Kosciuszko Huts

01/03/2024

Thank you for your service and co-operation.

22/02/2024

4 Mile Hut
Photos courtesy of NSW Nordic Ski Club

Rebuild is moving forward at a cracking pace.

The inclusion of more flattened kerosene tines and leather washers is brilliant.

It looks like some of the slabs are from the Yallowin Hut material we recycled from the Museum of the Riverina.

13/02/2024

4 Mile Hut - The old and the New

Photos courtesy of:
Nordic Ski Club of NSW
Tim the Yowie Man

Great to see the communities come together to do good work.
The 4 Mile Hut caretakers and NPWS staff are cracking on with the 4 Mile Hut rebuild. Well done to all of the volunteers!

03/02/2024

O'Keefs' Hut
Photos courtesy CBC

31/01/2024

Derschkos' Hut
Photo courtesy of CBC

21/01/2024

Oldfields' Hut
Photo courtesy Simon Mullumby

15/01/2024

The Iconic 4 Mile Hut
Photos courtesy of A. Stanger

Rumour has it that it will be getting rebuilt soon. I can't wait to see the new design.

01/01/2024

Orroral Homestead
Photos courtesy of A. Hunter 2023

The Kangaroos were enjoying the shade, and the yard needs mowing at the oldest standing structure in Namadgi built in the 1860s.

Situated in the Orroral Valley, this homestead is a short walk from the Orroral Road, however the parking is limited as is the signage.

Brief History
Orroral is a magnificent homestead, typical of the period and easily accessible. It has been well restored, and features a central slab homestead, plus outbuildings.

The homestead was built for Archibald and Mary McKeahnie for grazing in the 1860's. It has three rooms and a chimney at each end, plus a full length verandah at the front. The orginal kitchen and staff quarters were built behind, and were as large as the house. The main chimney for the kitchen remains.

Other families with strong connections to the homestead include the Bootes, Oldfields, Cunninghams(who built the stockyard and woolshed in the 1930s') and the Gregories."

Additional Reading
"Bold Horizon - High-country Place, People and Story", HIGGINS Mathew, 2008, www.rosenbergpub.com.au, ISBN9780648043904

28/12/2023

Witzes Hut
Photo courtesy of Peter Husec

Located on the plains between Tantangara Dam and Gooandra Homestead. It is accessible by a 7km walk from Tantangara dam, or from the Snowy Mountain highway.

It is one of a number of slab cottages and huts previously at this location.

Brief History
Witzes was built in 1952 by Clarrie Butler using the remains of a nearby 1880s homestead. The original homestead was still standing in the 1960's and was very large, with four rooms and a hall.

It formed an outstation for Gooandra Station.

It received major restoration effort in the late 1980s, and more recent work from the caretakers and KHA volunteers in December 2003.

Construction
Witzes is an excellent example of a vertical slab hut and is renowned for its very long adzed slabs. It measures 6m long by only 3m wide.

It has a single window and a stone hearth, with an iron clad chimney. There is a well raised wooden floor and gable roof. A NPWS dunny sits up the hill, just above the old water race.

27/12/2023

Tin Mine Hut
Photo courtesy of Monika Georgieva 2023

Sheltering from the Storm after 17 days of walking on the Australian Alps Walking Trail (AAWT)

24/12/2023

Happy Festive Season to all of the Volunteers who keep us safe!

19/12/2023

Derschkos Hut and the Big Bogong
Photos courtesy of Mark Jekabsons

Taken during a shakedown ride for his first overnight bike pack trip.

12/12/2023

Bendora Hut
Photo courtesy of ACT Parks Service

Bendora Hut is located just below the ridge line about 1.5km down the "Bendora Fire Trail" to the east, from the Bulls Head to Gininni road. The signs say "Bendora Aboretum".
History
Our historian claims that this particular hut was built about 1942, mainly as shelter for employees of the former Forestry and Timber Bureau who established the nearby arboretum. It was later used by loggers. He also indicates that it was originally larger with gabled wings running from each side.
Tents and other cubicles existed nearby, the latter for sleeping quarters, while this hut was used as the kitchen and dining area.
Others claim that Bendora was built in 1930 by Ted Kennedy for road workers. This was the last hut built for arboretum support, following Pryors Hut.

17/11/2023

Charlie Carters Hut
Photo courtesy of Ronald Stevens 2023 - while walking the AAWT
Located on the Tin Mine Fire Trail, about 27 Km south of Dead Horse Gap.
Brief History
The area has been mined since 1873 for tin, but in 1935 to 1936, the Mt Pilot Tin Mining Syndicate built several huts. All were abandoned by 1938. Carters is the last accommodation hut remaining.
Charlie Carter‚ a hermit and philosopher lived here from 1938. He led a precarious life selling brumby hides and doing a little mining. He died in 1959. His hut, the only one left of the mining huts, was restored by the Illawarra Alpine Club in the 1980s.
References
Hueneke Klaus, Huts of the High Country, 1982 - 2008, www.tabletoppressbooks.com

08/11/2023

Andrew Lock takes a Short Walk in the Kosciuszko Bush (Kiandra to Kosciuszko) and visits Grey Mare Hut

30/10/2023

Huw gets away on the iron steed for a couple of days, exploring the huts and high plains in northern Kosciuszko National Park. 9 huts in total - Oldfields, Pockets, Currango, Love Nest in the Sallees, Pedens, Townsends, Circuits, Schofields, Brayshaws - some comfortable, some cute, some confined.

24/10/2023

Waterhole Hut
Photos courtesy A. Hunter 2021

Waterhole is located upstream on Grassy Creek, from Westermans homestead, almost on the southern ACT border with NSW. It cannot be seen from the fire trail, so following the creek upstream from the old yards, is the easiest way to find it.

Brief History
Waterhole hut was built by the then owner, Thomas Oldfield, his son Jack and Henry Tyrie in 1939, to support grazing.

Stones were used from the old homestead nearby, for the base to the chimney. the old homestead had been occupied by Thomas Westerman's mother with her second husband, Francis Dwyer.

The stock yards nearby, are of note, incorporating large granite boulders. In 2004 and 2005, the hut was fully restored by KHA volunteers and the caretakers.

Construction
Waterhole is a simple iron hut with a dirt floor. The pole and iron chimney had fallen over and were re-built. The floor was originally timber, and will also be replaced. The door and verandah were also missing, but KHA had photographs showing how it originally looked, to aid renovation.

References
M Sexton - pers comm
Matthew Higgins - pers comm.

10/10/2023

Bendora Hut
Photo courtesy of Olaf Moon 1999
Geoff Hall 1940s

Bendora Hut is located just below the ridge line about 1.5km down the "Bendora Fire Trail" to the east, from the Bulls Head to Gininni road. The signs say "Bendora Aboretum".

History
Our historian claims that this particular hut was built about 1942, mainly as shelter for employees of the former Forestry and Timber Bureau who established the nearby arboretum. It was later used by loggers. He also indicates that it was originally larger with gabled wings running from each side.

Tents and other cubicles existed nearby, the latter for sleeping quarters, while this hut was used as the kitchen and dining area.

Others claim that Bendora was built in 1930 by Ted Kennedy for road workers. This was the last hut built for arboretum support, following Pryors Hut

09/10/2023

Field Roles in Jindabyne for conservation!!

* Field Officer Grade 1/4 * Package includes salary ($54,422 - $72,606), employer's contribution to superannuation and 17% loading for working week...

07/10/2023

And the 2023 Australian Bird of the Year is..

Critically endangered parrot narrowly pips the tawny frogmouth, runner-up for the third time in the biennial Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll

04/10/2023

Last day to vote on Australian Bird of the year!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2023/sep/25/australian-bird-of-the-year-2023-vote-the-guardian-bird-life-australia-poll?fbclid=IwAR21VA_PxlBI7eHnjrqFPc7vrRSk9rKyiIFK_Y7WZwqXgl9aZ2vv8kMYOnM

It’s time to get behind your favourite – from little penguins to (very big) cassowaries, every bird has its fans. Vote early and vote often (within the rules) in the 2023 Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll

03/10/2023

Looking for activities for the kids these school holidays? Tidbinbilla has something to keep them busy!

Great news, lounge lizards! 🦎 The days are longer, and so are the opening hours at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. 🌞

The reserve is open from 7:30am to 8pm through the daylight savings months. That means there’s more time to spend in the sun with the locals! 😎

So, jump off the couch and into nature! 🌳 Plan your Tidbinbilla adventure at https://www.tidbinbilla.act.gov.au/

03/10/2023

Wonderful to see that Demanding and Max & Berts Huts are getting closer to being rebuilt by the ACT. Can't wait to visit the rebuilt huts.

Great work from the diverse communities who provided feedback and supported this change in policy that respects the cultural and environmental values of Namadgi.

26/09/2023

Pryors' Hut

Photo courtesy of D. Mitchell

Located on the main ridge of Brindabella Range, between Mt Ginini and Mt Gingera in the Bimberi Nature Reserve,NSW

Construction
The hut is soundly built of vertically set sawn timber with a corrugated iron roof, and set on stone and concrete footings adjacent to an old arboretum in the Bimberi Nature Reserve NSW. The hut comprises three rooms, an ante room at the entrance used for storing firewood and muddy boots, a large living room and bedroom. The floor is timber boards while the inside walls and ceiling are made of Caneite (a low density fibreboard made from sugarcane fibres). The south wall comprises steel framed glass window. There is a new outside pump-out toilet built by NSW NPWS and KHA caretakers in late 2017.

Brief History
The hut was built by Lindsay Pryor and party as a shelter for those working in the nearby Alpine Botanical Gardens & Arboretum - an annex to the National Botanical Gardens.

Professor Pryor was a prominent member of the Board of the Botanical Gardens and one time Professor of Forestry at ANU. At the time the hut was built, he was Superintendent of Parks and Gardens for the ACT, with the hut being built to provide shelter to those planting and tending the alpine plants.

Pryor's knowledge of Eucalypts in Australia was encyclopaedic and he is the author of many texts on Australian flora.

This hut has substantial ACT historical value and is particularly popular with families, who find the walking distance from the locked gate on the Mt Franklin Road just south of the Mt Ginini intersection, to be just right for a summer time day walk.

The hut is located within NSW on the western side of the NSW/ACT border in the NSW NPWS Bimberi Nature Reserve. Camping is permitted at the hut environs with no threat of contamination to the Cotter Catchment.

19/09/2023

Witzes' Hut

Located on the plains between Tantangara Dam and Gooandra Homestead. It is accessible by a 7km walk from Tantangara dam, or from the Snowy Mountain highway, or from Hains or Gooandra.

It is one of a number of slab cottages and huts previously at this location.

Brief History
Witzes was built in 1952 by Clarrie Butler using the remains of a nearby 1880s homestead. The original homestead was still standing in the 1960's and was very large, with four rooms and a hall.

It formed an outstation for Gooandra Station.

It received major restoration effort in the late 1980s, and more recent work from the caretakers and KHA members in December 2003.

Construction
Witzes is an excellent example of a vertical slab hut and is renowned for its very long adzed slabs. It measures 6m long by only 3m wide.

It has a single window and a stone hearth, with an iron clad chimney. There is a well raised wooden floor and gable roof. A NPWS dunny sits up the hill, just above the old water race.

Careful observers will note that some slabs have newspaper remains on both sides. These came from the internal walls of the old house and date from 1892.

References:
Hueneke Klaus, "Huts of the High Country", 1982 (updated 2008), www.tabletoppressbooks.com

Survival value - High
Recreational Value - Medium
Historical/Architectural Value - Prime Rating

18/09/2023

Check for closures for Namadgi Parks as closures from 16th to 26th September for Feral pest control operations.

⛔ Starting tomorrow (16 Sep), sections of the Murrumbidgee River Corridor, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve 🍃 and some areas of Forestry land will be temporarily closed while we undertake our feral animal control program. 🐖🦌

These reserves will be closed periodically from 16 to 26 September:
🌳 Sherwood Special Purpose Reserve
🌳 Swamp Creek Nature Reserve
🌳 Stony Creek Nature Reserve
🌳 Bullen Range Nature Reserve
🌳 Gigerline Nature Reserve
🌳 Rob Roy Nature Reserve
🌳 Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

Closed areas will be signposted and access gates locked. 🔒 For your safety, please don’t enter these areas for the duration of the program.

Most high use recreation areas including the Cotter Campground, Casuarina Sands, Blue Range Campground, Kambah Pool and Pine Island remain open.

➡️ To read more about these closures, visit https://www.environment.act.gov.au/parks-conservation/plants-and-animals/wildlife-management/vertebrate-pests/2023-aerial-control-program

11/09/2023

Chance to comment on Namadgi Park experiences; don't forget to mention that the huts provide an important focal point for engaging with the heritage of the area, and provide life saving survival shelters!

03/09/2023

Cootapatamba Hut
Photo courtesy of Nordic Ski Club

A survival shelter that has saved many lives in the mountains.
It sits in a pristine location to shelter lost travellers before they wander off into the wilderness.