Gudgenby Homestead Conservation Canberra

Endearingly referred to as Gudgenby in a Box, the Gudgenby Homestead project echoes the history of settlement in the Gudgenby Valley, ACT. It entices visitors to the Namadgi National Park Visitors Centre to consider the pioneer heritage of southern ACT, providing a lightweight shelter for the fragments of history beneath.

The timber slabs of this interpretive shelter are built from the remnants of the original Gudgenby Homestead that sheltered pioneer families from 1845 to 1964. They had been stored in a container for many decades awaiting a rebirth. A survey of the retained material revealed sufficient building components to reconstruct the front wall. Hence, the idea of a finely crafted, contextual display box to house the wall was developed - Gudgenby in a Box.

The shelter design pays homage to the vernacular form of the original hut through its corrugated iron roof and steel and timber structure. The design also incorporates rammed earth, in reference to another common early settler building system.

The sheltering structure was designed in collaboration with Scott Bland of Northrop Engineers, and the reconstruction of the slab wall was carried out by craftsman Myles Gostelow.