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The gate to the property featured in the show quite often, when characters arrived or left, and even more when a new person became owner of the farm and a new name was added to the sign at the gate. The sign is not there anymore (it is now in the Gawler tourist information), but still it is very easy to recognize the gate, as it is just very distinctive.
It was wonderful to be there and to see the great view you have from the spot.
It was a fantastic feeling and I somehow felt like Tess returning to Drovers Run after many, many years :-) It was probably the most romantic moment of the whole day.
Written Dec 30, 2011
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I think I will never forget the moment when we drove past the gate, a little further, and then suddenly saw the main building. In real it was even more beautiful than in the show. Its beautiful colour in-between the gum trees, the sand and golden colour of the hills, and its elegant architecture in contrast to the nature surrounding it... No wonder that the creators of the show fell in love with this place. The property really had a huge part in the magic of the show, and I understood this even more when I was there and saw the place for real.
Of course Drovers Run is only the fictional name for the property, in reality is is called Kingsford. The property is 55ha big, so not anywhere near the size of the fictional farm.
The house was built of Edinburgh sandstone, the process of building took thirty years and was completed in 1856.
I think that it really meant much that the show was filmed in a real, historical building, not in an artifical place, because you really feel that when you watch it.
The house is quite run down, but that only added to the atmosphere and seemed credible as there was always a lack of rescources on Drovers Run, and they always struggled to keep the farm going, which provided for many entertaining stories and adventures.
It was a totally weird and unreal feeling to suddenly stand in front of this legendary building. It was much smaller than I had expected, but it was indeed very beautiful and had a very special atmosphere. To walk around there and see all the familiar corners and details felt more like a dream, and yet I have very distinct memories of it.
Updated Dec 30, 2011
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Of course we were also able to just walk around the buildings and see the farm. This was very interesting because it was possible to see how big the area really is and how long it takes to walk from one building to the next. In the show it of course looks as if they just walk from spot to spot very fast all day, but seriously you need quite some time to for example walk from the shearer's huts to the stables, or from the main building to the big sheds. It was interesting to see that most of the farm buildings were actually used in the show, so they really made good use of all this place had to offer, and somehow, this makes it a little more realistic.
It was also great to see that the hills and ranges surround the farm and that you really can see that beautiful landscape from here. It must have been wonderful to work here as part of the crew and be in these surroundings all the time.
And I just found it to be a weird feeling to navigate this foreign place and not know the way at all, but then to recognize everything I saw!
Written Dec 30, 2011
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At the beginning of this tip I must point out that usually you cannot enter the main building. That I was allowed to do so was an extreme case of luck! Just when we arrived, there was a man viewing the building as he wanted to hire it for a function, so the guide asked if we could just sneak in for a few minutes, and the responsible person said yes. So we hurried into the house and could not believe our luck!!!
It was absolutely wonderful, especially as it so much exceeded my expectations. I had not even known that we could go beyond the gate, so now I was completely stunned when we were allowed to go inside the main building because we were there just at the right moment!
We did not have much time, but could walk from room to room and take some pictures. It was absolutely fascinating because I recognized everything from the show, it was just like returning to a place I knew from my memory, and yet it was different from TV - much smaller than I had expected, and of course the furniture was lacking.
But again: This was an extreme case of luck, usually it is not allowed to go into the house, so rather don't hope for it.
Picture 1: Dining room
Picture 2: Kitchen
Picture 3: I think this might be Tess' room, but I'm not sure
Picture 4: Staircase
Picture 5: Charlotte's room - note the big spot on the wall, this is where Claire tried to clean a small spot in the middle of the night when she was pregnant.
Updated Dec 30, 2011
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We were surprised to find some props inside the building, and it was funny to have a look at them. They had apparently been left by the team and were in a small dark room.
Picture 1: A Gungellan Fresh sign, used for the farming corporation founded in Gungellan
Picture 2: An advertising poster for Meg's candidacy for the council
Picture 3: I don't know what exactly signs like this are used for, and why it was in the main building and not in the cottage.
Updated Dec 30, 2011
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Meg's Cottage is a small building located next to the main building, and it is where Meg lives in the beginning of the series. Later, Terry moves in with her, and when they leave the show, it becomes Stevie's home.
It was fantastic that we were actually allowed to walk in there and see the rooms, although the only thing I recognized was the kitchen with the big green oven. The interior of the cottage did not feature so often in the show and I was not really sure which room was what. But again, it was a crazy feeling to be in that building.
Between the main building and the cottage, there is of course Meg's garden where she grew vegetables and also had some chicken. I recognized this immediately and apart from that it looked a bit wild and there was a lot of weed, it looked exactly like in the show!
Updated Dec 30, 2011
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Aaaah, the veranda :-)
Yes, this really is the famous and beloved veranda. So beautiful, and home to some of the most touching scenes of the show. It is an all-time favourite when characters are sitting on this veranda in the evening, preferably with a beer and their favourite dog, and look out into the bush thinking about their day, their beloved ones, or what they hope for the future... Don't you wish to sit there, too?
Well, it was probably one of my very best moments in Australia to suddenly be on this veranda. Although even then I was not really a fan of the show anymore, it was as if a dream came true. Totally crazy, and even now I cannot believe that I have been there and that it is really me who is in that photo!!!
Written Dec 30, 2011
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The shearer's huts are a favourite place of most fans of the series, as this is where the employees of Drovers Run live - first Becky and Jodi, later Jodi and Kate. It gives the background to good friendship, love problems, funny evenings with chips and chocolate, and many moves of different people.
To see the shearer's huts on a hill about eighty metres from the main building was an exciting moment. I could not believe that I was really seeing them! From far, they looked exactly like in the show, and I half expected Jodi to come out and invite me for some chocolate.
When watching the series, you just see all those places, but you have no real idea where everything is located on the property, so to see the real location now and how far the huts really are from the main building was very interesting.
Coming closer, I saw that the huts were actually very decayed. The buildings were not well maintained and looked very run down, parts of them were even broken. This is kind of said, but then, why should they be maintained if there is no more filming done.
I was all alone and it was a bit eery when I even walked into the rooms - like intruding into someone else's place, although of course I knew that nobody actually lived here.
It felt and looked like being in a ghost building, with dirt and broken things, but still so full of memories.
I was very surprised when I saw a whole in the wall - it is actually the hole that Jodi had smashed into there when she wanted to move in with Becky, but actually discovered Becky and Jake kissing in the other room.
It was so astonishing to really discover that hole and to remember the scene from the show - as if it really had happened.
Pictures 1 to 3 show the huts, picture 4 shows the hole in the wall, and picture 5 shows the way from the huts to one of the farm buildings, so it gives a rough idea of how far the distances on the property actually are. If you walk left at the end of this walk, you come to the farm buildings where straw and feed were stored, and then to the main building.
Updated Dec 30, 2011
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Reviews and photos of Gawler attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Gawler sightseeing.
The shearer's huts are a favourite place of most fans of the series, as this is where the employees of Drovers Run live - first Becky and Jodi, later Jodi and...
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The 10th of December was a day I had dreamed of for a long time: I did a McLeod's Daughters tour, to visit the places where this Australian TV series was filmed. Usually I am not a person who watches...
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