THIS BLOG

Not so long back a nice young couple came & spent a couple of hours in the garden ooohing & ahhhing & “Did you see that!?!” (usually an Eastern Spinebill). After going around the garden several times the young man approached T(Tina) & threw his hands in the air, asking enthusiastically “What’s the story?” A long & animated discussion ensued about plants, birds, colour, weather, climate, the importance of Nature to a happy life & a philosophy of gardens & life. It is intended that this Blog takes on the role of that conversation.

After some chatter & laughter the young couple got down to some purchasing & finally left….This is what I hope this Blog can provide…a bit of entertainment…some information…& something to mull over  that may even change  the way you think about things in the future!

The Blog will be separated into a number of sections.

History…the history of the area….the history of the property….& the history of the garden…& us, G&T.

Diary…Events …What’s flowering in the garden…Seasonal chores….Climate & weather…our blessed wildlife &  their seasonal effects on the garden, etc.

Philosophy…our thoughts about gardening, life, Nature & stuff.

Elements of design…colour…shape…mass versus space…light versus shade…& other elements which effect the psychological effects of the most complex & satisfying of all Art Forms…The Garden.

This Blog, like our garden, will not be completed in one day…it will be about the journey, not the destination…. a project of successive approximations….As one part is completed we will move on to the next area, always returning to maintain & review…It will be apt to wander…There will always be something not yet done…It will seem never-ending…There will always be something to look forward to.


HISTORY

The region around Mt. Pilot, Domma Mungee, originally belonged to the Duduroa clan. With permission of the Duduroa it was also used by for 5 or 6 other clans as a “stopping off” point on the annual migration. The Duduroa themselves returned to Domma Mungee after the second heavy rains of Autumn ‘Weeitt’,  when the creeks would be flowing. They used the caves & rock shelters of the area throughout the winter, returning to their hunting & foraging grounds on the plains to the west when the warm dry whether of Spring ‘Gna-lleu’, came on. They would set fire to the forest area as they left to prepare the ground for regrowth for the following year & send the wildlife out on to the plains where they could be hunted throughout the summer, ‘Cotchi’.

In Autumn they would set fire to the grasses of the plains, before returning to Mt Pilot, so completing the annual cycle.

Yeddonba is a nearby cave art spot (10 mins drive from Humming Garden) where the Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger is depicted. The Thylacine died out on the mainland some 3,000 years ago. There is now no-one to redraught the drawings every year as once would have occurred, so the art is now fairly faint.


THE GIDLEYS

Around 1860 Thomas & Winifred Gidley became squatters on the El Dorado west station, a land-holding stretching from Chiltern to the creek at El Dorado. Winifred ran a hotel on the current site of Humming Garden, on the stage coach run between Chiltern & Beechworth. Thomas ran cattle & later sheep.

Thomas became notorious for cattle rustling, sheep duffing and other shenanigans. He was also very litigious, frequently employing the best QCs to pursue his aims. He was fond of  accusing his neighbours of stealing his sheep. One modus operandi was to brand his own sheep with his neighbour’s brand & then declare that all the sheep on his neighbour’s land rightly belonged to him. So fearful were his neighbours of facing the protracted legal battles that he was fond of that they created a “fighting fund” to protect themselves.

In the end he lost a major case in the Supreme Court. The trial was avidly followed colony-wide. Without the money to cover legal fees & fines the  Gidleys lost the property to the Bank of Australasia. Thomas Gidley was found guilty of perjury & gaoled for 2 years.

There is much more to this colourful history…..More will be added as time allows.


THE 1920s & “THE SPANISH”

In the late 1990s ancient Spanish lady was brought to the property by her ageing “children”. Although she had spent the major part of her life in Australia she could now hardly remember a word of English. Her “children”, who spoke very little Spanish, translated for her as best they could. The story was that she & her husband had bought the property in the 20s & began building a home for themselves! Some of the foundations & stonework still exist…in the “orchard”.

It seems that her husband…following Spanish tradition had put the family history on a piece of paper inside a bottle & buried it  under the right hand corner of foundations.

In the end the block proved to be too far from school for the kids & the family was forced to move to Chiltern…They continued to spend every weekend  here and to farm the block until after WW2.