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| View of the Devils Hole
from lookout at Barrington Tops National Park
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Gundy (including Belltrees, Moonan Flat and Ellerston)
Quiet and tiny settlement on Pages River near the country
retreats of a number of prominent Australians.
Gundy is a tiny settlement by the Pages River, 300 km north
of Sydney. It has an hotel-restaurant and a general store
which serves light meals. However, it is a good starting
point for taking a scenic drive through the pleasant
countryside to the north-east of Scone.
The first grant near present-day Gundy was made out in
1826 to John Stewart who worked at Thomas MacQueens'
Segenhoe property (see entry on Aberdeen) and who surveyed the upper Hunter in the
1820s. His property, which was on the Pages and Isis Rivers,
was named 'Gundah Gundah' meaning 'a camping place'. The
township was named after a Mrs Gundy who kept an inn on the
Waverley Rd to the north-east. In fact the village of Gundy
was known as Bellevue when it was created in the early
1860s. It initially served as a stopover for teams
travelling from Scone to stations located further up the
Pages and Isis Rivers.
When gold was located nearby at Stewarts Brook (named
after John Stewart) and Moonan Brook, Gundy became a small
service centre to the miners and their families. An inn and
church were built. By 1881, when the population had risen to
60, there was also a school, post office and stores. In
recent years Gundy was used as the setting for the films
Smiley and The Shiralee. The Gundy Rodeo is held on New
Year's Day.
Things to see:
The Scenic Drive
Access to Gundy is either out of Scone or along Segenhoe Rd
which heads east off the New England Highway 2 km north of
Aberdeen. If you have taken the latter route, turn left
after 5 km when you come to an intersection and proceed
straight ahead for a further 18 km, ignoring the signs to
Lake Glenbawn (see entries on Aberdeen or
Scone).
If travelling from Scone, Gundy Rd heads east off the
highway at the southern end of town. The drive takes you
through green and pleasant countryside, through tiny
villages which have remained virtually non-existent since
they emerged last century in the wake of the settlement of
Scone and the subsequent discovery of gold.
The road passes two turnoffs to Lake Glenbawn, Arrowfield
horse stud (7.5 km) and Bellerive Stud (8.7 km). The
proximity of mountains to the north, south and east affirms
that this is indeed a valley. At 15.7 km the road runs
adjacent the Pages River into the to the village of Gundy
which is 18 km from Scone.
Gundy
As you enter the town from the south there is a bridge
across the Pages River. Just before it is a dilapidated old
Catholic Church of unknown vintage. The property of
Bellevue, which gave its name to the village, lies behind
the church. The homestead (c.1872) is a couple of hundred
yards off the road on private property.
Just past the bridge, on the left, is the Linga Longa Inn
(which has a restaurant). Another hundred yards along the
road, to the right, St Matthew's Anglican Church which was
built in 1869 and is still standing.
Elmswood
A few kilometres north is a sign reading 'Elmswood American
Saddlebreds'. Miranee Rd heads off to the left here and
takes you across the Pages River. Just on the other side, to
the right, is a two-storey brick mansion with bay windows
owned by journalist and radio broadcaster, Phillip Adams.
700 m further west on Gundy Rd is Waverley Rd which departs
to the left. Mrs Gundy's Inn was located along this route
which is today in a poor state of repair.
Belltrees
About 12 km beyond Waverley Rd is a turnoff on the right to
Belltrees (established 1831), an 18 000-acre horse, sheep
and cattle property and an excellent example of a colonial
country seat. It was built on land granted to Hamilton
Sempill who became the manager of the Segenhoe property in
1830. He named Belltrees after the English estate of an
ancestor.
When Sempill returned to England the property passed on
to explorer W.C. Wentworth who sold the property in 1853 to
the sons of James White of the Edinglassie estate
(Muswellbrook). By 1912 it covered 160 000 acres, was
enclosed by 3200 km of fencing and incorporated 64
buildings. Nobel-Prize-winning novelist Patrick White used
Belltrees, which his parents owned, as the basis for Kudjeri
in his novel The Eye of the Storm (1973). The property is
still owned, run and occupied by the White family who raise
Belltrees Black Angus cattle and polo ponies. The property
doubles as an exclusive holiday resort .
As you enter the estate off Gundy Rd a dirt drive leads
past a number of outbuildings. To the left, set back from
the road, is the gracious, two-storey brick homestead, which
was built in 1907 by Henry White. It features a fine
cast-iron verandah on the upper floor, projecting gables
from the front roof section, elegant columns, shuttered
windows, Edwardian furniture and an impressive staircase.
The outbuildings include the White Cottage, built of
sandstock brick by convicts for Hamilton Sempill in 1831 or
1832, the original homestead (1836) which now serves as a
museum, a slab trading store (1836), Belltrees Public School
(1879), the manager's house and post office (both 1901), a
handsome brick chapel, and a fine 42-stand shearing shed
which is known to have employed 100 men in 1901. Designed by
distinguished colonial architect J. Horbury Hunt and built
in 1879 it features a pair of shears for a weather-vane atop
one of the towers.
Accommodation is available in the Georgian-style country
house (8 bedrooms with en suites) and in three
self-contained cottages, including the White Cottage and the
Mountain Retreat which is situated on a cliff's edge
offering truly stunning views over the Hunter Valley and the
Belltrees property. The country house can also be used as a
convention centre and the property's chapel for marriages.
For further information, tel: (02) 6545 1668.
Moonan Flat
Take a well-signposted left turn off the main road to visit
Moonan Flat, a peaceful little village in a beautiful
setting ringed around by the Mount Royal Range. The township
was founded to serve the goldminers of The Denison diggings
in the 1870s. It was initially proclaimed as Macqueen but
known locally as Moonan.
The Victoria Hotel dates from about 1890 while the tin
building behind the pine tree is an old bunkhouse which was
built in 1860. It was originally associated with a set of
stables (now gone) used by the Cobb & Co coach service which
travelled this route. The hotel also offers cheap
accommodation, tel: (02) 6546 3165.
Ellerston and Timor Caves
The road forks at Moonan Flat. Pages Creek Rd will take you
north-east through Kerry Packer's Ellerston property (15
km), which started as an outstation for the Belltrees
property. It is now used by Mr Packer to host an
international polo competition.
About 27 km along this road you will see signs indicating
the proximity of Timor Caves, a series of subterranean
limestone caverns which are within walking distance of the
road. The Timor Caves are easily accessible but good shoes,
a strong light and common sense are a must. There is camping
available for a fee, tel: (02) 6546 6089.
|
| A black sally tree at
Polblue Swamp at Stewarts Brook State Forest at the
top of Barrington Tops |
Moonan Brook, Stewarts Brook State Forest and
Barrington Tops
Moonan Brook Rd heads west of Moonan Flat towards Gloucester
(87 km). The road initially follows Moonan Brook, the centre
of The Denison goldmining operations in the 1860s when there
were two inns, some stores and around 200 people scattered
about. The bushranger Thunderbolt bailed up a store at
Moonan Brook and a hotel at Denison in 1867.
Denison was belatedly proclaimed a village in 1872, just
as the mines were winding down and the population receding.
There was still an inn and store by 1881 but the population
had declined to 21. A census indicated an additional 51
persons at the diggings.
This road then continues on through Stewarts Brook State
Forest where there are picnic areas and other facilities and
on across Mount Royal Range and the Barrington Tops to
Gloucester.
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Gundy
