Baronda, Heritage building in New South Wales, Australia.
Baronda is a former holiday house in Mimosa Rocks National Park on Nelson Lake Road at Nelson Lagoon, near Tanja. Designed by Graeme Gunn and built in 1968–69 by builder Kingsley Koellner with structural engineer Hamish Ramsay, it is also known as Yencken House. The timber-framed house stands on land once part of William Russell's 75-acre holding.
Baronda was built in 1968–69 as a holiday house for David Yencken, designed by Graeme Gunn with builder Kingsley Koellner and structural engineer Hamish Ramsay. The land had been William Russell's 75-acre selection, shown on the 1896 parish map. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service acquired the house and added it to the State Heritage Register on 29 November 2013.
The Bega Valley around Baronda is Djiringanj country; the south coast held separate groups in each valley, less mobile than inland peoples because food from land and sea was reliable. A local tradition holds that a hostile encounter during the 1797 Sydney Cove survivors' coastal walk, in which one sailor died, took place at Baronda after the Europeans entered a sacred men's site.
Baronda stands on Nelson Lake Road at Nelson Lagoon, near Tanja, inside Mimosa Rocks National Park, and is owned by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is a former holiday house, not a staffed site, so there are no guided tours or set opening hours; check with the park office before planning a visit. The German text claiming the building is accessible to visitors is wrong.
Baronda's site on Nelson Lagoon was once part of 75 acres owned by William Russell, shown on the 1896 parish map; his brother Thomas held the adjoining land to the south. The brothers were sons of Thomas and Margaret Russell, who came from County Donegal, Ireland. William died in 1919, Thomas in 1952.
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