Pioneers of GilgunniaPrint Page

The plaque and memorial tree commemorate the centenary of Gilgunnia and are in memory of the pioneers.

The founders of Old Gilgunnia were known to the locals to be Henry Kruge and his wife Sidwell nee Willcocks who had been travelling from Clare in South Australia, perhaps to the major town in the outback of New South Wales, Bourke. As hawkers in their bullock wagon, they moved along the river systems of South Australia and New South Wales, sometime around the early 1860s. After they crossed the Lachlan and were roughly half way to Bourke, they came to a valley of trees and long grass with hills around. It is said that hills dotted with native pines, outcrops of rocks and a wonderful display of wildflowers reminded Sidwell of her home in Clare. Henry was capable in blacksmithing and operated a sawmill. Sidwell was quite able to run a store and a wayside inn, or Shanty as such places were called. With grocery items available and a liquor licence, it is not surprising that a small village settlement grew up in the area.

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