View of the Devils Hole from lookout at Barrington Tops National Park

Gundy (including Belltrees, Moonan Flat and Ellerston)
Quiet and tiny settlement on Pages River near the country retreats of a number of prominent Australians.
Gundy is a tiny settlement by the Pages River, 300 km north of Sydney. It has an hotel-restaurant and a general store which serves light meals. However, it is a good starting point for taking a scenic drive through the pleasant countryside to the north-east of Scone.

The first grant near present-day Gundy was made out in 1826 to John Stewart who worked at Thomas MacQueens' Segenhoe property (see entry on Aberdeen) and who surveyed the upper Hunter in the 1820s. His property, which was on the Pages and Isis Rivers, was named 'Gundah Gundah' meaning 'a camping place'. The township was named after a Mrs Gundy who kept an inn on the Waverley Rd to the north-east. In fact the village of Gundy was known as Bellevue when it was created in the early 1860s. It initially served as a stopover for teams travelling from Scone to stations located further up the Pages and Isis Rivers.

When gold was located nearby at Stewarts Brook (named after John Stewart) and Moonan Brook, Gundy became a small service centre to the miners and their families. An inn and church were built. By 1881, when the population had risen to 60, there was also a school, post office and stores. In recent years Gundy was used as the setting for the films Smiley and The Shiralee. The Gundy Rodeo is held on New Year's Day.

Things to see:  

The Scenic Drive
Access to Gundy is either out of Scone or along Segenhoe Rd which heads east off the New England Highway 2 km north of Aberdeen. If you have taken the latter route, turn left after 5 km when you come to an intersection and proceed straight ahead for a further 18 km, ignoring the signs to Lake Glenbawn (see entries on Aberdeen or Scone).

If travelling from Scone, Gundy Rd heads east off the highway at the southern end of town. The drive takes you through green and pleasant countryside, through tiny villages which have remained virtually non-existent since they emerged last century in the wake of the settlement of Scone and the subsequent discovery of gold.

The road passes two turnoffs to Lake Glenbawn, Arrowfield horse stud (7.5 km) and Bellerive Stud (8.7 km). The proximity of mountains to the north, south and east affirms that this is indeed a valley. At 15.7 km the road runs adjacent the Pages River into the to the village of Gundy which is 18 km from Scone.

Gundy
As you enter the town from the south there is a bridge across the Pages River. Just before it is a dilapidated old Catholic Church of unknown vintage. The property of Bellevue, which gave its name to the village, lies behind the church. The homestead (c.1872) is a couple of hundred yards off the road on private property.

Just past the bridge, on the left, is the Linga Longa Inn (which has a restaurant). Another hundred yards along the road, to the right, St Matthew's Anglican Church which was built in 1869 and is still standing.

Elmswood
A few kilometres north is a sign reading 'Elmswood American Saddlebreds'. Miranee Rd heads off to the left here and takes you across the Pages River. Just on the other side, to the right, is a two-storey brick mansion with bay windows owned by journalist and radio broadcaster, Phillip Adams. 700 m further west on Gundy Rd is Waverley Rd which departs to the left. Mrs Gundy's Inn was located along this route which is today in a poor state of repair.

Belltrees
About 12 km beyond Waverley Rd is a turnoff on the right to Belltrees (established 1831), an 18 000-acre horse, sheep and cattle property and an excellent example of a colonial country seat. It was built on land granted to Hamilton Sempill who became the manager of the Segenhoe property in 1830. He named Belltrees after the English estate of an ancestor.

When Sempill returned to England the property passed on to explorer W.C. Wentworth who sold the property in 1853 to the sons of James White of the Edinglassie estate (Muswellbrook). By 1912 it covered 160 000 acres, was enclosed by 3200 km of fencing and incorporated 64 buildings. Nobel-Prize-winning novelist Patrick White used Belltrees, which his parents owned, as the basis for Kudjeri in his novel The Eye of the Storm (1973). The property is still owned, run and occupied by the White family who raise Belltrees Black Angus cattle and polo ponies. The property doubles as an exclusive holiday resort .

As you enter the estate off Gundy Rd a dirt drive leads past a number of outbuildings. To the left, set back from the road, is the gracious, two-storey brick homestead, which was built in 1907 by Henry White. It features a fine cast-iron verandah on the upper floor, projecting gables from the front roof section, elegant columns, shuttered windows, Edwardian furniture and an impressive staircase.

The outbuildings include the White Cottage, built of sandstock brick by convicts for Hamilton Sempill in 1831 or 1832, the original homestead (1836) which now serves as a museum, a slab trading store (1836), Belltrees Public School (1879), the manager's house and post office (both 1901), a handsome brick chapel, and a fine 42-stand shearing shed which is known to have employed 100 men in 1901. Designed by distinguished colonial architect J. Horbury Hunt and built in 1879 it features a pair of shears for a weather-vane atop one of the towers.

Accommodation is available in the Georgian-style country house (8 bedrooms with en suites) and in three self-contained cottages, including the White Cottage and the Mountain Retreat which is situated on a cliff's edge offering truly stunning views over the Hunter Valley and the Belltrees property. The country house can also be used as a convention centre and the property's chapel for marriages. For further information, tel: (02) 6545 1668.

Moonan Flat
Take a well-signposted left turn off the main road to visit Moonan Flat, a peaceful little village in a beautiful setting ringed around by the Mount Royal Range. The township was founded to serve the goldminers of The Denison diggings in the 1870s. It was initially proclaimed as Macqueen but known locally as Moonan.

The Victoria Hotel dates from about 1890 while the tin building behind the pine tree is an old bunkhouse which was built in 1860. It was originally associated with a set of stables (now gone) used by the Cobb & Co coach service which travelled this route. The hotel also offers cheap accommodation, tel: (02) 6546 3165.

Ellerston and Timor Caves
The road forks at Moonan Flat. Pages Creek Rd will take you north-east through Kerry Packer's Ellerston property (15 km), which started as an outstation for the Belltrees property. It is now used by Mr Packer to host an international polo competition.

About 27 km along this road you will see signs indicating the proximity of Timor Caves, a series of subterranean limestone caverns which are within walking distance of the road. The Timor Caves are easily accessible but good shoes, a strong light and common sense are a must. There is camping available for a fee, tel: (02) 6546 6089.

A black sally tree at Polblue Swamp at Stewarts Brook State Forest at the top of Barrington Tops

Moonan Brook, Stewarts Brook State Forest and Barrington Tops
Moonan Brook Rd heads west of Moonan Flat towards Gloucester (87 km). The road initially follows Moonan Brook, the centre of The Denison goldmining operations in the 1860s when there were two inns, some stores and around 200 people scattered about. The bushranger Thunderbolt bailed up a store at Moonan Brook and a hotel at Denison in 1867.

Denison was belatedly proclaimed a village in 1872, just as the mines were winding down and the population receding. There was still an inn and store by 1881 but the population had declined to 21. A census indicated an additional 51 persons at the diggings.

This road then continues on through Stewarts Brook State Forest where there are picnic areas and other facilities and on across Mount Royal Range and the Barrington Tops to Gloucester.

	Hotels
	The Linga Longa Inn Gundy Rd Gundy NSW 2337 Telephone: (02) 6545 8121
	Victoria Hotel 1 Mitchell St Moonan Flat Gundy NSW 2337 Telephone: (02) 6546 3165
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Belltrees Country House Gundy Rd Gundy NSW 2337 Telephone: (02) 6545 1668 or (02) 6546 1123 Facsimile: (02) 6546 1122
	Restaurants
	The Linga Longa Inn Gundy Rd Gundy NSW 2337 Telephone: (02) 6545 8121