Located 1km from Mount Gambier’s Town Hall, The Henty offers 42 rooms and suites with free Wi-Fi. Guests also enjoy complimentary on-site parking, a licensed restaurant & bar.
The local Buandik people always knew this was good country well before the first squatters arrived in the area more than 180 years ago. England’s enterprising Henty brothers had established huge property holdings around Portland in Victoria, but journeyed west in search of more empty land.
– Stephen George Henty (1811-1872)
Captivated by the lush landscape with its plentiful fresh water, the party returned with their stock and built simple slab huts and stockyards at the lakes and close to a spring-fed cave (now known as Mount Gambier’s Cave Garden). Their sheep and cattle thrived on the rich volcanic soil, but the Henty brothers’ claim on the land was short-lived, as they were essentially ‘free-camping’. They were later dispossessed of their run and forced to head back over the border.
The Henty brothers were brave in their ventures, and left a legacy; this was the beginning of white settlement in Mount Gambier. They’re the inspiration for The Henty – a place to rest, relax and dine after the day’s adventures.
– Historical information obtained from ‘A Most Suitable Place – Mount Gambier’ by Pam O’Connor and Jan Mayell.