The Last High Wheeler: Chasing the Ghost of 1906 with the World's Sole Surviving Dayton Motor Buggy

By the National Transport Museum Team – Inverell, NSW

Imagine a time when the rumble of horses gave way to the defiant sputter of a two-stroke engine, when muddy backroads challenged the brave to invent the future on four wobbly wooden wheels. Step into the National Transport Museum in Inverell, and you'll meet a living legend: the 1906 Dayton Motor Buggy. Whispered rumours swirl around this emerald green marvel like exhaust from its original Reliable engine it is the last one in the world. No dusty replicas, no half-hearted restorations. This is the real deal, a time capsule from the dawn of motoring, preserved in near mint condition and calling our quiet corner of New South Wales home. Buckle up (or should we say, harness up?) as we trace its thrilling odyssey from Chicago's gritty factories to the rugged plains of Inverell.

Dawn of the Buggy: The Reliable Dayton Revolution

It all began in the electric haze of early 20th century America, where innovation roared louder than any thoroughbred. In the spring of 1906, the Dayton Motor Car Company unleashed its first high wheelers towering, no nonsense buggies designed to conquer the era's rutted, horse churned roads without apology. These weren't dainty runabouts; they were brutes on stilts, with 36-inch wooden spoke wheels that laughed in the face of potholes and 10-inch ground clearance that made lesser vehicles look like low slung toys. Founded by the visionary William O. Dayton, the company hit the ground running or rolling, rather in Chicago's booming industrial heartland, churning out affordable horseless carriages for the everyman adventurer.

Our star exhibit? A pristine Model C, chassis number 206, engine number 784. Powered by a feisty 15 horsepower, two stroke Reliable engine air cooled for reliability, twin cylinders for punch this buggy was a mechanical maverick. Period ads from 1906 paint a vivid picture: "The Reliable Dayton... high wheeler, typical success," boasting chain drive, a three-speed transmission, and enough torque to haul you over "the roughest roads" at a brisk 25 mph. No frills, just pure, unadulterated progress. Priced at around $650 (about $20,000 today), it was the Model T's scrappy predecessor, democratizing the drive and sparking America's love affair with the open road. By late 1906, Dayton had formalized as the Dayton Motor Car Company, but success was fleeting the firm folded into the U.S. Motor Car Co. in 1912 amid the cutthroat shakeout of over 130 fledgling automakers. Thousands rolled off the line, but time and rust claimed them all... except one.

From Bundarra Backroads to Global Icon: The Buggy's Aussie Adventure

Fast forward to the sunburnt outback of New South Wales, where this Dayton didn't just survive it thrived. Originally shipped across the Pacific in the buggy boom of the 1900s, it landed in the hands of a intrepid doctor in Bundarra, a speck on the map town just 80 kilometres west of Inverell. Picture it: a frontier physician, stethoscope in one hand, crank handle in the other, bouncing over granite strewn trails to deliver babies and mend bones. This wasn't leisure driving; it was lifeline motoring, a buggy that bridged the gap between isolation and civilization in the pre road era.

By the 1930s, as Model Ts flooded the globe and high wheelers faded into folklore, our Dayton found its forever guardian. Enter J. Gaukroger, a man whose name would become synonymous with wheels in the New England region. He snapped it up for a song likely spotting its rugged bones amid the scrap heaps of progress and tucked it away, not as junk, but as a heirloom. Little did he know he'd rescued a unicorn. Today, that legacy pulses through F. Gaukroger & Sons, the family dealership that's been Inverell's motoring heartbeat since 1926. Tracing roots back to Frank Gaukroger's arrival in nearby Tingha in 1910 as a boiler inspector and mining engineer, the Gaukrogers have peddled everything from Holdens to Hyundais, but this buggy? It's their crown jewel, a 99% original time machine donated to our museum to share its secrets.

Under the Gaukrogers' watchful eye, the buggy's patina tells tales: the faded green bodywork, the brass acetylene lamps still gleaming like stars, the wicker basket that once cradled medical kits (or perhaps a picnic for weary souls). It's unrestored, unapologetic original paint, original upholstery, even the faint scent of 118 year old oil. Historians whisper it's the sole survivor worldwide, a claim backed by fervent collectors and auction chasers who've scoured barns from Ohio to Oz without a trace. In a world of replicas, this Dayton is the holy grail, its two-stroke heart beating defiantly against oblivion.

Why Inverell? A Museum's Magnetic Pull

Nestled in the granite country of Inverell where sapphires glitter in the soil and the Gwydir River whispers of gold rush ghosts the National Transport Museum isn't just a warehouse of wonders; it's a portal to motion's soul. With over 120 exhibits, from 1912 Renaults to GT Falcons, we're the guardians of Australia's wheeled heritage. But the Dayton? It's our North Star, drawing 5,000 visitors a year who gasp at its height, marvel at its simplicity, and ponder the audacity of those first drivers.

Owned and cherished by the Gaukroger family, this buggy embodies Inverell's spirit: resilient, unpretentious, forged in hardship. Frank's descendants now steering F. Gaukroger & Sons through electric dreams and autonomous horizons remind us that history isn't locked in vaults; it's revved up for the next generation. As climate shifts and EVs hum, the Dayton's story urges us: honour the past, but always chase the horizon.

Come see it for yourself, and join the rumour mill: Is this truly the last? One look, and you'll believe it. The National Transport Museum, 69 Rifle Range Road, Inverell. Open daily admission:  $18 Seniors, $20 adults, $5 kids, family $45.

For more on the Gaukroger legacy, visit gaukroger.com.au. We thank them for being a continued sponsor of our museum.

Share your buggy tales with us at info@nationaltransportmuseum.com.au.