young lady (Jean Gardner) he met while doing a job on his Fergie for a local potato farmer, the farmer's daughter. Jean was working weekends at the local Devonshire tea cafe, so George went there every Sunday afternoon, had his Devonshire tea, and then drove her home on the back of his tractor. He had a saw bench set up on the tractor and that’s where she would sit. This happened every weekend for well over 12 months until George turned 18 and got his licence and bought a 1926 Chevrolet Capital 4 door sedan. After that Jean was no longer allowed to travel with him because her parents were very strict and did not like her travelling in motor cars. That was the end of the relationship.
He married his wife, Joan Exton (at 19) from a local potato farming family, in 1962. He was working full time for himself by this time, still with his Fergie, but he had also bought himself a chainsaw and was cutting and selling firewood and using the Fergie to cart it.
During all this time, George discovered he was pretty good at doing his own mechanical repairs so he bought his first truck, a 1942 Chevrolet, and started selling firewood in Melbourne as he could get twice as much money selling it down there. The sawmill he used to work for was buying logs from him as well, so he fitted his truck with a Ford 2 speed diff and made up a timber jinker for it and away he went, working the rest of his working career in the timber industry, buying and selling his trucks and tractors and doing most of the mechanical repairs himself. By the end of his career in the industry, he had employed five drivers for his trucks, two of whom were his sons, Anthony and Mark.
In the meantime, he had bought a small portable sawmill and worked it in his spare time and weekends. He was very good at this and was asked to go to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Chile to teach people the workings of the sawmill over three years. This was the highlight of his life and he met some genuine and interesting people in these regions.
George has a big passion for cars, and could probably name every make and model of car that was ever made. He used his knowledge of this to build his own speedway racing car and began racing all over northern Victoria. He built a number of cars during his speedway days, won many races, and got both his sons racing at age 10. Today his grandson Brody (now 24) still races and does very well racing all over Australia.
George says Joan, his wife of 55 years, was the backbone of his successful business, his rock. She did all the collecting of bad debts, paid all the accounts, did all the fetching and carrying for the business and all of this while bringing up three children. She worked hard, had the knack of making ends meet, and was great with the bookwork. During this time, George was secretly collecting anything that was old that he thought he would be able to sell at a later date to make money on.
Starts car collection in 1989 and retires to Tocumwal in 2004
In 2004, Joan and George retired to Tocumwal in NSW. They bought 4 acres of vacant land, built a big shed and put a caravan on the property and moved in. While they were waiting for the house to be built, they discovered that confined living was not for them so they bought a cottage in Tocumwal to live in while waiting on the building of the house. Meanwhile George started moving all his little secrets into the shed until it finally looked like a museum, so they decided to open it as a museum and it all went from there.
George started his collections in 1989. He bought a 1953 English Mk 1 Zephyr, 1 owner, for $800. He later bought another Zephyr, this time a Mk2, 1600 miles, 1 owner for $3000 and he hasn’t stopped collecting since. His big shed that he built before the house soon became too small, so he had to extend again and again, until it became what it is today. Apart from cars, trucks, and caravans, George's museum also houses motor bikes, push bikes, chain saws, cameras, toys, dolls, tools, lamps, fuel bowsers, pedal cars, woodwork tools, clocks & radios, glassware collectables, Royal Family collectables, and just about anything else you can think of.
Joan, George’s dearly beloved wife of 55 years, passed away early in 2018 and life for him has just not been the same since, although his passion for collecting remains the same. George also has a museum mascot, Cocky-Elvis, the bald cockatoo, has been a member of the family since soon after moving to Tocumwal in 2004. Many people that come back to the museum for a second or third time always ask after Cocky. Elvis is a very spoilt bird, has his own heater, and gets fed every time he squeaks.
Thank you for reading my story. George.
Places to visit and stay
https://finley.org.au
www.berriganshire.nsw.gov.au
www.booking.com/city/au/tocumwal
www.airbnb.com.au/tocumwal-australia
www.aussietowns.com.au/town/tocumwal-nsw
https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/berrigan-nsw
www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/the-murray/tocumwal
www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g529032-Activities-Tocumwal_NSW
Phone: (03) 5874 3358 Address: 139 Thorburns Rd, Tocumwal NSW 2714
Entrance fees: Adults $7, Pensioners $5, Buses $2 per person and Children are free.