Monday 10 August 2015

EXPLORE BUNDANON




I came to Bundanon to work, but I never expected to see so much that I wanted to share with my family. For the past week I have been staying here as part of the Artists in Residency program, and will give talks to school children as part of their book week education program. And while it has been a wonderful opportunity to stay here, I have also somewhat unexpectedly been blown away by the surrounds.

Every day I go for a walk on the grounds, and every day I see something new.

Bundanon is the name of a property that famed Australian artist Arthur Boyd left to the Australian people via a trust that he established with the Australian Government - Bundanon Trust. It is a place that preserves his home, and works, and provides the opportunity for artists to complete residencies for art, music, writing and performance.

The property is open to the public on Sundays. You can take a tour of the homestead, where Arthur lived, as well as explore the grounds. 








A short walk from the homestead is the Singleman's Hut. This is an old colonial-style building where farm hands would stay. Smaller exhibitions are held here.

The original homestead has been preserved in keeping with when Arthur and Yvonne Boyd lived there. Older children might appreciate viewing the works on display, as well as seeing inside an historic home. Arthur's art studio is quite an amazing place to visit, regardless of age. Close to the homestead are picnic benches, where you can sit with a packed lunch. The Trust encourages people to bring along a picnic (as they don't serve food - although you can get a cup of tea and a biscuit for a gold coin donation).


Behind the homestead is a formal-style garden, adorned with sculptures, which would be interesting to show children. There is a kitchen garden too. It would be a lovely activity to get them to identify flowers and herbs. Maybe even draw them, if you took along pencils and paper.


Day and night there are kangaroos everywhere. It really is worth stopping in one spot for five or more minutes and just observing them. Some of the kangaroos have joeys in their pouches. Others get into fist fights with each other or just laze around. 




One of the installations is by a former Artist in Resident, Brook Andrew. These cool caravans had been part of the Sydney Festival.




Wattle and wild flowers were in abundance during my visit. You could make flower crowns galore with all this foliage!




You can take a walk to the Shoalhaven River from the property. On a few occasions I spied kangaroo and wombat tracks in the sand. 



The walk back from the river takes you in-between fields of cows and kangaroos. You might have to dodge wombats - and wombat burrows (lots of them!) along the way. There are many easy bush walks you can take around the property, including to a bush-style amphitheatre and a track called Cedar Walks.




During my stay I bought the Siteworks book from the office - open to the public on Sunday - and plan to bring it back with me on my return. There are photos and botanical drawings of the native flora and fauna, and want to give the children the challenge of finding it all.

images the indigo crew

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