Walter ZumsteinPrint Page

The monument commemorates Walter Zumstein, a beekeeper and nature lover, who arrived in the area in 1910 and pioneered the Grampians area.  

Walter Zumstein first visited this site in 1906 while working as a young beekeeper for Barnes Honey. In 1910, he established his own apiary, with 60 hives and a small timber cottage. He saw active service in World War One, and when he returned to Australia with his Scottish wife Jean, he decided to supplement their modest income by establishing a small 'tourist retreat.'

During the 1930s the couple built three pisé, or rammed earth cottages, plus a tennis court and a large swimming pool. Water for the pool was taken from the nearby MacKenzie River. Soil excavated to create the swimming pool was used to build the cottages. The cottages are recognised on the Victorian Heritage Register as some of the very few pisé buildings using local materials from the early 20th century.

The couple remained at Zumsteins until the late 1950s, when they moved to Horsham. Walter and his wife was perceived as a gentle couple who, through hard work, had created an oasis that they loved and wanted others to enjoy too. Walter Zumstein died in October 1963. His ashes were scattered at Zumsteins.

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