Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards winners may get the chance to walk the hall of the late poet's former residence next year.
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It is hoped that the 2020 awards can be held at Kurrumbede where Mackellar is thought to have found inspiration for her most famous poem My Country.
This would take place while a three-year garden restoration is being carried out and depends on negotiations between the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society and the property owner Whitehaven Coal.
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The society has been busy delivering this year's national poetry awards but is now working on terms of reference and "action milestones" with Whitehaven.
"The society looks forward to progressing the garden with Whitehaven. We have a good collaborative relationship and are confident that it will occur, although the current drought is presenting obvious difficulties with timing," society president Juliana McArthur said.
"It may not be until next autumn that actual planting begins, however, the society is hopeful that the awards might be held at Kurrumbede in 2020."
Mrs McArthur said the plan will include access, how to develop the site, water infrastructure and plantings "with a focus on sustainability and historical accuracy".
"A document has been drafted and the society is to consider it shortly," she said.
Related story: Piece of Kurrumbede's history finds new home in Mackellar
Whitehaven announced $500,000 over a three-year period for the restoration project in April and the society has since requested that the property be fenced.
"Whitehaven Coal has fenced an area around all of the outbuildings on Kurrumbede, at its expense, to keep livestock out and assist in their preservation. This is very welcome," Mrs McArthur said.
Whitehaven's Michael van Maanen said the company was also looking at "various water supply options for Kurrumbede in light of the continuing drought conditions".
"We have a terms of reference arrangement with the committee that is well advanced and we're building a good working relationship together," he said.
Ms McArthur said the society also hoped to see the outbuildings restored in the future in partnership with Whitehaven.
The society nominated the house, outbuildings and grounds for the State Heritage Register in late 2018.
