Guntawang

Click on images to enlarge

Guntawang (Co. Phillip) 32°24’S. 149°29’E., 7 km SW of Gulgong; disc. 1822 by George and Henry Cox; wheat 1851+, grazing, goldmining (sluicing 1933-35, shafts and drives 1935-38, dredging 1938-49); Angl. C., closed; butter factory (R. Rouse) 1889-1935; cemetery; flood 1870; mine (Cullengoral Alluvial Gold Sluicing NL) 1933-49; PO 1861-1912; school 1860, new building b. 1908 by Walter Murphy, closed 1914; storm 1878; Wes. Meth. C. b. 1860 by McCauley; pop. с. 200 (1866), с. 200 (1903)1 .

1872

15 June 1872
Guntawang.
During my last year's trip to this district I visited Guntawang, and gave your readers some account of that very nice home; but I should have been sorry not to have seen it again, and I was not long at Gulgong before a kind invite and a buggy took me out there, l have had occasion to remark before to-day on the horses of the Mudgee district, and especially Mr. Richard Rouse's harness horses as being the best in the colony: and further, that this gentleman's four-in-hand are by odds the best team we ever see now-a-days in Sydney, whenever he brings them down to the metropolis, and drives his drag out to Randwick on a race day; but I never saw a nicer team than the Guntawang Squire has at present. There's a brown horse that is a real beauty, and good as he looks; and a big bay horse that has few superiors; but the pride of the lot, and by far the best horse I saw on my travels, is a grey horse, Mr. Rouse brought from Tasmania, who is really one of the finest goers in harness I ever saw. He travels along in great style, goes as straight as a line, carries himself splendidly, and is a very clever and reliable horse as wheeler in a team. I was last year through the new house at Guntawang, and a remarkably fine house it is; but it was then uninhabited, and I could not help remarking this time, how much more beautiful the best finished rooms look when they are made civilised by the presence of ladies. Guntawang is now furnished, and the rooms look especially well. Outside, the services of a skilled ornamental gardener have been called into requisition in the laying out of the garden and shrubbery which will surround the building; the ground on two sides is being tastefully terraced, for planting with well selected shrubs and flowers; and a sunk fence allows of an uninterrupted view of the meadowy flat that stretches along the river bank in front. It will yet take some time to complete - the laying out and planting of this extensive shrubbery. Behind, and situated at a convenient distance from the house, the ground plan of extensive stabling had just been laid out. These buildings, which will be as near perfect of their kind as possible, are to cost something over a couple of thousand pounds; and they are, as Mr. Rouse told me, on the plan adopted by Mr. Walter Lamb for similar buildings at Greystanes. The front elevation which is to face the house, will be of an ornamental character; and a sweeping carriage drive will lead from the stable courtyard, round to the main entrance to the house, which is on the opposite side. There's always a lot of good young stock of all sorts to see at Guntawang; for not only does Mr. Rouse go in for breeding the best and purest, but he takes care to rear them, whether they be horses, cattle, or pigs, in a proper manner. Of thoroughbred horses I saw the now purchase, Lord Lyon, and the two-year-olds, Nydia and Wanderer, all doing walking exercise; and besides this very creditable trio of chestnuts, Harry Rayner has a tremendous big two-year-old colt called Viceroy, by Kingston from Problem, who, if he's only blessed with the gift of travelling should be one of the most wonderful animals in the land. He's a light chestnut with white hairs all through his coat, a good many white legs, and plenty of white everywhere; and I don't think I ever saw such a set of legs under a horse. I'm afraid he's too big to be of much use at three years old. This is a great place for horse breeding; and there's another great boomer, an almost black grey, sprinkled with white who is a remarkably fine strong colt, and called Dread; but, stupidly, I didn't make a note of his pedigree at the time, and it has escaped me. Brigadier I saw, looking well; but he will never race; and I was sorry to find that Mr. Rouse had lost old Atalanta shortly before, who, being the dam of Nydia, must be a severe loss to any breeder of race-horses. On the whole, I should say the Guntawang training stable looks more promising than it has ever done in my recollection. The Guntawang herd of pedigree cattle is, like that of Greystanes, largely indebted to Wilbetree; many of the animals having been purchased from Mr. Robert Lowe; and nowhere else would Mr. Rouse go to purchase heifers so readily as there, at the present time. Here at Guntawang is adopted the excellent plan of making the young stock quiet by early handling; and it’s quite a pleasure to walk through the milking yard, where all the pedigree heifers are broken in, and the calves receive their early training. I saw this time some rattling good calves at the side of their dams, and I'd like to see Mr. Rouse's herd represented next show on the Alfred Park, for I'll be hanged if the cracks of the Metropolitan District, the Hunter, and the Clarence, wouldn't have to keep a sharp look out. A lot of very good young bulls occupy the boxes, and are looking very well; and after looking carefully through them, as well as among some very nice heifers in the home paddock, and the little calves in the milking yard, I came to the conclusion, that the Wilbetree cows a capital foundation, and that the bulls Mr. Rouse has been using during the last two years must have been very good indeed to get such a number of beautiful stock, and all so very even, and without any rubbish among them. The Prince Albert pigs, bred from imported stock, are a capital lot; and every-thing on the place, from the blood horses to the sheep dogs, and terriers are of the very best description; and kept in a style which shows that the master not only knows how the thing should be done, but is determined to see that it shall be done well. The operations connected with the farm and gold-field are on a very extended scale; no fewer than thirty-five to forty heavy draught horses are constantly stabled and in work, consuming something like a hundred bushels of corn a week; and the puddling machine, where all the washing from the Guntawang diggings is done, is situated down at the river below the farm buildings, where a good steam-engine pumps up the water for the machine. Mr. Rouse drove me twice through the goldfield, where are a public-house, store, butchers' and bakers' shops, and other such necessaries, managed by Mr. Rouse's commissioner, who seems to have everything in capital order, the work of this offshoot of Gulgong appearing to be carried on with threat regularity, and to the satisfaction of the claim-holders. I was sorry l could not this time visit Biraganbil, but will still hope to do so. With thanks to Mr. Rouse for his kindness in showing me round, I left Guntawang after a very pleasant visit, and retraced my steps to Gulgong; and next week I will tell your readers about Rawden, where I made my next and final visit in this very prosperous and hospitable district. CLYDESDALE2 .

References