Everybody has read, studied at school or heard of ‘My Country’, Dorothea Mackellar’s iconic poem, so well known for the lines in the second stanza;
‘I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.’
The poem’s language and imagery evokes the ‘real Australia.’
Dorothea Mackellar’s family home was ‘Kurrumbede’, 25km north-west of Gunnedah, on the Blue Vale Road, a 3000 hectare station once owned by the Mackellar family for almost 40 years.
Purchased in 1905 by Dorothea Mackellar’s father, who later built the homestead, Kurrumbede was one of Dorothea Mackellar’s favourite holiday retreats and features a landscape evoked in a number of her works.
Kurrumbede and Dorothea Mackellar will be celebrated when the historic homestead is opened to the public for the day on Saturday, June 12 from 10am-3pm on the Queen’s birthday long weekend.
Kurrumbede is now on property owned by Whitehaven Coal since 2010.
Whitehaven announced three years ago that it was committed to safeguarding the historic home and grounds, investing $500,000 in restoration of the homestead and gardens.
The project was undertaken in co-operation with the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society.
The open day, a free event will be an opportunity for people to visit and admire the restored homestead and gardens.
Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic basket and a chair and enjoy a full program of live music and entertainment in the garden.
Food stalls will also be in operation.
The day is Edwardian-themed and members of the public are encouraged to dress in the theme with prizes to be given.
Read more stories like this:
- Poet’s gardens restored at Kurrumbede homestead near Gunnedah
- Young poets honoured at awards
- Whitehaven invests $500,000 Kurrumbede
