Cottage · Mount Bryan East

Sir Hubert Wilkins Homestead

Mount Bryan East, AU 4.5 (27 Google reviews)

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On a quiet stretch of South Australian pastoral land near Mount Bryan East, a modest stone cottage marks the birthplace of one of the nation's most extraordinary adventurers. Sir Hubert Wilkins (1888–1958) — polar explorer, aviator, submariner, war photographer, scientist — drew his first breath in this humble homestead called Netfield. Today, the lovingly restored cottage invites visitors to step back into the world from which Wilkins launched a life of record-breaking feats: the first trans-Arctic flight, the first flight over Antarctica, and the first attempt to navigate a submarine beneath the polar ice cap.↗↗↗

The homestead sits along the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive, a 91-kilometre self-guided loop that crosses Goyder's Line twice and reveals the raw beauty of South Australia's Mid North. Collect a key from the village of Hallett, wander through the stone rooms where a thirteen-year-old dreamer once grew up watching droughts reshape his landscape, and imagine how this unassuming cottage produced a man whose ashes would one day be scattered at the North Pole by a US Navy submarine.↗

A LITTLE INSPIRATION IS ON ITS WAY

Finding your next place…

Loading the guide.

Cottage · Mount Bryan East

Sir Hubert Wilkins Homestead

Mount Bryan East, AU 4.5 (27 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

On a quiet stretch of South Australian pastoral land near Mount Bryan East, a modest stone cottage marks the birthplace of one of the nation's most extraordinary adventurers. Sir Hubert Wilkins (1888–1958) — polar explorer, aviator, submariner, war photographer, scientist — drew his first breath in this humble homestead called Netfield. Today, the lovingly restored cottage invites visitors to step back into the world from which Wilkins launched a life of record-breaking feats: the first trans-Arctic flight, the first flight over Antarctica, and the first attempt to navigate a submarine beneath the polar ice cap.↗↗↗

The homestead sits along the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive, a 91-kilometre self-guided loop that crosses Goyder's Line twice and reveals the raw beauty of South Australia's Mid North. Collect a key from the village of Hallett, wander through the stone rooms where a thirteen-year-old dreamer once grew up watching droughts reshape his landscape, and imagine how this unassuming cottage produced a man whose ashes would one day be scattered at the North Pole by a US Navy submarine.↗

↗

The Man from Mount Bryan East

George Hubert Wilkins was born on 31 October 1888, the youngest of thirteen children in a family of pioneer settlers and sheep farmers. As a child, he experienced the devastating impact of drought on this dry pastoral landscape — an early encounter with climatic extremes that would fuel a lifelong fascination with weather and the natural world. He attended school in his home town before studying engineering part-time at the Adelaide School of Mines, where his curiosity ranged far beyond the classroom.↗↗

By 1908, Wilkins had sailed to England to work for the Gaumont Film Company, learning the new craft of cinematography. Within four years, at just twenty-four, he filmed the world's first recorded combat footage during the Balkan Wars between Turks and Bulgarians. That photographic prowess earned him a place on the 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition under Vilhjalmur Stefansson — the beginning of a lifetime spent at the edges of the map.↗↗

During World War I, Wilkins served as the official Australian war photographer on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing wounded soldiers at the Third Battle of Ypres and later received a Bar for assuming command of American troops who had lost their officers at the Battle of Hindenburg Line — the only official Australian photographer from any war to receive a combat medal. General Sir John Monash called his record "unique."↗↗

A Lifetime of Firsts

In April 1928, just a year after Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, Wilkins and pilot Carl Ben Eielson flew from Point Barrow, Alaska, eastward over the Arctic Ocean to Spitsbergen — a trans-Arctic crossing of roughly twenty-one hours' flying time. Wilkins was knighted for the achievement. That December, he turned south and made the first airplane flight over Antarctica, taking off from Deception Island to explore the Antarctic Peninsula. The Royal Geographical Society awarded him its Patron's Medal; the American Geographical Society gave him the first Morse Medal.↗↗

Not content with the skies, in 1931 he attempted to cross beneath the North Pole in a leased US Navy submarine renamed Nautilus. Mechanical failures and storms forced the expedition to turn back, but Wilkins proved that submarines could operate beneath polar ice — a concept that would transform naval strategy within two decades. When he died in Massachusetts in 1958, the US Navy honoured his final wish: the submarine USS Skate carried his ashes to the geographic North Pole and scattered them over the ice on 17 March 1959.↗

Across the Antarctic landscape, his name endures in the Wilkins Ice Shelf, Wilkins Sound, and Wilkins Aerodrome near Australia's Casey station. Yet for all his global fame, the stone walls of Netfield remain the most intimate monument to where everything began.↗

Visiting the Homestead

Netfield Cottage is a small, restored stone homestead sitting quietly amid the rolling pastoral landscape of Mount Bryan East. The building itself is deliberately humble — there are no grand halls or elaborate displays. Instead, the experience is one of quiet contemplation: you stand in the rooms where a boy who would reshape the boundaries of human knowledge spent his earliest years. The simplicity of the setting amplifies the enormity of what grew from it.↗

To visit, collect a key from either the Hallett Country Store or Hallett Coffee & Collectables in the nearby village of Hallett, about twenty minutes' drive to the west. A small fee applies for the key. Because the property has no electricity or modern services, a daylight visit is strongly recommended. Bring a torch if you want to explore the interior rooms thoroughly.↗↗

Rescue and Restoration

The cottage was not always saved. By the early 2000s it stood in ruins. The rescue began when Rosemary Lehman shared a photograph of the crumbling homestead with Australian Geographic magazine. Aviation enthusiast and adventurer Dick Smith — himself inspired by Wilkins' pioneering flights — saw the image and became determined to ensure the site was preserved. With support from the Australian Geographic Society, government grants, and tireless local fundraising (including the much-loved "Jazz Affair" at Petherton Homestead, which later evolved into the Jazz in the Monster Mine festival in Burra), Netfield was brought back to life.↗

Today the Sir Hubert Wilkins Memorial Cottage Committee — a volunteer group — cares for the site and continues to share Wilkins' story. The committee marked its twentieth anniversary in April 2021. The book The Illustrated Sir Hubert Wilkins by Jeff Maynard tells his full story and is a natural companion for the drive out.↗

Along the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive

The homestead sits on the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive, a 91-kilometre self-guided loop starting from either Mount Bryan or Hallett. This route crosses Goyder's Line — the famous 1865 boundary between reliable agricultural land and true pastoral outback — twice, giving you a vivid sense of the landscape that shaped Wilkins' early observations about weather and climate.↗

Other stops along the circuit include the Piltimitiappa Homestead ruins, the Ketchowla Station area with its ancient Ngadjuri rock engravings, and Collinsville Merino Stud. The route is entirely on dirt roads with no fuel available along the way. High-clearance vehicles are recommended for some sections, and visitors should respect private pastoral land by staying on marked tracks and not entering fenced areas.↗

Planning Your Visit

The homestead is reached via a short drive east of Hallett along the Dare's Hill Circuit. Hallett itself is a small service town on the Barrier Highway, about 30 km north of Burra and roughly two hours' drive from Adelaide. The town has a friendly general store with accommodation, a beloved café and antique shop, an RV-friendly recreation ground next to the pub, and access to the Heysen Trail for walkers.↗

The best time to combine a visit to the homestead with the full circuit drive is early spring, when wildflowers carpet the hills and the contrast between green cropland and saltbush plain is at its most striking. Allow at least half a day for the full loop, and bring plenty of fuel, water, and snacks — services are sparse once you leave Hallett.↗

What makes it special

01

Birthplace of the only person to make the first trans-Arctic flight, the first flight over Antarctica, and the first submarine attempt under the North Pole ice.↗

02

A volunteer-restored stone cottage saved from ruin by a photograph that caught the eye of Australian adventurer Dick Smith.↗

03

Situated along the scenic Dare's Hill Circuit Drive, which crosses Goyder's Line twice through some of South Australia's most evocative pastoral landscape.↗

04

Wilkins' ashes were scattered at the geographic North Pole from a US Navy submarine — the ultimate return to the ice that consumed his life's work.↗

A little planning goes a long way

Collect the homestead key from the Hallett Country Store or Hallett Coffee & Collectables before driving east. A small fee applies.↗
The property has no power — visit during daylight hours and consider bringing a torch for interior rooms.↗
The Dare's Hill Circuit is entirely on unsealed dirt roads. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended for some sections. There is no fuel on the route — fill up in Hallett or Burra first.↗
Respect the private pastoral land: stay on marked tracks, take photos only from the roadside, and leave gates as you find them.↗
The Discover Goyder app provides a personal guide for the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive with narration and navigation.↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Finding your next place…

Sir Hubert Wilkins Homestead

Why go?

More of Australia: Sydney

Finding your next place…

Sir Hubert Wilkins Homestead

Why go?

More of Australia: Sydney

The Man from Mount Bryan East

A Lifetime of Firsts

Visiting the Homestead

Rescue and Restoration

Along the Dare's Hill Circuit Drive

Planning Your Visit

What makes it special

A little planning goes a long way

About this guide