Bundaleer Festival: Ron takes in music in the forest in the Mid North region of South Australia
Jamestown is a pretty mid-north town which is the centre of a productive agricultural and pastoral district. When the first pastoralist, John Bristow Hughes took up his holding here he named his property Bundaleer - from the aboriginal word meaning "amongst the hills". Scattered amongst those nearby hills today is the Bundaleer Forest Reserve - about 8 kms south of the town. It's an historic spot as it's the site of the first forest planted by any Government in Australia. And it's beginnings were very basic.
John Voumard, Bundaleer Festival: "The display at the Jamestown museum tells the story of the very beginnings of the Bundaleer Forest. It was simply a bare site and there was recognition by government that the Burra mines had taken a lot of the timber around the countryside and as they moved from pastoral to farming pursuits they needed fence posts. So the government set up Bundaleer Forest as an experimental forest. Mr Curnow, the first curator, was sent out from the Botanic Gardens in 1876 and he pioneered the technique of growing seedlings in bamboo tubes. The bamboo beds are still out at Bundaleer and the nursery beds can still be seen by people visiting the forest today."
Photos at the museum attest it was time consuming work as forestry workers placed one tree seed in each and every bamboo container.
John Voumard, Bundaleer Festival: "The bamboo container was the precursor of the plastic tube that was adopted by every nursery throughout the world. And it started here in Jamestown."
We owe a lot to Mr. Curnow and those who propagated seeds in this very hands-on way. Wander around many a South Australian building site today and chances are much of the timber used will be pinus radiata. It was trialed at Bundaleer and found to be the most suitable pine for South Australian conditions.
Wander around the Bundaleer Forest's Arboretum today and you'll come across many experimental plantings which make the perfect setting for the Bundaleer Festival Musicians and singers from around Australia gather to make some magic in the forest.
John Voumard, Bundaleer Festival: "Bundaleer is now firmly established on the music calendar. At this festival there's a slightly broader focus on the music. So we've got David Hobson and Silvie Paladino singing, Tim Sexton from the Adelaide Art Orchestra and a massive concert with James Morrison. We're also bringing back Andy Firth from Newcastle - the extraordinary clarinetist. Not enough Australians have heard him. He's very well known in the United States. He grew up in Port Augusta and the Bundaleer Festival is a chance to hear his exceptional music making again this year."
The Bundaleer Festival near Jamestown is on from Friday the 8th of April until Sunday April the 10th. For bookings and information contact the Bundaleer Festival Office on 08 8664 0455.
Bundaleer Festival
Jamestown
8-10 April 2011Published 27th March 2011
