Stepping Back in Time at a Vintage Computer Exhibition
In July 2025, the Canberra Vintage Computer Exhibition in Australia brought computing history to life with working machines dating from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Held at Daramalan College, the event featured interactive displays, retro games and consoles, with a special celebration marking the Amiga’s 40th anniversary.
Walking into a vintage computer exhibition feels a bit like opening a family photo album for the digital age. Rows of beige cases, chunky keyboards and glowing green screens line the tables, while the soft whirr of disk drives fills the room. For older visitors, it is a trip down memory lane, and for younger ones it is a fascinating look at their smartphone ancestors.
As you move along the tables, it becomes clear how quickly graphics and sound evolved, from simple beeps and blocky pixels to rich colour and digitised music within barely a decade. Gaming was one of the main forces pushing that progress, and early electronic poker and slot-style games were among the first to show off what the new chips could do.
That same push for brighter screens and smoother animation can still be seen today on sites such as Crown Casino Online, where classic reels and table games have been rebuilt with modern visuals and new mechanics. Comparing them with the first models is a great reminder of how far display technology has come. Of course, today’s versions are strictly for adults and are best enjoyed in moderation.
Tips for Visiting
This was a big event, spread across several rooms and a full weekend program.
If a similar exhibition comes to your area, these tips will help you make the most of it:
| Tip | Why it helps |
| Arrive early | Queues build up at the popular machines by late morning. |
| Check the program in advance | Workshops and talks fill quickly. |
| Wear comfortable shoes | You will be on your feet for hours. |
| Bring the kids | Coding sessions and playable machines are a hit with them. |
| Pack some cash | Swap meet stalls do not always take cards. |
| Talk to the volunteers | They know the story behind every machine. |
| Leave time for a second lap | Gems are easy to miss the first time round. |
What We Saw on the Day
The journey began with a row of early kit computers, several of them assembled by hobbyists from mail-order parts and still bearing handwritten labels on their circuit boards. Next came the famous home machines of the 1980s, many of which had once plugged into the television and loaded programs from cassette tapes.
Further along the hall stood the first portable computers, including one that weighed about as much as a packed suitcase, alongside early Macintosh and IBM-compatible PCs. The glass display cases were packed with floppy disks, thick printed manuals, and rare software.
Hands-On History
On top of that, most of the machines worked. The volunteers had spent months repairing power supplies, replacing leaking capacitors and scrubbing keyboards so visitors could sit down and type. Writing a few lines of BASIC, or using a floppy disk for saving, gave a real sense of the era.
Children clearly loved it. Learning that a computer once needed several minutes to load a single game set off a stream of questions and a few laughs from the parents.
The People Behind the Machines
The real stars of the show were the collectors, restorers and retired engineers looking after each table. One volunteer had worked on business systems in the early 1980s and happily recounted late nights in computer labs, the arrival of the first bulletin board systems and the thrill of buying his first modem. Another spent nearly an hour explaining how she had rescued a rare machine from a council clean-up pile.
More on the Program
Unfortunately, there is no way to cover the whole weekend program in a small article, but a few other things are definitely worth singling out:
- Repair workshop. Volunteers showed visitors how to diagnose and fix common faults, from dead power supplies to sticky keyboard switches.
- Retro gaming tournament. Teams battled it out on classic consoles and home computers, with a surprisingly competitive crowd cheering them on.
- Swap meet. Collectors traded spare parts, cables, manuals and boxed software, and plenty of bargains changed hands before lunch.
- Coding for kids. Younger visitors wrote their first simple programs in BASIC and printed the results to take home.
- Talks from industry veterans. Former engineers and programmers shared stories about building and selling computers in the early days of the Australian market.
- Preservation corner. A small team explained how they archive old disks, magazines and documentation before the data fades for good.
The exhibition was far more than a collection of old electronics. It felt like a celebration of curiosity, creativity and the people who shaped the digital world we know.