Sometime prior to his marriage in 1888, Johannes Bunge took up a selection of 320 acres (about 1.3 square km in modern terms) of heavily timbered virgin land between Sheep Hills and Warracknabeal in the Wimmera District. He engaged Chinese labourers to clear the land, and while this was being done, he spent time shearing sheep in the Western District.
He named the property ‘Walden’, which translated from German means “a small forest”. An area of 90 acres close to the house was left in its virgin state and contained mostly buloke trees, but also many eucalypts. This area still exists (as can be seen in the Google Earth view of the farm).
The original home was built of sun-dried mud bricks, made on the property by Johannes himself. The external walls were doubled, with a two inch cavity between to provide insulation against the extremes of temperature.
In 1885 he began breeding and racing thoroughbred horses. Later he turned to breeding a stud of Southdown sheep, in conjunction with wheat growing. He established a stud of Clydesdale horses in 1911.
In ‘Photos of the Horses of Walden’ you will see very many photos of these Clydesdale horses and others. They were critically important for the farm work. Some of the champion Clydesdale stallions won prizes at agricultural shows in the Wimmera District, and on several occasions, in Melbourne and Sydney.