Kyneton Dry Stone Walling
TANDERRUM
farm & learning centre
Tanderrum is a lovely 200 acre (80 hectare) rural property located 5km north of Kyneton.
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The name is derived from the Ja Ja Warring tribe that first inhabited the land that currently hosts our farm and walling centre. It means "Welcome” and was chosen by Jim and Carmel as the farm name to reflect their role as temporary custodians of the land.
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Both Jim and Carmel come from very large families (Carmel is one of seven sisters and Jim is one of five siblings) and it was a dream to create a welcoming space for their extended family and friends to experience country life.
The property features original dry stone walls built between 1855-1864 by Dr. Edward Davy, a notable physician and surgeon, chemist, inventor, distiller and wine merchant, journalist, newspaper editor, farmer, botanist, and civil servant.
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​An old campsite for Davy's farm workers is now the location of Kyneton Dry Stone Walling's learning centre. This historic site includes dry stone animal yards and dry stone wells for the collection of water. Some of the trees have been dated back to around 1860. Tanderrum's olive grove surrounds the area with magnificent views and sunsets towards Mt Alexander.
The training centre was built from scratch with a focus on student safety and optimising each students learning experience. Dry stone training walls were constructed from imported mudstone to enable students to easily grasp the principles of dry stone walling.
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Davy's 120-year-old shearing shed was a beautiful structure incorporating a shingle roof. The students utilised the shed for morning tea and lunch. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a large storm in 2019. The plan is to rebuild the shearing shed for the comfort of students and guests.
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Tanderrum remains a working sheep farm and includes1200 olive trees that produce oil for commercial sale.