Bruce Munday investigates mystery of South Australia's dry-stone walls

MYSTERIOUS and beautiful dry-stone walls traverse rural landscapes of South Australia, just as they do in Britain.

Science Reporter Clare Peddie
AdelaideNowDecember 10, 20128:02pm

Author Bruce Munday beside his hand-made dry-stone wall on his Tungkillo property, Dairy Springs. Picture: Mark BrakeSource:adelaidenow


Questions abound: How old are they? Who built them? What were they for and how can we preserve them?

As a child, Bruce Munday, of Tungkillo, thought the walls were built by convicts.

He was preoccupied with the image of "unshaven men in navy blue and white hoops stacking stones while towing ball and chain under the watchful gaze of stern guards".

It was not until much later in life that he discovered most walls were crafted by Scottish and Irish tradesmen, often brought out to Australia for that very purpose.

Mr Munday said he had always admired the stone wall on the property next door, so he was shocked when a neighbour pushed their section over simply because it was old.

He realised someone had to document the heritage of these magnificent stone walls - built without mortar or with no more than mud as glue - before it was too late.

The former physicist, science teacher and communications consultant-turned-stone-wall spotter embarked on a voyage of discovery, from the South-East to the Rangelands, the Mt Lofty Ranges to the West Coast.

Together with his wife, photographer Kristin, Mr Munday visited hundreds of walls, ranging from the 60km Camel's Hump wall through the Mid-North, to remnants of sheds and stables merely metres long.

"I love seeing what other people have done with stone, marvelling at the enormity, durability, craftsmanship and diversity of their creations," he said. "And I discovered the great depth of feeling others have for 'their walls'."

In journals, prolific wall creator Joseph Keynes of Keynton Station described his methods.

The early settlers had lost wooden fences to bushfires, but they had a lot of stone. Mr Keynes saw an opportunity to clean paddocks and build a fence that wouldn't fall down.

These precious writings helped Mr Munday build his own stone walls at home and then craft a book called Those Dry-stone Walls: Stories from South Australia's Stone Age, published by Wakefield Press (RRP $39.95).

Order an advance copy of the Bruce Munday's new book at

Originally published asRocks of ages have Bruce off the wall

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