General News
9 September, 2025
Volunteers drive repairs, restoration at Yurunga
YURUNGA'S YEARLY REPORT: I have the pleasure of presenting my Chairperson’s report for the Yurunga Homestead Community Asset Committee for 2024-2025.
At the conclusion of last financial year, the immediate priority of our committee was to rectify the combination of issues that were adversely affecting Yurunga’s south verandah and threatening the structure of the building.
These issues have caused water damage in the house, particularly in the underground room and the men’s den.
Improvements have been made to plumbing above the south verandah roof, so that storm water now clears more readily.
Similar work is planned for the west end of the house, where a spreader is needed to effectively drain the valley roof.
Extensive repairs have been made to the south wall in the underground room. Damp plaster has been removed, desalination treatment has been done and the wall has been rendered. The area is ready for painting.
A rebuild of the south verandah is now needed to protect this work and address remaining issues.
Verandah stumps need to be replaced to correct the fall of the decking. Several verandah posts need to be straightened.
The south verandah remains cordoned off for safety reasons. We would like to work with Council and our heritage consultants on options for funding and completing this urgent project.
Arrangements for Shire Community Asset Committees were changed last year. Yurunga office bearers are now elected every two years, while reporting to Council occurs annually. This is a reporting year.
New Yurunga committee members are most welcome at any time. To join, interested community members are asked to submit an expression of interest form to Hindmarsh Shire Council.
Our small volunteer committee of four has worked industriously throughout the year. We are all “hands on” at Yurunga.
Administrative work is constant, and we do a significant amount of physical work on the property, in both the house and garden.
Thanks very much to our Secretary/Treasurer Peter Solly for his ongoing commitment.
Many thanks to committee members Heather and Colin Drendel for initiating and completing some exciting special projects, particularly the reproduction of two Yurunga garden urns.
Lindsay Mew of “Art Station” in Elphingstone used the remnant of an original urn to create moulds and pour two new replica urns.
These will soon be placed on the original plinths at the front of the house.
Heather and Colin arranged the framing of donated historical certificates.
They were also instrumental in organising the conservation of one of Esther Liesfield’s paintings at Grimwade Conservation Services in Melbourne.
The painting and frame had been water damaged while on display. We are very thankful to Council for going ahead with the insurance claim on the work.
Thank you very much to our generous and reliable group of volunteers.
They help to keep Yurunga open regularly on Sundays, and they willingly assist with our group tours as tour guides and catering assistants. Their support is invaluable.
Thank you to past and present locals for their generous monetary donations and items for display.
The German made piano used by Esther Liesfield in Yurunga from 1912 to 1953 has been returned to the house, along with her piano stool, bamboo music stand and music.
We appreciate the support of the Chief Executive Officer, Monica Revell, Council Managers, Shire Councillors and staff.
Thank you to Mark Fletcher, Jeff Woodward, former Mayor Brett Ireland and Councillor Tony Clark for attending our meetings and following up on several matters.
Thanks also to outdoor worker Allan Roberts for mowing and helping to clear the garden shed.
Pigeon and termite control have been ongoing at Yurunga. Our garden shed has been cleaned out, lined and set up for our needs.
We took measures to prevent fruit fly in our heritage orchard. Collars were fitted to some trees to deter codling moth, and ant nests were sprayed.
Council applied for a National Library of Australia Community Heritage Grant to assess the significance of Yurunga’s collection, but was unsuccessful.
We hope to reapply in the next round. We understand that this grant is the first step in a process that will enable us to access grants to conserve some of our special exhibits.
In August 2024, Peter and I represented Yurunga at a reception in Nhill for the Victorian Governor, Professor Margaret Gardner AC.
We also attended a morning tea for Council volunteers in March this year at the Council Chambers in Nhill. In May we enjoyed a hearty Shire breakfast for local volunteers in Rainbow.
Rainbow and District Landcare Group sponsored a pruning workshop in the Yurunga heritage orchard with Rob and Kate Pelletier.
Rob owns a heritage fruit tree business and is an ABC radio garden expert. Those present were given a wealth of information, with demonstrations of pruning and equipment care.
In April, our committee liaised with the Rainbow Town Committee to host a very well attended barbeque at Yurunga to welcome new residents.
The Lions Club cooked the meat. We supplied salads, bread, slices and hot drinks. All enjoyed a pleasant evening.
More than 15 groups booked for tours of Yurunga this year. Four of these groups required catering.
These visitors included local and district people as well as those from towns and cities across Victoria. Expanding Horizons in Adelaide booked for a large Albury group.
Young Rainbow College students visited to see how people lived in the olden days. Hospital and Health Care groups, Probus clubs and historical societies were well represented.
Unusually, Spring was a quiet time for bookings, but we made up for it in Autumn.
The Seymour Heritage Railway visit to Rainbow in October, 2024 was a boost for us, with about 50 people visiting Yurunga.
The success of our day was largely due to the provision of a bus for ferrying visitors. Thank you to the Rainbow Town Committee for organizing the bus.
Thanks to bus driver Graham Nuske who encouraged visitors aboard.
Our busiest month was October, 2024, when we welcomed 94 visitors.
On Sundays, our quietest time was during the hot months of December, January and February. We had a total of 440 visitors for this financial year.
Our volunteers doing Sunday duty and assisting with visitors by appointment recorded 230 hours of volunteer time this year.
Our committee members recorded an additional 790 volunteer hours. We also donated materials, fuel and the use of equipment and machinery.
We are anticipating another busy and rewarding year at Yurunga, as we continue our efforts to protect, improve, care for and promote the property on behalf of the community.
Please contact us if you wish to join us on the committee or Sunday duty roster.