Blundell's Cottage
Encyclopedia
Blundell's Cottage is a five-roomed stone cottage located on the Southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River—which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle—was dammed...
, in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. When it was built this was the Molonglo River floodplain.
It was built by George P. Campbell in about 1858 for his ploughman William Ginn. Ginn lived there with his family until 1874 and then Flora and George Blundell moved in and remained there until about 1933. Flora was a midwife and George a bullock driver for Campbell. In 1913 the Duntroon estate was acquired by the Commonwealth to form part of the new Federal Capital Territory, although the Blundells continued to live there. The Harry and Alice Oldfield moved to the cottage in 1933.
After Alice Oldfied left the cottage in 1958 the cottage was planned to be demolished. However Lord William Holford proposed that the cottage be kept as a museum. The National Capital Development Commission
National Capital Development Commission
The National Capital Development Commission was an Australian Commonwealth Government body created to complete the establishment of Canberra as the seat of government. It was created in 1957 through the National Capital Development Commission Act 1957.Under the control of the NCDC Canberra grew...
renovated the cottage and it was managed as a museum by the Canberra and District Historic Society until 1990. The National Capital Authority
National Capital Authority
The National Capital Authority is a body of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia....
manages Blundells Cottage as a museum open to the public.
Blundells Cottage is significant, being one of the few stone buildings of its type to have survived intact in the Australian Capital Territory. It is important for the way it reflects a way of life on a nineteenth century agricultural estate.