The town of Cambrai, is part of the "Mid- Murraylands and is south east of the Barossa Valley
Part of what is now known as the "Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc." Previously it operated as "St John’s, ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia)" until 1st March, 1967 when it merged with the "Church of Hope, UELCA (United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia)" to form "St John’s Lutheran Ch
urch Cambrai Inc., LCA (Lutheran Church of Australia)". The official closing service was held 19th May, 1968. It was originally built sometime in 1911 and was dedicated 6th August, 1911. The cost of the building, including furnishings, was about £400, and land was donated by Mr Laube sr.. The Pioneer Cottage
This crude structure is also part of the "Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc." It was built in the early pioneer period in the 1850’s, and originally stood three km SE of the "Melrose Rhine Station" home. In 1845 George Melrose bought land near the Marne River. It then became the home for one of his shepherd families. Eventually, the government reclaimed it under a type of exchange deal, so Melrose was able to enlarge his property. The story is told that it originally had an iron roof, which was stripped off in 1860 before the Government terminated the lease on it. In the early 1870’s the ownership changed over to J. Heinrich Pietsch when he bought the land. On 2nd October, 1890 he married Maria E. Vorwerk and they raised a family of eight; (one girl - Lydia - died in infancy) Martha, Heinie, Mary, Ernestine, Elizabeth, Ben, Hannah and Walter. In 1928 a lime stone concrete kitchen was built. The house was lived in until the mother died 1st August, 1939. Due to the "Government’s closer settlement scheme" many small farms proved to be unprofitable, which meant that many small acreages were deserted. The three-room cottage is more than a century old and was originally a pug and pine "structure, with a flagstone floor base and an ironstone masoned chimney". It was also close to stock yards so would probably have been situated on a stock mustering centre. In September 1972, it was dismantled by the members of the Cambrai Agricultural Museum and re-erected next to the current museum ‘church’. Conclusion
Today the museum is operated and maintained by the Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc. Committee and several members who are committed volunteers. The Archives hold a large amount of historical artifacts and documents relating to this area, dating back to the turn of the century. Most of the material would be of great value to anyone making a study of pioneering families and life styles of the Federation era.
