IMMORTALISED in the poetry and bush ballads of Banjo Patterson, the Snowies region speaks to the heart of most Aussies.
Calling us to Kosciuszko where, he wrote, the “air is clear as crystal and the white stars fairly blaze”, Patterson’s odes pay homage to the beauty and spirit of the Australian Alps, including his classic poem The Man from Snowy River.
And it is this appeal that drew retired public servant Bob Moon back to the heart of the Snowy almost two decades ago.
The 63-year-old from Queanbeyan has been head of the Kosciuszko Huts Association for six years. The association is a group of volunteers that looks after and restores scores of historic huts scattered throughout Kosciuszko National Park in southern NSW and Namadgi National Park in the ACT.
The rustic huts, some dating back to the 1860s, were originally built by cattlemen to provide simple shelter when driving their cattle up to the plains in summer. Later they accommodated prospectors, recreational fishermen, skiers and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority. While many have been lost through fire and decay, around 120 remain and are still used today.
“I was bushwalking with a couple of mates from Kiandra to Kosciuszko when I came across a leaflet about the KHA in one of the huts on a track. I thought this is not a bad way to say thank you,” said Bob, who recently stepped down as president after three two-year terms. He visits the mountains three or four times a month and is caretaker of Pretty Plain Hut and Orroral Valley Homestead.
“I grew up in Cooma, and these huts are part of our Australian history,” he said. “Some are a couple of hundred years old and they’re in good nick because we look after them. Some are remote, others are more accessible by roads.”
Repair work involves everything from replacing footings and bearings, fixing windows and walls to mending chimneys and leaking roofs. “We try to use the same materials and techniques used when the hut was originally built. But because of modern building codes we can’t use some materials, such as old diamond-head nails.”
The organisation runs weekend skills workshops where volunteers learn techniques such as how to make a slab, splitting logs and sharpening axes and adzes.
Bob said part the appeal of the huts is that each is unique. “The only basic things they all have in common is that they have a fire or pot-bellied stove (as some can get a bit drafty) and they are all near water, except for Craig’s Hut.”
The latter was actually a cattle drovers hut built for the film The Man from Snowy River in 1982. It burnt down in bushfires in 2006 and was rebuilt and reopened to the public two years later.
While these historic huts may seem quaint and rustic, when it came to surviving the wild mountain weather, they could mean the difference between life and death to cattlemen and women as well as bushwalkers.
Some huts are named for the families of bushies who lived in them.
While some were destroyed in the 2006-07 bushfires, most of the remaining huts are accessible to bushwalkers and four-wheel-drive vehicles, while some are stopping points on saddleback tours.
Bob said many bushwalkers and riders love exploring the region and visiting the huts for the whole Man from Snowy River experience, with up to 4000 people visiting in a season.
Bob has many favourite huts but the one he considers quintessential is Wheelers.
Perfectly placed with a stunning view, it is about six kilometres south of Tooma Reservoir and under the Big Dargal.
A classic horizontal wood slab hut, it has two rooms, two verandahs, an iron roof and an old iron bath tub at the front. The hut was built by “Wingy” Wheeler for grazing, around 1900, and moved to the present site in the 1920s.
Legend has it Wheeler got his nickname because he had one arm, but could use it to ride, smoke and crack a stock whip all at the same time.
Next to the hut are the Toolong Diggings, active from 1893-1904 with water races, mullock heaps and mining equipment still remaining.
Bob said the camaraderie in the Kosciuszko Huts Association is great.
“People come once and get hooked. There are volunteers of all ages, men and women. Many are retirees, And we are always looking for more volunteers.”
And what about the cold? “I'll give you $20 to stay in winter,” he joked.
