A NEW ERA
THE VILLAGE AND EXPANSIVE GARDENS AT NSW’S GOONOO GOONOO STATION HAVE BEEN REIMAGINED WITH SUBTLE NODS TO THE PROPERTY’S HISTORY.
Young plantings are taking root alongside the old in the gardens at NSW’S historic Goonoo Goonoo Station.
GARDEN DESIGNER ADAM EURELL could never have imagined creating a garden the scale of that at Goonoo Goonoo Station near Tamworth, north-west NSW. What started as a garden project for an 1840s homestead quickly evolved to take on the surrounding — and expansive — outdoor space. Owners Tony and Karen Haggarty bought the nearly 5000-hectare station in 2011, which included the homestead and a ‘village’ of 24 buildings in varying state of ruin: a chapel, school house, butcher’s shop, farrier’s workshop and jackaroo’s quarters among them. It’s an area rife with history: it was part of one of the earliest European settlements in this area of NSW. In fact, it was King George IV who granted 127,880 hectares of land to the Australian Agricultural Company in 1831 and the area from Nundle to Attunga then became known as Goonoo Goonoo Station. Derived from the local Indigenous language of Gamilaraay, it means “running water over rocks in time of draught”. Since then, the historic site has been reimagined into the acclaimed Glasshouse Restaurant, The Woolstore events space, stunning accommodation — and glorious gardens. The Haggartys introduced Adam to the project in May 2013 — at the time, builders were halfway through renovating the homestead. He already knew the family well, having previously worked with them on several properties. However, nothing quite matched the overwhelming scale of Goonoo Goonoo. >
“At that stage the restaurant hadn’t even been thought of, and the job kept evolving,” he recalls. “It was pretty daunting when I arrived. There were weeds and trees suckering in some of the buildings. The irrigation had been disconnected and removed and the property had been in drought for a couple of years, so the existing trees were in poor health.” Adam’s company Nature’s Vision Landscapes rose to the occasion, though, introducing more than 3000 droughtand frost-tolerant plants and mature trees in time for the opening of The Glasshouse Restaurant and The Woolstore in November 2016. The hard work paid off: just a year later, the garden won the Graham Ross Residential Construction of the Year accolade at the LNA Landscape Excellence Awards. It was the Haggartys’ son Simon and wife, Sarah, who saw a chance to rethink existing plans and open the station up as a restaurant and accommodation. Naturally, the gardens were a large part of that. Sarah says the outdoor space has always been integral to life at Goonoo Goonoo, not only for the guests’ enjoyment, but for growing cut flowers and food. She has also looked into the history of the station and has old photographs of Andrea Giardini, an Italian prisoner of war, who was captured in Africa and shipped to the station to work. “Andrea came to Goonoo Goonoo and worked here for three years,” she says. “When he returned to Italy, general superintendent Rudolph Schmidt wrote to him monthly asking him to return with his friends and family, which he did in 1953 and stayed for six years.” Sarah met Andrea’s son, George, who is now in his seventies and remembers his time in the area well. “He told me how the paddocks below the homestead were covered in chicken sheds and he would collect eggs for the station community,” she says. Another former resident of the station is Alison Schmidt, wife of Rudolph Schmidt’s son Trevor, who eventually took over from his father as general superintendent of the property. Alison lived at Goonoo Goonoo for 21 years and contributed greatly to the legacy of the garden by planting many of its now-mature trees. Sarah has made her own mark on the garden, too, choosing white ‘Iceberg’ roses to border the homestead verandah, with plans to establish the property as a wedding venue taking shape. The aim was to plant a mostly white garden but, as Adam explains, “there aren’t many white-coloured flowering plants tough enough to survive inland NSW’S hot, dry summers and cold, frosty winters.” Instead, inspiration >
“It was daunting when I arrived. There were weeds and trees suckering in some of the buildings.”
was taken from the affectionately named Goonoo Goonoo rose. The last remaining original rose, a shrub pastel pink flower with a gnarly 20-centimetre round base, is thought to have been brought from England in the early 1900s. It was sent to a propagator, struck and planted in other areas of the garden, then complemented with pink, mauve and yellow flowering plants and green and grey foliage. Adam favoured drought- and frost-tolerant perennials, lavender, salvia, rosemary and ornamental grasses to soften fence lines, create height and introduce texture. He also used mature London plane trees, ornamental pears, magnolia grandiflora and ‘Capital’ pears for focal points. “The existing trees and roses helped the garden look established more quickly, while perennials and ornamental grasses had an immediate impact,” Adam says. “The garden is fairly bare in winter when the deciduous trees lose their leaves, and it benefits from the structure of more formal elements, hedges and clipped topiaries.” The restaurant garden has a more contemporary style with grouped ornamental grasses, succulents and concrete paving echoing the interior floor. Like the building’s architecture, the garden embraces modern design. “It’s the largest and most successful project we have done,” Adam says. There is much to be admired in Goonoo Goonoo’s garden; colourful flowers in gently winding beds, tall grasses leaning in the breeze, and sculptural curves of domed topiary have a fantasy quality, heightening the desire to explore. For more information about Goonoo Goonoo Station, visit goonoogoonoostation.com or telephone 0429 384 297. Contact Nature’s Vision Landscapes at naturesvision.com. au or telephone (02) 4368 4400.