Work is underway on restoration of the gardens of the Kurrumbede homestead, the property near Gunnedah once owned by the family of one of Australia’s great poets Dorothea Mackellar OBE.
Last year, Whitehaven Coal announced a $500,000 investment to restore and preserve the gardens of the homestead.
Since then, under direction from a working group with members from Whitehaven and the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society, work has continued on a bore, pipeline and the re-establishment of the gardens to reflect its original plant palette and layout.
Whitehaven managing director and CEO Paul Flynn reaffirmed the company’s commitment to preservation of the homestead and future public access.
“Kurrumbede is very important to us at Whitehaven and we acknowledge its importance to the community – not just the immediate community, but the country as a whole,” Mr Flynn said.
In conjunction with the memorial society and the Gunnedah Historical Society, as well as the Heritage Division of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Whitehaven has been exploring ways to host periodic community open days at the homestead, to support the education and enjoyment of future generations of young Australian poets and poetry enthusiasts.
Long serving member of the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society Philippa Murray welcomed the initiative.
Bought in 1905 by Dorothea Mackellar’s father, who later built the homestead, Kurrumbede was one of Mackellar’s favourite holiday retreats and features a landscape evoked in a number of her works. The Mackellar family also owned other properties in the Gunnedah area, including The Rampadells.
Whitehaven Coal has been a major sponsor of the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards, hosted by the DMMS, since 2010, and Whitehaven Coal chairman Mark Vaile is patron of the society.
To order photos from this page click here
