The Leyland Brothers: Timbertown

Mike and Mal Leyland take a visit to Timber Town on their travel-by-request TV series Ask the Leyland Brothers. Part of the appeal of the show was that each trip was chosen in response to a viewer’s letter asking to see a certain destination.  

In this episode from 1977, Robert from South Wallsend wanted to see not the rugged outback locations that were the brothers’ hallmark, but a quaint little replica of an 1880s timber-cutting town in Wauchope, which had opened the year before.  

To the accompaniment of a cheery banjo soundtrack, Mike Leyland jumps aboard the Green Hornet, a restored steam engine, for a trip through Timber Town’s thickly treed 87-acre site. Most of the red cedar trees consumed by the Gold Rush-era timber-cutting industry are now gone, their places taken by tallowwoods and blackbutts.  

Timber Town features two original churches and a number of replica buildings, including a smithy and a general store. You can also pan for gold and visit the Clydesdale horses who used to take children on cart rides (they were retired from active service in 2025, and replaced by a tractor). Ask the Leyland Brothers also shows us a rare and fascinating sighting of a traditional bullocky, whose team now draws schoolkids instead of logs. 

The clip is notable for preserving a detailed snapshot of Timber Town when it first opened. It also provides an insight into the gentler pace of prime-time TV tourism 50 years ago.

While it’s suffered setbacks and closures over the years, Timber Town is a surprise success story of Australian theme parks and is still steaming along.