Kundip Townsite

Child Places

• 13983 Kundip School Site
• 14059 Kundip Half Way House

Statement of Significance

In 1899 Baldy Halberts was the first to find alluvial gold in the area and received a Reward Claim. The same year the Dallison brothers found gold whilst out shooting kangaroos. They found a malice fowl's nest where the soil scratched up showed traces of gold. They investigated and found payable dirt. As the sea near Hopetoun was visible from this point they called their claim Harbour View. In 1901 the town was surveyed- streets named and people moved in. On 10th October 1901 John Henry Moody established a hotel on Lot 17, later called Half Way Hotel The present bitumen road goes through the site where this hotel was, shops, school, houses, hall, earth tennis courts followed. The railway from Hopetoun reached Kundip in 1908 with a siding at the Government Dam one kilometre north of the town. At this time Kundip had 43 businesses and private homes including railway barracks and a 25 head government battery was constructed to crush the ore mined in the area. Gold and copper were mined.
Kundip went downhill when large scale mining petered out after WWI. By the 1920's only a few families were left but the town kept going on a very small scale with one shop/post office and still the hotel and school. Kundip was rejuvenated in the early 1930's when Claude de Bernales spent a lot of money on diamond drilling in the area which resulted in new plant and workings being put into the Beryl mine. The Beryl had a timber overhead which was dismantled around 1988. His company opened up some of the old mines and by 1936, 150 men were employed working in three shifts. The town came alive again with new staff housing, an upgraded school in the hall, shops etc. However WWII was declared in 1939, manpower drifted away, finance needed elsewhere and the town died again - never to recover. The last building was removed in 1949. The hall went to Hopetoua in 1949 and the school to Ml Madden in 1932. The last person to camp there in a shack was Jack Leg who left in the mid 1970's.

Physical Description

Reserve containing 200 acres surveyed by Geo Reilly in March 1901 who named the streets. It was gazetted on 6th June 1901 in the name of Coondip. In December 1901 the name was change to Cundip to comply with geographical society's system of orthography of native names. On 31st January 1902 it was gazetted as Kundip. The Survey was extended in 1906 by surveyor Ellis. The streets were named Moody, Stennet, Dallison and Scadden. There remains parts of Lansell's old stone bakery, underground water lank, dam (still in use). The magazine or explosives armoury is on the east side of Hopetoun/Ravensthorpe road. Roadways are still visible with a horse and donkey camping ground to the south.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Parts of Lansell's old stone bakery, underground water
tank, dam (still in use), explosives armoury.

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.