Gunning & District Historical Society

The Rosy Hyacinth Orchid  (Dipodium roseum), long lost to view, will be flowering in Lade Vale and other places around the district over the next few weeks. If You Go Down in the Woods Today   Provided you are in the right place, you could be in for a big surprise during the next few months. You may be lucky enough to see a noteworthy and unusual native orchid flaunting its very showy  flowers. Most orchid species we see locally tend to be short, modest and unobtrusive with their full beauty not being apparent unless they are very closely examined through a magnifying glass. Not so the Hyacinth Orchid, the largest terrestrial orchid in our district, which displays its bright pink petals to the world on long purple stems up to 3/4 of a metre high. This stunning wonder has emerged on two Lade Vale properties for the last three years in a row.   Neither of the current property owners had seen it over the preceding twenty years or so. One of the pro...

Bushrangers Hall, Dunn and Gilbert attack police guarding the Gundagai Mail 1865. Dunn and Gilbert may have splashed out a substantial sum for lunch in the Lade Vale/Mundoonen district not long before or after this event [Picture: State Library of Victoria via Wikimedia Commons]. New Discovery About Local Bushranging History – Or Mundoonen Myth? Over the last few months lifelong Gunning and Lade Vale resident, Mr Sid Hillier, has been generously and helpfully back grounding me on local history. Among other things, Sid has told me about a family story concerning his grandmother, Ellen (Granny) Hillier, and the notorious bushrangers Dunn and Gilbert. I bring Sid’s story to you despite it leaving some important questions unanswered. The Gunning District Historical Society would not normally publish mythical tales but I believe this to be an essentially true account of an historical event. Yes, there are a few significant gaps which you may feel places it more in the ...

Mr Sid and Mrs Maree Hillier pictured in their Gunning home recently with their historic bottle of medicinal turpentine. Well over 70 years ago a young Sid was bed ridden for a fortnight with a very serious gash to the leg suffered when he was impaled by a cut sapling stem while riding his bike home from school. He owes his return to full health and mobility to this very efficacious and versatile product. The bottle they are displaying is the same one used by Sid’s mother to treat his injury at the time – and it still retains a good amount of aromatic turpentine today. In recent weeks I have had the pleasure and privilege of talking with three local people who know a lot about our district history, having lived through many decades of it themselves. Mr Sid and Mrs Maree Hillier and Mr Harold Hazell have been helping me learn about their lives and times in the Gunning district generally but particularly for the Oolong and Lade Vale areas where I also live. Mr Harold Hazell wh...