History of Old Mt Bundey

COMING SOON
1935 Pastoral Leases - Mt Bundey

Mount Bundey Station was one of the first pastoral leases in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

The first lessee were brothers Frank and Hubert Fred Hardy, colourful and infamous Buffallo hunters. The property was abundant with wild buffalo that had bred up on the floodplains of the Adelaide River and Mary River. Hardy led a tough life hunting buffalo on horseback with a team of aboriginal stockmen and women and processed the buffalo for the lucrative hide market in Europe. A noted character and respected horseman, Fred Hardy was tragically killed in a horse race on the property in 1940 at the age of 59yrs. He is buried on a hill overlooking his beloved Mt Bundey station. Despite the tragic death of it's founder, Mt Bundey Station continued to grow and eventually comprised a large workforce, spread over vast tracts of the Northern Territory. The station encompassed huge areas of what is now the magnificent Kakadu National Park.

Large Map of Mt Bundey 1939

Old Mt Bundey Song Approx' 1938

Here are some details of the firearm.
Hollis Martini Henry sporting rifle, calibre .577/450, overall length 42 inches, barrel length 25½ inches, weight 7¼ pounds, blued finish, with the exception of the lever, which is colour case hardened. Serial number 18787 stamped on underside of action in front of trigger guard. Express sights as shown, safety lever on right side of action, barrel stamped I Hollis & Sons London. Right side of action engraved I Hollis & Sons. The 5-piece cleaning rod, which resides in the butt trap, is 30 inches long assembled.

The photos were taken about 1954, on Mt. Bundy, near Adelaide River, a buffalo lease then owned by the Perrett family. The photo below shows some typical ringer’s gear.
The spurs are Wave Hill spurs, made by Fred Gutte, who was the blacksmith on Wave Hill station in the 1950s.