Huts and Shelters

[crollsurf]

Interested to know about huts and shelters you can visit when bushwalking. Personally I'm more interested in the lesser known ones and any info/photos of them.
Many of the Tassie huts and the High country huts in NSW and Victoria are well documented but if you have a nice photo or story about them, please feel free to share.

[crollsurf]

Peppercorn is a not so well known shelter at the Northern end of the Long Plain of the Kosciuszko NP, NSW. It was built in 1979 from the remains of the Big Peppercorn Homestead.

Peppercorn Shelter, Kosciuszko NP, NSW

[Zapruda]

Good topic Crollsurf.

As you say, most of the huts in the high country are well known. Although, some of them are rarely visited.

For me, Tin Hut is probably one of my favourites and also one that see’s very few visitors. I think I have more than a couple of back to back entries in the log book. There is no track to it and you have to put in a bit of work to get there. It hides in a stand of snowgums and is famous for being Missed by mere meters. It’s in a lovely spot and the wood heater inside is very efficient. Built for the first K2K ski trip in 1926.

I also get a kick out of researching and finding old huts sites throughout the high country. There are more than most people think. They really tell a story and put in to perspective how far reaching European history is up there. Just a few examples of the many sites out there.

[rcaffin]

I believe the 'Stone Shelter, Main Range' has the NPWS a bit puzzled. They know almost nothing about it, and would welcome any info.

Cheers
Roger

[Zapruda]

I believe the 'Stone Shelter, Main Range' has the NPWS a bit puzzled. They know almost nothing about it, and would welcome any info.

Cheers
Roger

It’s referred to as “Mason Moraine Shelter” in the database.

I have a bit of info on it compiled by someone else. It’s all been shared with NPWS. I’d be happy to send it on to you if you want it Roger.

It’s always been one of my favourite sites in KNP. A bit of mystery and unlike anything else up there.

I remember stumbling across it in 2010 and I was just so captivated by it. It was one of the sites that got me really interested in the history of the of mountains and set me on the path I’m on today.

Stef.

[commando]

I came across this one near Khancoban just can't remember the name...

[Zapruda]

I came across this one near Khancoban just can't remember the name...

O’Briens Hut on Tooma road. Sadly it was destroyed in the fires this summer.

Sometimes called Bradley’s and O’Briens hut.

[johnw]

I believe the 'Stone Shelter, Main Range' has the NPWS a bit puzzled. They know almost nothing about it, and would welcome any info.

Cheers
Roger

It’s referred to as “Mason Moraine Shelter” in the database.

I have a bit of info on it compiled by someone else. It’s all been shared with NPWS. I’d be happy to send it on to you if you want it Roger.

It’s always been one of my favourite sites in KNP. A bit of mystery and unlike anything else up there.

I remember stumbling across it in 2010 and I was just so captivated by it. It was one of the sites that got me really interested in the history of the of mountains and set me on the path I’m on today.

Stef.

These things intrigue me as well. Looks to be just off the old Kosci Rd. I have walked past numerous times and never noticed it.
Something else to look out for on my upcoming visit at the end of the year, assuming I decide to head along there this trip.

[rcaffin]

Hi Stef

I have a bit of info on it compiled by someone else. It’s all been shared with NPWS. I’d be happy to send it on to you if you want it Roger.

Yes please. Like others, I have probably walked past it many times without noticing.

Cheers
roger@backpackinglight.com

[Ant71]

This is probably well known Munro hut near the start of the link trail in Barrington Tops

[commando]

Diamantina Hut on Mount Hotham
Its a cold hut had no door and a concrete floor, a fox came in at 4.30 am with 15 people sleeping inside.

The start of the Razorback to Mt Feathertop

[Tobias]

Finally, a hut thread. I went to Tassie solely for the purpose of hut-hunting, and am keen to do the same in NSW.

Does anyone know of huts in the Wollemi / Yengo / Parr SCA area?

I walk a lot in South Yengo and have heard rumours here and there... No luck though

[rcaffin]

Ha!
By and large, old huts were built by cattlemen or settlers. The areas you mention (Wollemi, Yengo and Parr) did not lend themselves to running cattle. (This is an understatement.) This is why they are National Parks today: no-one was fool enough to want them!

There are a few remains here and there on basalt caps. Many of those were built long ago for cattle duffing, and were very crude - and are now collapsing.

I know of a couple in the general South Yengo region, but they are not visited and not published.

If you want to find old cattlemens' huts, get the KHA hut book and visit Kosci NP. Plenty there.

Cheers

[Warin]

Ha!
By and large, old huts were built by cattlemen or settlers. The areas you mention (Wollemi, Yengo and Parr) did not lend themselves to running cattle. (This is an understatement.)

A settlers definition of 'wilderness area', an area unsuitable for development of any kind.

The Gibbs family ran cattle west of Putty. Very much marginal country for that, probably did it to give relief to their developed paddocks.

[GBW]

Funny little shelter barely big enough to lie down at Mt Sunday/Low Saddle Rd Vic...

[Kickinghorse]

On a past trip we came across the ruins of a hut on the track between lake Myrtle and lake Bill. Not marked on maps?
It appeared to have been the result of a fire. Interested to know more of its past history etc.
Phil

[Tobias]

Ha!
By and large, old huts were built by cattlemen or settlers. The areas you mention (Wollemi, Yengo and Parr) did not lend themselves to running cattle. (This is an understatement.) This is why they are National Parks today: no-one was fool enough to want them!

There are a few remains here and there on basalt caps. Many of those were built long ago for cattle duffing, and were very crude - and are now collapsing.

I know of a couple in the general South Yengo region, but they are not visited and not published.

If you want to find old cattlemens' huts, get the KHA hut book and visit Kosci NP. Plenty there.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply mate. Yeah I couldn't imagine grazing in those areas now. With that being said, a fair portion of South Yengo used to be grazed by families that are still living in the area. Some of the scrubby gullies we know today used to be rich in native pasture (or so I'm told). Shame about the scrub encroachment.

Would it be alright if I PM'd you about the huts you know of in the region? Would really appreciate it.

Cheers mate!

[rcaffin]

I don't mind, but you would need to define the area of interest. Wollemi is a shade large.
I had better add that I do not know all of them. I am still learning myself.

Cheers
Roger

[crollsurf]

Just spent some time in the South East Forests NP, NSW. Not particularly Instagramable but well worth a visit with tall forests and lush Fern Tree gullies.
Anyway I became interested in Alexanders Hut because NP's and NSW Topos had it located in one place, while OSM had it located further West.

The true Alexanders Hut is an old slab hut from the early 1900's that has been extended and was used up until the 1980's by the Robinson family as a "Retreat from dry pastures and drought" An earlier hut built by Charlie Soloman was built where a Pear tree now stands.

Alexanders Hut, South East Forests NP, NSW

_RJC2735.jpg (108.39 KiB) Viewed 22771 times

The hut according to OSM's is a shed and no map shows a walking track/road but there is one that is easy enough to find. I would say looking at the balcony, the Robinsons did stay there to watch over their cattle. The shed is locked and peering through the gaps, there is what looks like, an old Suzuki Jimmy parked in there!

Robinsons Shed, South East Forests NP, NSW

There is a good days walking to be had in the area and an excellent campsite next to Alexanders for anyone interested.

[Ms_Mudd]

Great thread!

One hut that is very special to me is Selby Alley Hut, located just off the Corker Trail, Barrington Tops National Park NSW. It is local to me and somewhere I visited a lot with my eldest son before he joined the army and got deployed interstate. It is maintained by the Newcastle Bushwalking Club and is named after one of their founding members.
I have visited it a great many times, but never stayed there, it is more a place to visit, have a meal break and catch up on the log book entries.

During last year when there was no essential travel, you could not overnight in NSW Nat Parks and school was closed, I decided to take my then 12yo daughter on a walk to the Hut. Barrington Tops is local to me and therefore we were adhering to the guidelines. The Corker track is quite a physically demanding walk, yet she achieved it and being able to show her the track and let her walk ahead to discover the hut for herself was magical for me. Her delight in looking through the hut in wonder, just filled my heart fit to burst. It was like a family tradition continued, I had shown her elder brother the hut and enjoyed its shelter with him over many years, and now she has the knowledge of its location too.

Recently I was entrusted by the NBC to retrieve the old log and replace with a new one. It was a really special walk for me and I felt like I had a piece of history sitting in my bedroom until a member collected it from me in the days after. That particular log ran from 2014-2020 and reading it gave such a little snapshot into others lives. Some entries were just silly or rarely offensive, others quite banal, and some more yet were beautiful but poignant moments shared about individuals lives. One that touched me was a woman who was walking while her desperately unwell father clung to life, she didn't know what the news would be once she finished her walk.

So many photos of so many visits, but I chose one with my daughter as she climbed and explored the bunks.

[peregrinator]

Great post, Ms_Mudd. In passing on that bit of magic you contrived and experienced, you've created a bit of magic for us. Beautifully done.

[juxtaposer]

RE Wollemi: Andy Macqueen's book "Wayfaring in Wollemi" shows how resourceful cattlemen were in working stock routes throughout that area. This is a cattlemen's hut on Long Wheeny Creek taken in the 80s. It was knocked down not long after. There was a similar hut at Stony Waterhole, also long gone. Cattlemen in the area also used caves. I saw a cave decked out by stockmen on the Coricudgy side of Mt. Kerry.
I remember Alexanders Hut: it was used as a base for forest actions in the Tantawangalo phase of the South East Forests campaign.
The Mason Moraine shelter is intriguing in that there appears to be no sign it had a tin roof, unless it has all been cleaned up. A shingle roof in that area would seem unlikely.

[Gippsmick]

Cairn Creek Hut in the Alpine NP near Mt Bogong. I had seen this hut marked on my maps for years but had never given it a thought to go for visit. It is out the way at the bottom of a very steep descent and unless you intended to specifically visit the hut or go for a remote fishing trip it just doesn't make sense to make the journey in. I recently found myself doing a circuit loop from Falls Creek up Quartz Ridge to Mt Bogong, down to Big River via T Spur and back to Falls via Duane Spur. I was walking right past the track junction to Cairn Creek Hut and finally had the opportunity to poke my nose down the 'track' to visit the hut. The turn off is clearly marked near the bottom of Quartz Ridge but the route towards the hut is nothing more than a foot pad for the most part. Lots of deadfall trees across the trail make it more like a jungle gym for an hour or so as it snakes along a spur line through thick blanket leaf. The footpad then drops steeply down toward the junction of Cairn Creek and Big River, roughly marked with some faded pink tape and completely disappearing for sections. Given its remoteness the hut is rarely visited and still holds many artefacts from when the hut was constructed in the 1950's including enamel bowls, cooking pots, a first aid kit and old tools. If you are keen to add another hut to the check list and check out the history it would be worth your time; other wise it's a tough slog in and out to see not much.

From user 'Bogong' on ski.com: "The hut was built as survey base because it was planned to divert the Big River in a tunnel under Bogong Creek Saddle into the Kiewa Hydro scheme. The flow was to be supplemented by long aqueducts along the lower slopes of Mt Bogong and Mt Nelse. Of course, they ran out of money and none of this was built. The hut stands of a reminder of what could have been. A classic earlier iron SEC hut (similar to Bogong Jacks or Cairn Ck) with the door in the end wall, it was located on Block 25 held by HB Duane from 1900, followed by the Howman's of Eskdale. This hut was built by the SEC in 1952, to measure the results of the Big River diversion, through a tunnel under Bogong Creek Saddle, with huge racelines stretching out on both sides of the Big River Valley to the Omeo Highway - but it was never built. The horror budget of 1951 cut funding to the Kiewa, which now produces half the power that was planned in 1947."