Long live our huts

"Work to rebuild a series of culturally-significant Australian High Country huts razed by the Black Summer bushfires is still to begin, as concerns grow it might never get underway.

A dozen of more than 100 huts constructed up to 120 years ago by stockmen and prospectors, and later the Snowy Mountains Authority, were destroyed or severely damaged by the monster fires of January 2020.Government says it will continue working closely with stakeholders in 'determining the next steps for these important sites'".(From the story "Fears razed high country huts lost forever" by John Kidman AAP)

Sawyer's Hut between Kiandra & Adaminaby. A staging post for coaches on the way to Kiandra. It was badly damaged in the 2003 fires, re-built in 2008-09. Had its walls re-oiled just prior to the Kosciusko fire where it was totally destroyed only the chimney and concrete slab remain.

Some videos from ACT Nat Parks of Namadgi NP firstly the battle to save the historic Orroral homestead & woolshed (an aerial tanker dropping retardant on the Orroral fire, coming in from the Tracking Station and (nearly) dumping the load on the woolshed. The photographer would have their back to the homestead, 29 Jan 2020) Orroral 2020  and now - Orroral homestead (which is still closed to the public) and the burnt areas surrounding it Orroral 2021

The Kiandra Court House a well known landmark beside the Snowy Mountains Highway. The bluestone building was erected in 1890, and many photos feature it in snow drifts. When the fire swept through it left only the stone walls and melted aluminum and glass (amazingly the toilet in the carpark survived)

Seriously hoping this doesn't come to pass. You have to admire the fortitude & perseverance of those who have restored huts only to see them burnt out again. With the increase in the population holidaying locally and the boom in caravans & camper trailers taking to 'The Bush', national parks and hut sites in particular are becoming the focus for more and more people, and how wonderful to have something to showcase and for them to appreciate.

Orroral Homestead

Have documented just a small selection of huts in previous posts - High Country huts  and From Dimb to Basalt Knob not just as a record of their existence, but because they are so iconic and make a simple but compelling statement about us and our past.

Long live our huts & our resurrected huts.

Big Bell abando

  Great drone footage of the Big Bell Hotel about 30km from Cue in Western Australia.

Big Bell is a ghost town now, but had a thriving past. A distant relative John Harold Urbahns originally surveyed the town site.

The Big Bell was a gold mine which expended in 1935, a town was planned for the mine workers. In 1936 The Cue Road Board was asked to suggest a name for the new townsite and  recommended "Townsend" as a suitable title and Coodardy street as the principal thoroughfare.

Mr. and Mrs. Townsend were the original settlers at Coodardy. The proposed names for the six streets in the residential area: —Paton Street (after one of the original owners of the mine); Pitt Street (after the present manager); Wittenoom, Meehan and Lefroy Streets (after prominent pastoralists of the district); and Urbahn Street (after the Government surveyor).

The Big Bell Hotel was constructed in the classic art deco style and opened in 1937. It reputedly had the longest bar in Australia. The mine closed in 2003.