Discover Gemalla

Gemalla brings together historic homes with a history spanning several phases of use. Glen-Eden House on Eusdale Creek, the ruins of Gemalla Cottage and the later use of the homestead as a Scout Camp give the place a range of historical connections. There is also an 18-stop tour whose scenic drive passes through Gemalla. When choosing a holiday rental for a trip focused on history, you can decide whether these themes match your interests.

Glen Eden and Gemalla Cottage

The house known as “Glen Eden” was built from wattle and daub beside Eusdale Creek. Its construction and position by the creek distinguish it in the description from Gemalla Cottage, which is now a ruin. Brick, timber and corrugated iron remain there from its walls, foundations and roof. The two names refer to different buildings and should not be conflated into a single structure.

Gemalla Cottage was built between 1915 and 1916, southeast of the main house, for Mabel and her husband Jack Edmonds. “Southeast” describes the cottage’s position in relation to the main house. This distinction helps to understand the history of the place not only through its names, but also through the different surviving traces of its buildings.

The Reakes family lived at Gemalla until 1936. Glen-Eden House is also one of the historic sites associated with residential use and the settlement of reserves. Both connections broaden the picture beyond the individual buildings: alongside the cottage’s construction and condition, the site’s use is connected with residential life and settlement. The year 1936 marks when the Reakes family stopped living at Gemalla.

From homestead to Scout Camp

In 1968, the Forestry Commission leased the homestead and a surrounding area of 4 ha to the NSW Scout Association for use as “Gemalla” Scout Camp. The Scout Association of NSW (Golden West Region) has been associated with Gemalla since 1968. The camp use is also linked to a distinctive story on Eusdale Creek: the Scout Association installed a railway carriage as a bridge for vehicles and pedestrians across the creek. This describes a past use and the bridge at the time; it does not indicate that the bridge has a function today.

For families who enjoy bringing different themes together on a trip, there are several points of interest: the buildings and their construction, the history of residential life and settlement, and the site’s former use as a camp. You can consider whether these historical aspects should be the focus of your trip. The bridge story adds an unusual detail to the history of the place, while the cottage ruins offer a different view of the surviving traces of buildings than the house known as Glen Eden.

A scenic drive through Gemalla

Greening Bathurst’s Scenic and Natural History Tour 2 is an 18-stop tour whose scenic drive passes through Gemalla. This means that, alongside the stories of the buildings, the place is also associated with a tour focused on scenery and natural history. When planning your trip, you can take this distinction into account: Gemalla’s historical connections shape interest in the buildings and their use, while the tour is described as a scenic drive through the place.

When choosing a holiday rental, a useful starting point is therefore the kind of trip you want: would you like to include Gemalla for its historical connections, or are you particularly interested in the scenic tour? The themes described can help guide your decision without presenting different experiences as a single walk or assigning them a particular order.

Other places in this selection: Wisemans Ferry, Jeremadra, Mount Tomah, Mount Colah, Clunes, Canowindra, Woomargama, Rankins Springs.

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.