Bushwalk Australia

Does anybody know the history of the 'hut' on the plateau below Adamson's Peak?

Been wondering about that myself ever since I went up there a few years back. I suspect fire monitoring hut, but have no proof.

Nice pic, BTW.

ollster wrote:I suspect fire monitoring hut, but have no proof.

Nice pic, BTW.

Cheers mate, I thought trappers or maybe a prospector, I know they did some prospecting around Hartz Peak area.

ollster wrote: I suspect fire monitoring hut

Hit the nail on the head.

Don't know anything about the hut really but was intrigued to find a photo posted by abowen on another topic (yabby tubes);
(bottom of thread, black & white scan) note the picture in the top right hand corner - hut below Adamsons Peak - looks like it was quite civilised!

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=282

Very observant Stu! I hadn't picked that up when I posted the scan. My understanding is that the hut was still standing up until the 80's or 90's. I have walked with some who have stayed inside the hut. From memory the hut was either ridden with vermin or snakes chasing the vermin - so it wasn't a pleasant experience. I will ask about the history.
Cheers
Andrew

There appears to have been a fairly elaborate communication set up in the past. A number of these insulator/telegraph thingies can be seen attached to trees along the track up the mountain....





I'd love to know more about this. Must be some old timers out there with a few stories....

I found a couple of references to the hut in Tasmanian Tramp articles

Dec 1945 (Tramp No 6) where a walking party made a call from the fire watchers hut to the "taxi service" at Dover!
Dec 1957 (Tramp 13) talks about the Hobart walking Clubs "latest acquisition" being the old Forestry Commission fire lookout hut.

The Hut was there in the 80's, it was small and quaint, could sleep about 1, but at least you could get out of the weather.

Great stuff, thanks for the replies - I thought the answer would lie somewhere in the minds of the sites users.
Never saw the telegraph thingies on the trees either - need to slow down and take it all in.

Found a couple of old photos of the hut from the late 80s. The old man remembers the "mattress" being an old fire hose wrapped around a metal bed frame. Maybe the stone walls that are still there today are from an older hut or to protect it from a roaring westerly?

There is a picture of the interior of the hut in "The South West Book" page 147. Here's a bad photo of it