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Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue

Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue

Not far from the Gunnedah Water Tower Museum and located in a small park the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue acknowledges this famous Australian Poet’s connection to the Gunnedah district.

Dorothea is shown as a young woman sitting side-saddle on her horse, and gazing into the distance.

Dorothea Mackellar

Known for her poem My Country, perhaps the best known Australian poem, Dorothea Mackellar, OBE (1885 – 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer.

The Mackellar family owned several properties in the Gunnedah area, including “Kurrumbede” and “The Rampadells” on the Blue Vale Road near Gunnedah. Dorothea Mackellar, found the inspiration for My Country on her brother’s property Kurrembede where she witnessed the breaking of a severe drought.

The inscription on the statue contains lines from the poem My Country, possibly Australia’s most famous poem.

” I LOVE A SUNBURNT COUNTRY 
A LAND OF SWEEPING PLAINS
OF RAGGED MOUNTAIN RANGES  
OF DROUGHTS AND FLOODING RAINS… “

Other Dorothea Mackellar Sites in Gunnedah

Depicted on the historic Gunnedah Maize Mill is a fantastic piece of silo art of Dorothea Mackellar. An impressive sight, because it stands over 20m tall.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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