Trees falling in the forest

Zumsteins Picnic Ground was one of the locations that were affected by the Grampians bushfire in January this year.

A spruce prior to the fires

Now the National Parks people have confirmed that rangers will remove 80 pine trees, 27 of them at Zumsteins. The trees, nearly 100 years old bore the brunt of the fires which swept through the area. Planted in the 1920s they are part of the heritage of Walter Zumstein. Between 1934-35 Walter & Jean Zumstein built pise (rammed earth/clay) cottages using local earth and stone, and second-hand building materials. Walter was sympathetic to the environment and planted 100s of both rare native and exotic trees.

Radiata pines at the picnic ground

National Parks plan to replant with ornamental species which reflect the historic nature of the area.
Zumsteins Picnic Area and McKenzie Falls are both still closed to the public after the fire damage. Other sections of the National Park have been reopened, with Parks staff monitoring conditions during the wet months.

History in flames

The bushfire known as the Grampians, Northern Complex which raced through the northern sections of the national park and surrounding communities has left a trail of heartache as families have lost their homes, a life has been lost, hundreds of animals - stock and native fauna died or had to be shot, and acres of farm and bushland has been left a scorched husk.

Amid the devastation are a number of historic items now lost forever, notably the historic Rosebrook homestead, the building had been home to seven generations of the Carter family since 1858.

Rosebrook ablaze, from the Wimmera Mail Times

At the Grampians Horse Riding Adventures and Grampians Motor Museum, situated on Schmidt's Road, a number of the historic vehicles caught fire.

Fire glazed ute cabin, from Lynton Brown

Near Brimpaen this old 1800s farmhouse was burnt to the ground, luckily Lynton Brown had captured it in July last year, here is his 'then & now' image.

Brimpaen farmhouse, from Lynton Brown

We are yet to see the level of damage to the Zumsteins cottages, but they along with some of Walter's trees have been damaged.

Signs at Old Dadswells Town

There were close calls and as the media is reporting, parts of the area are now open for business and in need of support.

The edge of the fire at the entrance to Orchid Lane Cottages

100 years of Zumsteins

This weekend will celebrate 100 years of the Zumsteins Picnic Ground in the Grampians. The picnic ground re-opens after the severe damage of the 2011 floods.
  Walter Zumstein was born in Melbourne in 1885, of Swiss ancestry, about 1906 he came to the Grampians as a bee-keeper for W. Barnes of honey fame. Leaving Barnes, he took his bees in a wheelbarrow as far up the MacKenzie Creek as he could manage (the Shanty Crossing site) where he built a cottage and hives.

At the outbreak of World War I, Walter enlisted in the 5th Battalion and was in Scotland when he met his future wife Jean, they married in 1916 and returned to the Grampians in 1919. They had one daughter Jeannie, who moved to America. Walter died after a long illness in the Wimmera Base Hospital in 1963. His body was cremated and the ashes scattered at the back of their cottage.


 
Between 1934-35 Walter & Jean built pise (rammed earth/clay) cottages using local earth and stone, and second-hand building materials. Walter was sympathetic to the environment, if a rock was in the way, he just built around it, and improvised - holding the walls together is barbed-wire.

Some attempts were made to restore the cottages and surrounds a number of years ago when the Picnic and parking areas were updated. 



Unfortunately  the cottages have suffered from vandalism and decay.

 The cottages and surrounding gardens, tennis court and swimming pool provided accommodation for the tourists increasingly attracted to the area, then and now.

Walter planted 100s of trees both native and exotic (the pictured gum is believed to be the only specimen existing in Victoria). 
There was an attempt to remove the exotic trees - as not being indigenous to the national park - but after some public outcry, most remain. 



The camellias and bulbs still flower in spring alongside the wattles.