Friends of Gawler Ranges National Park

The Friends of the Gawler Ranges National Park group was established in 2003. We have restored Pondanna Outstation which is now available for hire. The homestead has a new roof and the underground tanks have been cleaned out and reroofed. Lots of plastering, sanding and painting have taken place to complete the paint job inside. The Chaff shed has been cleaned and tidied and the chaff cutter restored.

The group has also been successful in receiving grant monies of $2000 from the State Friends of the Park group, and $3000 from the local District Conservator, to aid in their activities. Interpretive signs have been installed to show what it was like in the old days at Pondanna. Crops were grown at Pondanna and cut for hay and chaff to feed the horses that were used on the outlying stations. Pondanna is reportedly to receive as much rainfall as Minnipa (60 km to the south).

Old Paney Homestead has now had a face lift with the restoration of the tank walls and house walls through Restoration workshops. These workshops have been conducted twice a year and have been very successful. We have also restored 8 km of boundary fence with Yardea.

For more information, or to join, contact Leala Hoffmann phone: 0427 805 095 or Ian Westlake phone: 0427 802 220

The group usually meets the last weekend of every month from March until November each year.