Blundells Cottage, Stone cottage near Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Australia.
Blundells Cottage is a six-room stone cottage on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. Built about 1858 for ploughman William Ginn, it was extended in 1888 with a south wing and front verandah by the Blundell family. The cottage retains its colonial stone construction and is managed as a museum.
George Campbell built the cottage around 1858 for his ploughman William Ginn, who lived there with his family until 1874. George Blundell, Campbell's bullock driver, then rented it and stayed for about 60 years, adding a south wing and front verandah in 1888. The Blundells remained after the Duntroon estate passed to the Commonwealth in 1913; Harry and Alice Oldfield moved in in 1933.
The cottage displays how working families managed their homes and routines in rural Australia during the 1800s. The exhibits reveal the practical details of daily life on farming estates.
The cottage stands on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, reached via Wendouree Drive off Parkes Way. It is managed by the National Capital Authority as a museum. The interior is viewed on guided tours; check current opening times before visiting.
After Alice Oldfield died in 1958 the cottage was slated for demolition; Sir William Holford proposed keeping it as a museum instead, and the National Capital Development Commission renovated it. The Canberra and District Historic Society ran it until 1990, and the National Capital Authority now manages it.
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