Gundy is a tiny settlement on the Pages River. Realistically it is nothing more than a pub and a general store. The appeal lies in the area with its huge horse studs, its connections with famous families and high profile personalities, and its decidedly English ambience with rolling hills that are, most commonly, verdant and peaceful.

Location

Gundy is located on the Pages River 292 km north of Sydney via Scone and the New England Highway. It is 19 km east of Scone.

Origin of Name

There is some confusion over the name “Gundy”. Some sources argue that the first settler in the area, John Stewart, who surveyed the upper Hunter in the 1820s named his property ‘Gundah Gundah’ meaning ‘a camping place’ and that “Gundy” is just a corruption of that. Others claim the township was named after a Mrs Gundy who kept an inn on the Waverley Road. Some sources claim it was known as Bellevue when it was first established as a stop for teamsters in the early 1860s. And to complicate matters further there is a belief that “Gundy” is an Aboriginal word meaning either “trees”, “frog” or “place of stringybark”.

Things to See and Do

The Scenic Drive
Gundy Road heads east off the New England Highway at the southern end of Scone. This is a drive-through delightful, verdant countryside and past some of the finest horse studs in the country. The road passes turnoffs to Lake Glenbawn, Arrowfield horse stud, and Bellerive Stud. It is an area of extraordinary beauty and opulence. At 16 km the road crosses the Pages River and enters the tiny village of Gundy which now is little more than two churches and a hotel.

Gundy
As you enter the town from the south there is a bridge across the Pages River. Just before it is a dilapidated old Catholic Church of unknown vintage. The property of Bellevue, which gave its name to the village, lies behind the church. The homestead (c.1872) is a couple of hundred yards off the road on private property.

Linga Longa Inn
Located at 2 Riley Street, just past the bridge, is the Linga Longa Inn which is popular with the locals (it is the only hotel in town) and the people who work on the surrounding horse studs. It is located on the Pages River and has extensive gardens which are ideal for summer drinks. Over the road is a small park with a sign indicating the places in the area.

Gundy General Store
Rebecca Melville, who owns the store with Nicholas Thornton, writes: “We trade all day every day (bar Christmas and Boxing Days) and are known for our good honest burgers and excellent Genovese coffee, among other offerings. Our most common request is for ‘the Gundy’ a sandwich made from our own recipe corned beef, truss tomatoes, and mustard pickles. The store is also the last fuel stop before Barrington Tops, we sell both unleaded petrol and diesel. The store has also developed a reputation for selling quality second-hand goods, books, and bric a brac, with the occasional antique on offer.”

St Andrews Anglican Church
About 100 meters further along the road, and on the right, is the small St Matthew’s Anglican Church which was built in 1869.

Elmswood and the home of Phillip Adams
A few kilometers north of Gundy is a sign reading ‘Elmswood American Saddlebreds’. Miranee Road heads off to the left across the Pages River. Just on the other side, to the right, is a two-story brick house with bay windows owned by columnist and radio broadcaster, Phillip Adams.

History

• Prior to the arrival of Europeans the area around the Page and Hunter Rivers was occupied by the Geaweagal Aborigines.
• The first land grant near present-day Gundy was made out in 1826 to John Stewart who worked at Thomas MacQueens’ Segenhoe property and who surveyed the upper Hunter in the 1820s.
• The township was named after a Mrs Gundy who kept an inn on the Waverley Road to the north-east.
• In 1842 Ludwig Leichhardt tested his bush skills in the hills behind Belltrees.
• The village of Gundy was known as Bellevue, after the nearby property, when it came into existence in the early 1860s as a service center for miners.
• Gold was discovered at Stewarts Brook (named after John Stewart) and Moonan Brook in the 1860s.
• In 1867 Captain Thunderbolt held up a store at Moonan Brook and the pub at Denison.
• By 1881 the population had risen to 60 and the village had a school, post office and a couple of stores.
• The Victoria Hotel at Moonan Flat was built in 1890.
• Gundy was used as the setting for the film Smiley in 1956
• The countryside was used as a setting for The Shiralee in 1957.

Information Source – http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/gundy-nsw