Blundell's Cottage

Blundell's Cottage

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Posted 2014-02-28 by Anne Dignamfollow
Wendouree Drive, on Duntroon Estate, alongside Lake Burley Griffin, is where you start your journey of Canberra's forgotten history. There are three sections of Kings Park; Blundell Cottage is on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin.

Blundell Cottage

Built in1860 on the Limestone Plains is a well preserved quaint cottage with plenty of history. Blundell Cottage is a small and basic cottage. The stones used to build this glorious cottage were from Mt Ainsley and Black Mountain. Blundell Cottage was luscious grazing land on the northern side of Molonglo River, now Lake Burley Griffin. Now it has been transformed into a glorious parkland, preserving Canberra's history.



Blundell Cottage was constructed for a farmer on Duntroon Estate, owned by the Campbell family of Duntroon. The first tenants, farmers William and Mary Gin, also farmed their own 60 acres of land.

Robert Campbell employed convicts as shepherds and labourers, but preferred free immigrants as industrial workers and each tenant farmer got their own small cottage and land to farm, in exchange for labour.



George Blundell and Flora tenanted the cottage in 1874 and was born on the Duntroon estate. They had 8 children and lived in this tiny cottage raising their family while he worked as a Bullock Driver. They occupied Blundell Cottage for nearly 60 years. In 1913, the Commonwealth acquired the land and the Blundell's leased the property from the Federal Commonwealth until his death in 1933.



Blundell Cottage was due to be demolished and luckily for us today is a museum. Unfortunately it was closed when we went, but the grounds are well kept with relics of the era and we were able to sense the way of living.
Click here for Museum hours



Walking along the lakeside, is HMAS Canberra's huge anchor. This is a memorial to the 84 crew members who lost their lives. HMAS Canberra was unfortunately sunk during a battle at Savo Island in 1942.



There is plenty of seating to admire the views of Lake Burley Griffin and its surrounding area. Black Mt Tower and the National Library on the southern side of the Lake.



Stay tuned for the Carillon and Police Memorial Park Sections

My recommendation is to start your Canberra journey here at Kings Park.

#outdoor
#nsw
#near_canberra
#museums
#history
#free
#escape_the_city
#parks
%wncanberra
136775 - 2023-06-13 12:52:37

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