Once home to the poet of Australia, Adam Lindsay Gordon, the heritage-listed ‘Dingley Dell Cottage’ houses memorabilia of the poet and horseman where he spent nearly three years from 1864 until he moved to Ballarat in 1867 with his wife Maggie and baby daughter, Annie Lindsay. The cottage was a source of inspiration for his poetry, and from where he trained and rode many of his horses.
When Gordon was elected to the South Australian Parliament in March 1865, he rented a house at Glenelg, and Dingley Dell became their summer residence, and also their home between parliamentary sittings. During one of these visits, Gordon planted the fig tree and dug the well, both still there.
It was also during his time staying at Dingley Dell, that he sent many racing rhymes to the sporting paper Bell’s Life and the Australasian. It seems he found the peace and serenity of Dingley Dell and the nearby Southern Ocean (connected by several bridle paths) inspired him to write many of his poems which he contributed to various publications, some under one of his several nom de plumes.
When purchased from George Randall on 8 March 1864, section 138, on which the cottage sits, covered 101 acres, for which he paid £350.
Over the 150 years since Adam Lindsay Gordon’s death on 24 June 1870, there have been many pilgrimages to both his grave in Brighton General Cemetery, and also to Dingley Dell Cottage, Port MacDonnell.
A four-hour opening of the cottage on 17 May 2025 has been organised, through the auspices of National Parks and Wildlife Limestone Coast, by the Adam Lindsay Gordon Commemorative Committee Inc., formed in 2006 to preserve and commemorate the works and memorabilia of the poet.
Adam Lindsay Gordon is the only Australian poet to have a bust in Westminster Abbey; there is also a replica bust in Penola. Renowned also for his horsemanship, especially steeplechasing, Gordon was posthumously inducted into the Australian Jumps Racing Association’s Gallery of Champions in 2014, and in 2023 he became a Colonial Era Inductee to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
A gold coin donation will assist the organisation in the maintenance and preservation of, among other things, Gordon’s grave in Brighton General Cemetery, Melbourne, which is in progress. Apart from regular maintenance of the gravesite, the four main marble plaques on the monument which had deteriorated have now been replaced, thanks to a generous donation, and the committee has also installed an informative plaque at the site.
Open Saturday, 17 May, 10 am – 2 pm
Dingley Dell Conservation Park, 10 Milsteads Rd, Port MacDonnell
Due to the small size of the cottage, bookings are required by phone or email, to Lorraine Day, 0417 856 963, or adamlindsaygordon@gmail.com
A guided tour of Dingley Dell Cottage, a short talk, and poetry reading, will be at 11 am and 1 pm.
The book Gordon of Dingley Dell: The life of Adam Lindsay Gordon will also be available to purchase on the day, signed by the author.