Australian Country Homes – September 2019

88 Australian Country HOMES

of them. With surrounding peaks of 1100

metres reaching skyward, the Bunya

Mountains rise dramatically out of the

surrounding farmland plains. Thought to

be the remains of an old shield volcano,

the area is a haven of biodiversity and

home to the world’s largest stand of ancient

bunya pines and Queensland’s second

oldest national park (1908). It has huge

signifi cance in Aboriginal culture as a

gathering place for generations, coinciding

with the seasonal drop of bunya cones that

contain edible nuts. Today these gatherings

are referred to as bunya festivals, and were

the setting for dealing with a vast array

of important matters, ceremonies, law-

making and resolving disputes, renewing

friendships, passing on lore, sharing ideas

and revitalising spirituality, according to

Queensland’s Department of National

Parks, Sports and Racing.

The dense forest also attracted loggers

and European settlement in the mid-

1800s, and swathes of timber were felled,

including those sacred and ancient bunya

pines. It wasn’t until about 1917, despite

These pages: Scandi style prevails in the living and sleeping areas and there’s ample connection to the

spectacular bushland setting of the Bunya Mountains in Queensland’s South Burnett region. ›