History

In 1904, Charles Edwin Rundell and his wife Catherine Amelia (Cousins) took over lease of 640 acres of grazing land at Flour Bag Plain, adjacent to Dinner Plain village. As there was a horse-drawn coach service running between Bright and Omeo at this time, Charles and Catherine decided to build their farmhouse by the roadside and expand it to provide meals and accommodation for the coach passengers and other travellers passing through - Rundells Alpine Lodge was born.

They built two rooms and two log cabins by the side of the road out of local wooly butt timber and soon played host to several high profile visitors, including the Governor of Victoria Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael after whom Charles named the nearby waterfalls, located only a short walk away.

Charles' brother, Matthew Rundell, also took a lease of 571 acres in size in 1904, encompassing what is now Dinner Plain village. This he sub-let in 1905 to the McNamara's, local horse breakers and cattlegrazers, who referred to Dinner Plain as 'Rundell's Paddock'.

After a period of closure for various reasons including the decline of the goldfields and The Great War, the Rundells returned in 1921 to re-establish the Lodge at Flour Bag. They had to make several renovations as the place had fallen into disrepair. It was in this year that the Royal Auto Club held a small car trial across the Alps, awakening enthusiasm for skiing and reviving trust in the condition of the road link over the mountains. Rundells Alpine Lodge again quickly became a useful stopover point for travellers in the automobile age, providing much needed food, rest and shelter. At one point the demand reached such a peak that tents were erected adjacent to the cabins to accommodate extra visitors.

The dining room was first class, and quickly developed a fine reputation spearheaded by Ruby, one of the younger Rundell girls, who took great pride in it. The boys likewise were avid fishermen and would often return from plying the Cobungra and Victoria rivers with fresh trout with which to feed the guests, in addition to the livestock and produce they were able to raise on the property itself.  In time, the Alps became a popular year round destination for travellers and eventually the Rundells applied for a liquor licence to better service their guests at the Lodge. Sadly, in the late spring of 1928, the Lodge at Flour Bag was burnt out by a smouldering fire in the dining room that had gotten out of control during the night. For financial reasons, the Lodge was never re-opened and the Alps lost a worthy establishment.

In late 2007, it was decided to reinstate Rundells Alpine Lodge as a centrepiece of Alpine hospitality in the heart of Dinner Plain. In doing so, this revives the pioneering history of the region and acknowledges the profound impact of the Rundell family in paving the way for settlement of the Victorian High Country.