ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collection

HMSS 0239 Gungaderra Station Records

Scope and Content Notes

Gungaderra Station, formerly known as Red Hill Station, was classified by the National Trust (ACT) in 1978.  It is located near the suburb of Franklin.

The property was originally called Red Hill, possibly because Aboriginal people used ochre from this area but it could also have acquired the name after the soil was exposed through erosion due to drought and rabbit infestation. It was first purchased by John Winter in 1861; he built the house about the time of his marriage to Jemima McPherson on 13 June 1862. Some interest was shown in mining of an iron ore lode in the area around 1895. This did not prove to be viable and the mining was abandoned but a considerable deposit of pipe cay was found and used by the Ginninderra residents to whitewash their large fireplaces.

A substantial addition to the house was built for the Winters in 1902 by Sid Greig of Murrumbateman. After Jemima died in 1913 John moved away and the property was leased to Patrick Donnelly after it was resumed by the Commonwealth. Richard Crace, son of E G Crace held the lease by 1937 and renamed the property Gungaderra, a combination of the names of the two large estates, Gungahlin and Ginninderra. The property is still privately leased.

Reproduced with permission from : Cooke, Helen.  A Short History of Gunghalin.  Canberra Archaeological Society, 2010., p. 34.

This collection consists of two diaries documenting the daily activities on the station such as livestock and crop management and plant maintenance.  Also includes cash account statements.

The diaries were found on the tip, formerly the limestone quarry, of Gungaderra Station y station manager Stephen Johnston in 1985.

At that stage, Gungaderra Station encompassed the old Gungaderra and Well Stations as well as Canberra Park.  The woolshed used was that of Well Station.

Box List