Visitors flock to Kurrumbede open day

Rain squalls failed to dampen the carnival atmosphere when historic district property ‘Kurrumbede’ was opened to the public on Saturday.

The grounds and buildings of Kurrumbede, once the home of theMackellar family are being restored in an ongoing upgrade by current owners of the property, Whitehaven Coal which has invested $500,000 in the project, working with the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society.

Visitors from the Narrabri district, Gunnedah and beyond began to arrive early and continued to flow through the grounds of Kurrumbede throughout the day.

They were greeted by the Whitehaven and Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society hosts and entertained with live music from several groups, sulky rides, stilt walkers in period costume and great food.

The open day featured an Edwardian theme, an acknowledgement of the Mackellar family’s ownership era of the property.

Visitors were invited to dress for the occasion in fashions of the era and their authentic period ‘costumes’ added colour to the day.

Organisers estimate that up to 2000 made the trip to Kurrumbede, coming from the North West and much further afield.

The Courier spoke to people who had made the day trip from the coast and from north, south and west.

All were enthusiastic and welcomed the extensive restoration project and the preservation of Kurrumbede.

This was a ‘first’ for Kurrumbede – the first time the property had been opened to the public in 100 years.

“Whitehaven is committed to the preservation of the property and is also a long-standing sponsor of the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards, which were established in 1984 and have since grown into a nationwide competition for Australian school students and poetry enthusiasts” a Whitehaven spokesman said.

“Whitehaven has always recognised Kurrumbede as a place of local heritage significance and is working on the completion of a Conservation Management Plan to guide its continuing investment in the property in consultation with the Society and other stakeholders, including the NSW Office of Heritage.”