Photos
| Built | 1913 by Fred Lampe (site used since 1860s) |
| Condition | ★★★☆☆ (restored; some work remains) |
| Location | 15 km north of Kiandra, near Six Mile Diggings |
| Alternate Names | Lampes House, Gooandra Hut |
| 1860s | Miners built a small hut; chimney still visible |
| 1913 | Fred Lampe built the homestead using materials from Lobbs Hole |
| 1970s | Wool shed nearby remained until late 1970s |
| 1990s | Structure nearly collapsed; restoration began |
| Present | Standing; restoration ongoing; fireplace rebuilt |
Gooandra Homestead is one of the oldest and most historically significant structures in Kosciuszko National Park, located about 15 km north of Kiandra near the Six Mile Diggings. The site’s origins trace back to the 1860s, when miners built a small hut—its chimney still visible about 20 metres from the current homestead. The standing homestead itself was built in 1913 by Fred Lampe, who transported materials from Lobbs Hole by bullock wagon, a feat that reflects the determination and resourcefulness of early alpine settlers.
The homestead became the centre of a successful sheep grazing operation, with a wool shed nearby and a kitchen run by a German cook known as “Jack Jones.” In 1915, Lampe famously sent 3,000 sheep from Coonamble to Tumut by train, then walked them to Gooandra—a journey of over 400 miles. Grazing continued until the 1960s, after which the homestead was left to deteriorate. By the 1970s, it was described as a ruin, with rotting stumps and collapsing walls.
Thanks to a detailed conservation study and the efforts of volunteers and NPWS, Gooandra was restored in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The fireplace was rebuilt using original stones and bricks, and the structure was re-stumped, weatherproofed, and gradually repaired. Temporary windows were replaced, internal walls reconstructed, and the northern verandah was rebuilt following the original footprint. The homestead now consists of four rooms and a breezeway hallway, with timber floors, lining, and weatherboards. Though other buildings like the stables are now ruins, the main house remains in good condition and continues to evoke the pioneering spirit of the high country.
The homestead measures approximately 13m × 12m and consists of four rooms and a breezeway hallway. It features timber floors, internal lining, and weatherboard cladding. There are three separate entrance doors, with most visitors entering via the kitchen door on the southern side.
Nearby ruins include remnants of substantial stables and the original miners’ hut chimney, still standing about 20 metres from the homestead.
HERB HAIN - Interviewed by Klaus Hueneke, 1 March 1982 2
KH: Gooandra was the little kitchen down the back, with the old chimney, that was still standing was it?
HH: You could still use that, when I first went in there, back in the 40s.
KH: And the homestead too of course?
HH: Yes, it was quite good all the time, I remember when the Cardwells bought the butter churn up from Ando - somewhere or other - they used to put all their gear in it and lock it in - they bought it from a dairy. It was on the back verandah there for years and years - they used to lock all their personal gear in it. Butter was made in it down the coast or wherever they got it from and they brought it up and set it on the back verandah at the old hut. The biggest Rhubarb that I've seen has grown on it - and it's been there for over 50 years and it's still there because I had a feed of it in 1980.
KH: At Gooandra?
HH: Yes, beautiful Rhubarb. The whole thing was eaten out by those wingless grasshoppers and the rabbits when I was there and they hadn't touched the Rhubarb plant, so they don't like it. We took a lot of it and took it away and boiled it up one night, had it for breakfast next morning, out on the Kiandra plain.
Restoration has been guided by KHA and NPWS, with ongoing work to stabilize and interpret the site. The homestead is a key waypoint on the Gooandra Trail and is accessible via walking, riding, or 4WD from the Snowy Mountains Highway.
Notes from 'Kosciuszko National Park Huts Conservation Strategy' October 20054