The site of Bundanon was originally the land of the Wodi Wodi people of the Yuin nation who speak the Dharawal language. It was first sighted by Europeans in 1805 and was given as a land grant to Richard Henry Browne in 1832. The conditions of receiving a land grant at the time were that the land had to be worked through clearing and fencing, up to 55 acres in five years. Browne was a merchant who travelled by sea between Australia and India. He did not work the land so it reverted back to the government in 1837. It was sold to Dr Kenneth McKenzie of Scotland for £400 on 19 March 1838.
McKenzie was born in Dundonell, Rosshire, Scotland in 1806. He worked as a doctor in London, Dublin and Paris before immigrating to Sydney in 1837. He came to Bundanon with his wife in 1838. They built a timber house on the edge of the tree line above one of the water sources. Their five children were born in this timber house: Helen in 1839, Mary 1841, Murdo 1843,
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