The garden surrounding the main homestead is acknowledged as one of the great country gardens of Australia. First planted in the 1920’s, the garden was re-designed in 1949 by the pioneer of Australian landscape gardening Edna Walling. The pergola of blue and white wisteria, the stunning golden and weeping elms, the profusion of roses, the stone-walled garden and the sweeping lawn down to a small lake are all part of the Walling signature.
Walling was determined to exemplify and take advantage of the glorious natural scenery of paddocks and hills and today silver birch, aspens, pinoaks, hawthorns, golden elms, golden ash and claret ash, spireas, viburnums and native eucalypts shelter and frame the garden without obscuring the view.
Overall the garden remains substantially as Edna Walling originally planned. A characteristic of her work, are the dry stone walls constructed by E. R. Hammond, the sweeping lawns merging with mown paddock; informal curving paths leading the eye onward to the enchanting hidden depths of the garden and to the hills beyond.
Today garden enthusiasts or those who simply like a stroll or picnic can enjoy the garden in its full glory, when staying at the farm stay or on open garden days.
Phil, our Head Gardener, is constantly look to improve the beauty in sympathy with Walling’s vision and at the moment as the trees begin to shed their leaves in shades it is a truly magical place.
Markdale has a rich history, much of which is associated with the introduction and development of polo in Australia as well as the breeding of fine merino sheep.
The first known owner of Markdale, Mr William Marks (1858), bought 640 acres of present Markdale land (then known as Slete’s Gully) in 1858. Upon it he built a tiny slab cottage which survives to this day beside the Farm Stay.
In fact some historians note that this slab hut was built to house the Horse and Jockey Inn.
Markdale grew in size from this time onwards and in 1920 was bought by James Ashton, parliamentary member for Goulburn 1901-1908 (Minister for Lands), father of the world famous Ashton Polo Team and grandfather of the former owners, Mr and Mrs Geoffrey Ashton.
Mr and Mrs James Ashton chose a site on a slope to build their new Homestead, a single storey traditional family home enclosed by deep verandahs, using concrete blocks made from a single mould on site with timber cut and milled on the property.
Markdale was the pastoral home of the Ashton family for three generations.
Markdale provided a perfect venue for James Ashton’s four enthusiastic polo-playing sons (Jim, Robert, Geoff and Phil). A polo field and a hitting pit still remain to this day on the property.
In 2017 the Ashton family sold Markdale to the Edwards family who have four sons of their own.
For those who have yet to visit Markdale, we are a fully-operational merino sheep farm based outside Binda. We are about 3 hours from Sydney, 1.5 hours from Canberra and an hour from Goulburn. Fast Facts How many sheep are on Markdale now? Over 8,000. How many acres does Markdale cover? 6,300 acres Bloodlines? Our […]
Autumn was a busy time on the farm.
The rams and ewes were joined in March in preparation for lambing in late August and early September.
The shearing of the Markdale flock took place over the first two weeks in May.
In early June the entire flock was dipped for lice (a common problem in sheep that can eventuate if a pesky goat or two vaults a fence).
Fence work continues on the property – with close to 100km of fence on the property and it is a big (and constant) job to maintain.
Wood (plenty of it) has been chopped in anticipation of fires in winter (with plenty of marshmallows and red wine).
School holiday bookings are starting to come through for our comfortable accommodation at the Farm Stay.
We are taking bookings for Christmas in July with a special catered menu available.
Winter veggies have been planted into the family garden beds – broccoli, leek, cauliflower, onions, garlic, peas, beans and radishes
