Bushy Park

One of the things about cataloguing at Old Gippstown is that we ultimately create a record for everything - including all the buildings. Researching them has been a particular joy.

The building above is Bushy Park, on site, tucked away in a corner to give it some remoteness from the "town". This is the oldest section from the buildings at Bushy Park, between Boisdale and Briagolong, a station established in the 1840s by Gippsland pastoralist Angus McMillan. It was built in the late 1840s, using pit-sawn timber, and added to over the years.

Which is why we were delighted to find this photograph of it in an album loaned by Ollie Dobratz, who moved the building to the park in 1969 - forty years ago.

You can see a larger copy HERE.

This photograph shows the section on the left that was moved to Metung, and the section in the centre front, that was moved to Old Gippstown. Behind them is the Billiard Room, which was demolished on site. To the right, almost totally out of the picture (you can just see a corner), is the section that remained on site.

We are fortunate indeed that Ollie has preserved this collection. Our early records are very important to us, so we were also very happy to receive the Minute Books of the Ladies Auxilliary (Later the Old Gippstown Pioneers) last week. They will add immeasurably to the collection